Looking after your sewing machine

[ANNE E.]

I don't know if this is the correct place to put this post but here goes.
I found this web site and thought you might like to have a look at how NOT to treat your sewing machine.

http://www.sandissewingconnection.com

I hope the link comes through OK
I have a friend who has an expensive Brother machine and has never had it serviced and never takes the throat plate off she says "It works OK "
Words fail me
Anne

[ANNE E.]

I can't imagine spending that much on a machine and not taking better care of it.

[Eileen K.]

I can't imagine spending that much on a machine and not taking better care of it.

I agree, Ritzy. I don't have money to toss around, so I tend to take care of my stuff.

[Margo C.]

Here's a link directly to the article about maintenance: http://www.sandissewingconnection.co...-servicing.htm

[Margo C.]

few days ago i was by the sewing machine shop, i have asked how often i need to bring the machine to service, i thought once a year, but according to him every 3-4 years, for bernina. i wonder if that is enough?

[Rita C.]

Thanks for the link Anne, and Margo. It is incredible how little people know about keeping their sewing machine clean here. A friend brought her machine over for me to have a look at because it wouldn't work properly. When I opened the bobbin case it was packed with lint. They had never cleaned it out in all the years they have had it (probably 20)! I always keep a pipe cleaner handy to clean out the bobbin case and surrounding area, including the feed-dogs. My mechanic says that the machine should be serviced every year. Becky, maybe you don't use your machine enough to have it serviced more than every 3 years?

[Rita C.]

that is the point, that i quilt a lot (much less then before) but still a lot for the average.
i clean evry day the lint with hoover, and give one drop of oil once a week.
we will see. i feel that if i patchwork it is less difficult for the machine then free hand quilting.

[Teri L.]

How often your machine goes in for a spa treatment depends on how much stitching and what type of stitching.
Remember we use batting and lint will build up in places we can't get to it. Lint build up over time can damage the gears. Kind of like water dripping on a rock.
If you do a lot of stitching (piecing and quilting) then once a year for good health.
If you don't do a lot of stitching (in frequent fashion sewing) then once every 3 or 4 years is fine.
Note: we all remark how happy we are when we change our rotary cutter blade because it's easier to cut fabric...our machines don't have to work so hard when we take care of them which means we don't have to work so hard.

Working in a dealership I get to see why its important to maintain our tools (sewing machine). My boss was working on a machine that had not been in for 20 years. The grease, belt wear out, cracked gears and so on meant a lot of work on his part! She'll get her machine back in good working order however a lot of this could have been avoided with regular maintenance.

[karen f.]

Oh my gosh those pictures just have me dying to get my brush and pipe cleaner to work on them! It's so rewarding to get all that stuff out of the machine. Those owners are cheating themselves out of feeling so virtuous!

[Nancy H.]

Goodness gracious. How can you not service your machine at least once a year. Margo, thanks for the link. I do service my machines once a year and they do last me longer and perform great. I, too, have broken needles while sewing and for the most part have found the pieces, sometimes not. I will definitely be looking a lot closer to find any pieces I missed. ops: ops:

[Nancy H.]

I keep an old paintbrush (artist's type, not the kind to paint your doors) beside my machine, and clean out the bobbin area and surrounding areas almost each time I change the bobbin. Service? Once a year.

[Nancy H.]

ops: ops: ops:
1/2" paint brush, tweezers, & thought about using a hoover - don't actually know where my nearest service engineer is.

[Rita C.]

If you are going to use the hoover put a pop-sock over the nozzle and tape it with some masking tape. That way if anything that shouldn't come out does it will be on the sock and not in your hoover bag. 8)

[Nancy R.]

If you are going to use the hoover put a pop-sock over the nozzle and tape it with some masking tape. That way if anything that shouldn't come out does it will be on the sock and not in your hoover bag. 8)

What a good idea! I never would have thought of that myself.

Nancy

[Nancy R.]

I had been thinking of using one of those dinky little hoovers they have for computers....

I went for an interview at a sewing factory once, and the policy for broken needles was they had a sheet of paper with a life sized needle printed on it, and until you could prove that all of the pieces of needle were accounted for you couldn't continue sewing.