On Saturday, I went to the Bear Patch " Sleep in your own bed" retreat. It's one day when I am not working, just sewing and playing like everyone else. Debbie and Laurel put on a wonderful event. We had food that was homemade, wonderful gifts, lots of laughing, chatting and the most sinful chocolate cake ever!!!
I learned a few things that I want to pass on. Some of you probably already know this, but I didn't.
How often do you change the needle on your machine? I think most of us wait until we break it. You're actually suppose to change your needle at least every 8 hours of sewing. (if using batiks, every 6 hrs). That's the rule of thumb but, the best plan is to change your needle every 8 hours or when you start a new project.
Needles are inexpensive, the average needle costs between .75 & .85 cents. When broken down like that, it really doesn't make sense not to change them often.
How often do you clean the lint out of your machine and oil the race hook? Once again, I don't take the bobbin case apart very often and I never think of oiling it. I will say that I do oil my Featherweight quite often, but my Bernina I never have. Someone told me it was self oiling so it was not necessary... I think they meant the actual machine not the race hook.
With the cost of repairs on machines these days, it seems foolish not to take the time to do this little bit of maintenance. It won't take you long and will keep your machine humming along properly.
So, at the beginning of each project, clean all the lint out of your machine, oil your race hook and change your needle. In the long run I think you'll be glad you did.
Thank you Laurel and Debbie for sharing these tips. I hope they will be helpful to some of my customers and friends as well.
2 comments:
Wow... I have a new machine... well I have had it for a year.. and I didnt think about that either. Thank you for the post.
Ditto. It never occurred to me to change the needle. Thank you for sharing.
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