There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of OCD
On Saturday I did two very important things:
Firstly I voted. New Zealand is holding it’s General Election and a Referendum on our Voting System so I went and had my say.
Secondly, I cleaned both my sewing machines…and my sewing room
Evidence of sewing
I quite like cleaning my sewing machines, there’s something so satisfying about seeing them, in all their whiteness, fluff free, freshly oiled and running silently ready for the next project.
Big satisfied sigh, all is right in my little world.
Naked Elna 2130
I am quite convinced that my lovingly obsessive cleaning and oiling is what has kept my Elna running just like the day I bought her, and she celebrates her 8th birthday this December (I just went and got the receipt, yes, I still have it!) without a single visit to Mr Expensive Repair Man.
Purple fluff EVERYWHERE!
The Bernina (who turns three next March, wow time flies) still has quite a way to go to prove her reliability as the Elna sits in the corner glowing with pride. I suspect, being much more complicated, that she will need a visit one day soon, but we shall see.
It’s fess up time: Do you make a habit to clean and oil your machine(s) regularly? Or do you wait until they start to clunk? Am I the only slightly obsessive seamstress out there? 
Posted on November 27, 2011, in Just for fun and tagged cleaning, Voting. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
I have a Pfaff which has a “self-oiling” system. I do clean the fluff every once in a while. I also have Janome overlock and the instructions say to oil it after every 10 continuous hours of use. Although, I’m not sure how many drops of oil would do… How do you oil it?
My manuals all suggest oiling after a certain number of hours too but I don’t know anyone who actually keeps a note of how many hours they’ve been sewing
There should be a diagram in your manual that shows you where to put the oil. I’ll try and describe where I oil based on the photo in this post: Look at the photo I have called “Purple fluff EVERYWHERE!” – Now look at the internal shot on the right, excuse my lack of technical terminology but see the shiny metal piece with a blue and red dot on it? Directly behind that is the shaft that moves up and down for the upper looper – if you turn the handle you’ll see it move. You can also see the pivot at the bottom (smaller, slightly darker circle) and the guide (big darker circle, half-way up the shaft) that it moves through. I put one drop of oil onto the pivot and one drop of oil above the guide – then I hand-turn it through a few revolutions to disperse it around. Does that make sense? I can upload another pic with arrow if you want.
Actually, I do know where to put the oil, I just didn’t know how many drops..
Thank you!!
Everytime when I use heavy or fuzzy fabrics, I clean and oil the machine ( I have a Pfaff, not much oil , but if you sew a lot, its better)
It’s helping closing another project, and starting” frech” to a new one.
I think the fluff really soaks up the oil doesn’t it? My machine always gets a bit clunky after a “fluffy” project – A clean machine definitely helps get me excited about the next fresh project
Clean – yes. Oil, not so much. I was told not to oil my sewing machine, so never have, and I oil the overlocker maybe once or twice a year. Maybe I will oil her today.
Ohh what sort of machine do you have? That’s really interesting, I think because my machine is a bit basic she needs extra attention