How to Clean Your Sewing Machine

I have been asked a few times about what model and which brand of sewing machine I use for my sewing, free motion embroidery and upcycling projects.  Many of you have asked whether I have gone and purchased an embroidery sewing machine. Well, the answer is a big NO, and my reasoning is as follows:

a) embroidery sewing machines are expensive, and if you are on a tight budget (like me), then no, you don't need one. In Singapore, the price can be more than $800 for a basic embroidery sewing machine. However, if you are looking at fancy preset embroidery patterns then perhaps these are for you.
b) some embroidery sewing machines have electronic components that are expensive to replace.
c) you can do free motion embroidery on any basic sewing machine that allows you to lower the dog teeth or at least has a cover to stop it from pulling your fabric back.

Here is my sewing machine, a SINGER that I purchased over 10 years ago. My issue now is that I have to toggle between the different tension settings when I want to sew normally and when I want to do some free motion.

Regardless of what type of sewing machine you have, it's important to clean it out after every project, or even after an hour or so of sewing. The action of moving the fabric backwards and forwards on the plate creates an immense amount of lint that can clog up the bobbin case. A clogged up case means a jammed machine.

There are several things to take note when you are cleaning your sewing machine:

1. Do not blow into your machine. It is really tempting to purse your lips and give it a good puff but trust me, you will be pushing all the lint back into the machine. Don't do it!
2. Use a vacuum cleaner - if you find it a hassle to take it out of the store room just to clean out your sewing machine, you can purchase a handheld one. What I do is I vacuum the sewing machine every time I use the vacuum cleaner for cleaning the house.
3. Use the brush that comes with the sewing machine to brush away the lint.
4. Open up the bobbin case and the plate to get to all areas that the lint could possibly be hiding in.
5. Be patient too. Spend as much time as you can to get all that lint out!

Is your sewing machine jammed? You might like this post.