How Not to Oil A Machine

So it's that time again - time to oil my machine! If you sew yourself you know that it rolls around pretty quickly. Recently I've been having a little trouble with my machine but the cause is nothing that I can I think of whilst giving it the once over.

When this occurs I normally think 'hey, I'll oil it, see what happens' as I know I don't oil my machine often enough. Normally this sorts it out.

(The Singer website says that if you sew every day, oil once a week, if you sew once a week, oil every month. However I have a modern machine and most of them nowadays are 'self oiling' and I'm normally too busy sewing to remember I need to do it!)

I oil mine every two to three months. Quite a few of my clothing alterations I do by hand, especially if it's just a hem or a button that needs sewing on. Sometimes I think it needs oiling more often but considering how much and for how long I use my machine I think once every other month is just fine. 

So after oiling I felt pretty chuffed with myself, just like you do after oiling your machine (I really hope it's not just me who gets a ridiculously satisfying feeling!) whilst turning the hand wheel there was a satisfying noise, and I could even see the oil shining on the bits I'd lubricated - it was great!

Putting the machine back together again I was so excited to get sewing (currently I'm in the middle of a PJ top/short negligée which is made out of one of my sexy fabrics. I'm really keen as I've been dying to sew one for ages and the fabric is just right!) but when I got started I was met with a horrible grating noise coming from the bottom of the machine.

I couldn't understand why it sounded even worse than before.

After a frantic hour of taking the machine apart again and putting it back together, searching the manual and the Internet to find out what the problem was I read a little sentence on the bottom of a website that made me pause for a moment - 'make sure you're using the correct branded bobbins for your machine'. Who knew, eh? 

I really hope it's that as everything else seems to be in order. Unfortunately I'm having to wait until I get paid to buy some Janome bobbins. I think I've been using Singer bobbins for the whole of my sewing life and according to the web they're a lot flatter than the Janome ones. However I'm not out of the woods yet - this is when I buy new bobbins and they don't solve the problem! The twist is is that next week I'll be back with a new post on how I've broken my machine even further.

So, I hear you ask, how do you tell if your machine needs oiling? 

- One of the main things I find is that the machine struggles to take lots of layers or thick fabric, when previously it would sew it perfectly fine.

- It groans at you more. A lot more. You may think your machine's not threaded right or that it could be jammed but in fact it just needs some oil.

- When you sew it sounds horrendous. You may not realise how bad it sounds until after you oil it, but after you've been oiling it a while you start to identify when it needs it by the noise it makes.

- Sometimes (but not always. This could easily be something else too) loops appear on one side of your fabric, akin to that of bad thread tension. If you think about how a machine works and how the movement isn't as smooth without oil, you can understand how the thread tension could be affected by a badly running machine.

How to oil you machine:

- This one's pretty simple really. Remove the cover off of the top of the machine and the silver plate that sits just over the bobbin.

- Dust your machine off first with the little brush you were given with it. If you've lost it just use a dry paintbrush or makeup brush, this bit is really important as it stops the oil attaching itself to the dust which then makes a mess all over your machine. 

- Moving the hand wheel towards you, place one or two drops on the moving parts. Don't oil anything on the outside of the machine and don't put too much oil on, as this could get all over your hands and all over your precious fabric!

- Wipe off any big drips and put the covers back on. Rethread your machine and try sewing some scraps together with it. It should sound better and I know that mine makes less noise after oiling too.

- Make sure you refer to your users manual for your machine, especially if you haven't oiled it before. I know there are plenty online available to download if you don't have a paper copy.

I think that's it. Enjoy your renewed machine, but don't get too complacent with it as it'll need redoing sooner than you think! If you've had a similar problem to me or need help oiling your machine let me know on Facebook, or you can find me @tartantonaay on Twitter.

Have a good weekend!

Toni