Looking after a sewing machine

Ten minutes, roughly every eight hours of sewing:

1. 1

   Step 1: Unplug it

   Before anything else, and particularly before going near the needle area or removing plates.

   You will know it worked when: The one step nobody should skip.

2. 2

   Step 2: Remove the needle plate and bobbin case and brush out the lint

   A stiff brush, not a vacuum held against the mechanism and not canned air — both drive lint further in. The felted mat that builds up under the feed dogs is the single commonest cause of erratic stitching.

   You will know it worked when: The main cause of bad stitching, removed.

3. 3

   Step 3: Change the needle

   Far more often than feels reasonable — every project, or every eight hours of sewing. Needles blunt invisibly, and a blunt one causes skipped stitches, snagged fabric and a thumping noise people mistake for a serious fault. Match the type to the fabric.

   You will know it worked when: A large fraction of faults prevented for pennies.

4. 4

   Step 4: Oil it, if it takes oil

   Check the manual, because many modern machines are sealed and adding oil does harm. Where oiling is specified, use sewing machine oil only, one drop at each marked point, and run the machine on scrap afterwards to carry away excess.

   You will know it worked when: Smooth running, and no oil on the next garment.

5. 5

   Step 5: Rethread both threads from scratch

   Presser foot up, so the tension discs open. Rethreading fixes a surprising number of tension complaints, and threading with the foot down is why the same complaint returns.

   You will know it worked when: The tension fault most people misdiagnose.

Timing, tension unit disassembly, motor and electronics, and anything on a computerised machine beyond cleaning and needles are all shop work. The signals that you have reached that line: a persistent grinding or knocking after cleaning, the needle striking the plate or hook, stitches that remain wrong after a needle change and a full rethread with new thread, or any burning smell. Nothing on this page addresses any of those.

Between services, keep it covered. Dust is what a machine sitting under a window collects, and it goes into exactly the places the brush cannot reach.