Never Underestimate The Problem
In March I did a post about what happened to my sewing machine. It was the first time wen I took the case off to oil the parts. That was my initial plan but soon this turned into an hour of cleaning. That was when I learned I need to clean my sewing machine regularly, if I want to use it for a long time.
Then I learned that if something goes wrong with the thread, if the tread breaks and is caught inside, you need to act, you need to take off the cover and see what happened.
It's been four months since than and nothing bad has happened. I need to mention that I'm cleaning the sewing machine at the beginning of every month and believe me, that is necessary. I'm working with denim almost exclusively and the amount of fluff that is gathering when the bobbin compartment is placed, is shocking.
Today the thread broke again and I knew right away that I need to repeat the procedure right away. I took off the case and this is what I saw. As you can see, there's not much tread caught there, so I said this is going to be easy. I just take those few pieces and after that I'm good to go.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. First of all I could not take out any of those thread pieces, no matter how I tried. Those metal pieces are not loose, you can't just pull the thread out. That's why I started rotating the balance wheel backwards to see if I can make some progress. And I did.
I must admit, my arm and hand was already hurting from that much rotating but slowly it became obvious that rotating the balance wheel backwards is the only way I can take out that caught thread. It took me some time though.
Once piece of thread of almost 80cm! That is what I had to take out of there. Now go back to the first photo and see how much was out. Not more than 1cm. Imagine the rest, filling out the space between two pieces. This should never happen as this is how you can destroy your sewing machine. If you use the machine like that you risk damaging these pieces. Once these are worn out, you can kiss your machine good bye. Maybe you can replace the pieces if yours is a recent model, that's the happy solution but if you have an older sewing machine and can't get the necessary pieces, you can buy another one.
So be a good seamstress and clean your sewing machine regularly 🙂
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Please feel free to check out my Etsy store.
Check out my other sewing posts:
- Two New Products And My First Sale
- The Bag I'm Not Proud Of
- How To Save €35
- DIY - Denim Coasters
- Handmade Sewing Machine Mats
- DIY - How To Use Every Single Piece Of Jeans - Denim Upcycled Sewing Machine Mat/Organizer
- Bold, Crazy Or Both? I Need Some Feedback Here
- My Etsy Shop And A New Bag
- Change It On The Go - How To Find The Right Solution
- My First White Denim Tote Bag With Pink Lining And Levi Strauss & Co.
- Changing Style - Another Bag, Different Style
- New Supplies For My Hobby And A New Bag - #MarketFriday
- Sewing Machine Cover And A Question
- DIY - How To Use Every Piece Of A Pair Of Jeans And Shirt - Part 2.
- DIY - Upcycled Denim Bag With A Funny Lining, Plus Damage Control
- DIY - How To Use Every Piece Of A Pair Of Jeans
- Upcycled Denim Sewing Machine Organizer Made Of Leftover Denim Pieces
- Golden Heart Pocket Upcycled Denim Bag
- Classy Golden Stitch Upcycled Denim Bag
- Fake Pockets Upcycled Denim Bag And Some Treasures
- Upcycled Denim Tote Bag
- #Upcycled Initiative And A New Upcycled Denim Bag Made Of Bits And Pieces
- Two Toned Upcycled Denim Bag
- Handmade Mask - Experience and Necessity
- Upcycled Denim Zipper Bag
- Upcycled Double Pocket Tote Bag, My 3rd One
- Upcycled Double Pocket Denim Bag
- My First Bag
That's the truth! To do most things like this, especially with equipment, it needs to be cleaned regularly. I'm glad you have the knowledge and willingness to take it apart, find the issue and fix it!
Not much knowledge needed here, just a screwdriver :)
Even so, lots of people wouldn't bother trying that! At least in America, they would just think its broken and throw it out. A real shame!
It is a real shame indeed, I could never do that. I'm buying used jeans at the second hand shop for my bags, to stop waste, I'm recycling basically. So I can't throw away a sewing machine of $300 and get a new one, just like that. I can't understand those people either.
Great thought. Your philosophy and mine are alike. I also approach a problem, no matter how small, very seriously
That's the only way for me.
My grandmother used one of those things almost everyday and it lasted a lifetime. I guess she was aware of all of that and maintained it really well, eh? I never saw her cleaning up her machine, though... but then again, I wasn't paying much attention. 😆
Those were different times. My grandmother had one too but that wasn't electrical and I know for sure she was cleaning and oiling it all the time. So I bet your grandmother did that too, but like you said, you were busy chasing girls (most likely) 😜
Thanks for the tips @erikah! I have an old machine two weeks ago and still haven't cleaned it. I'm going to check that :)
Please do as it can save you from a lot of trouble 😉