Sorry to those of you who only read our blog for the pretty pictures of our creations, this is the blog equivalent of the safety warning at the start of a holiday flight – a bit of necessary admin before the relaxation can commence. Sewing machine maintenance isn’t the sexiest of topics but it is really important.
When truly inspired I can thrash my sewing machine, forgetting that every now and then it needs a little love too. All fabrics leave lint and fluff in the machinery of sewing machines. These collections of lint and fluff will cause your sewing machine to get sluggish. Sewing machine mechanisms are lubricated, allowing the belts, plates and leavers inside the machine to move freely. Over time these mechanisms can dry out. If you use your sewing machine a lot you’ll know when it’s not running at its best and/or making funny noises; a sure sign it needs a good clean.
The key to keeping your sewing machine stitching along healthily is oiling it and cleaning the fluff out periodically. Advice for cleaning sewing machines is universal and basic. There are a plethora of videos available on YouTubeand generic tutorials. I would recommend the first time you clean your machine that you look for a video about your specific machine model to help build your confidence with tools. Sewing machine oil is specific, don’t use domestic cooking oil to lubricate your machine. Compressed air features in a lot of tutorials and videos as a recommended to get fluff out of small spaces in your machine.
I personally keep a soft paintbrush near my machine and give the boobin holder a little dust off when I sit down to use my machine. I also have a reminder set on my phone to oil my machine once a month, which I ignore if I’ve not used it much. While cleaning and oiling your sewing machine won’t fix all issues but it will help keep your sewing machine running smoothly.
I promise to stick to more creative sharing in my next posts but having cleaned two sewing machines this weekend, it seemed timely to remind others of the importance of taking a few minutes to look after our beloved machines.