Most of you probably sharpen your kitchen knives regularly and service your cars annually, but if you have a sewing machine do you maintain it regularly too?
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Feeling guilty?
Never serviced your machine or don’t know how?
Never fear, Repair Café is here.
We’re offering two free sewing machine maintenance demonstrations, including how to clean, oil and adjust tension, at 10.30am and 11.30am on Saturday, October 6 at the Sustainable Activity Centre.
The demonstrations will be conducted by Shelley Robotham on three different makes and models of machine, so you’ll learn useful tips no matter your machine.
The Repair Café has seen its fair share of malfunctioning sewing machines.
We don’t fix electrical appliances, but we’re usually happy to troubleshoot if a machine isn’t working for mechanical reasons.
Often these are hand-me-down machines, passed on by elderly relatives.
The majority of times it’s an easy fix, like thread wrapped around the bobbin or tensioning problems.
Even if your machine’s purring away happily, you may not be aware that just a few hours of sewing causes fuzz and lint to build up under the needle plate.
Sometimes pieces of thread can get lost under there too.
Something as simple as removing that lint and conducting other simple cleaning tasks regularly can prevent broken needles and mechanical problems.
Top tips for keeping your machine ship shape that come courtesy of seekatesew.com are to:
- Refer to your manual. Every sewing machine is different. Some of the new models don't recommend oiling at all. There may be a trick to getting the needle plate off and your manual will tell you.
- Use the right needle. Using a needle that is too small or big can put strain your machine unnecessarily, and a broken needle could cause serious trouble.
- Bobbin care - Make sure bobbins are wound and loaded correctly as a wonky bobbin can affect the tension of the machine.
- Keep it covered when not in use. Even an old pillowcase will do the job. Protect it from dust and so on while it is stored and avoid storing near extreme temperatures.
