How often do you....change the needle on your machine?
....clean and oil your machine?
....change the blade on your rotary cutter?

I've just did all that and boy my machine is humming like a bee again. Just amazing how much lint is collected underneath the bobbin casing.

I clean my machine before i start a new sewing task. Same with the needle. I don't change my rotarty cutter blade unless it gets dull. A good running machine make any project a joy to do :!:

I clean my machine real often.(an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure)..I oil it when it starts to look a little dry around the bobbin case,and I change my blades when they start feeling like I am trying to saw with a butter knife...LOL!

I change my needle when it starts giving me fits. I clean my machine each time I change the bobbin. I don't have to oil my machine. And I change my rotary blade when it needs it.

My machine----I clean it and change the needle between each large project. It doesn't need to be oiled.

My rotary cutter blade----I can't remember when I put a new one in.....maybe once a year? Or more? yikes....

I oil my machine when I turn it on. Everytime I change the bobbin I clean the lint. Needle when it makes noise.

I change my needle with every new project, and sometimes during if the project is large. I clean the lint out whenever I see some building up, and as far as oiling, my machines are electronic so no oiling is necessary except maybe some oil on the brush when cleaning the bobbin area. My rotary cutter, just changed it yesterday. Didn't realize how nice it is to have a sharp one; it was skipping. I have a sharpener but only use it once on a blade, they don't stay sharp very long after that.

I learnt to do it daily whenever my machine is in use. After using it I will change the needle for a new one and brush out all the lint etc under the bobbin case. Since I started doing that 10 years ago, my machine has never needed a repair or a service. I think that speaks for itself.

It is now a habit and it was easily gained. Especially important if you use cheap needles and you can!

I try to clean and oil my machine after about 8 hours of sewing. I don't count the hours I sit and rip out :lol:

If I'm sewing all day I clean, oil, and change the needle at the end of the day or the beginning of the next. I change the needle when it sounds like I'm sewing through paper and I'm not. I change rotary blades when they quit cutting through.

I only attend to it when it acts up. But it acts up a lot, so it is not as if I am leaving it for ages.

I am better at cleaning lint than changing needles- if it is still sewing OK I don't like throwing it away- and even if it is not sewing OK I keep it unless it is broken- never know when you might need an old needle for sewing paper or something!

Not often enough to all of the above! I'm terrible about cahnging the needle unless I notice something sounds funny or I am having trouble. I do clean & oil pretty regularly. When I do change my rotary blades I am usually so irritated with myself for not doing it sooner!

I brush the lint out of the bobbin area when I put in a new bobbin, amazing how much stuff comes out with my little paint brush. The needle is changed to accomodate the fabric I am sewing on, and I oil my machine when it begins to sound like it's in labor.

I change my needle & clean the machine after each project. I don't oil it on a set schedule. I change my rotary blade when it starts skipping.

I change needles daily, if I use my machine all day. Most days I change. Cleaning the lint out, well I'm guilty of not keeping on top of that, but I do oil about once a week. Rotory cutter just when its starts to dull.

Same here with the machine. Hate a skipping rotary blade-if it skips, it goes.

I was told to change my needle every 8 hours of sewing use. I try to clean my machine whenever I see alot of fuzz building up. I generally oil it then too.

same here,although i probably clean the bobbin area more times than that... i put a drop on oil in her too, when i start a new project.

I inherited my moms "sewing stuff" and in it was a needle repair kit. It's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, about 6 inches long and 1 1/2 wide and each side is covered with a cloth like rough material that I'm guessing will take "burrs" off the needle or sharpens it when you sew through it (without thread, of course...don't ask how I know this! DUH!!) Never have seen one in a store, so I'm pretty sure it's older than dirt.

My blade is doing that right now and it wasn't too long ago I changed it. I'm wondering if it's the mat. I'm working on quilt nine as far as the cutting mat goes. Do they wear out and could this be the cause of skipping rotary blades??

My machine doesn't require oiling. I clean the bobbin area after each bobbin change. I change the needle after 8 hours of sewing. I tend to make big quilts, so generally I will change rotary blades with each project.

about every week. my machines are vintage so I like to baby them. I wipe them up and shine them, give them a drink of oil and so on. I used to not be this way though. I only changed a needle if it broke....now I go through needles like there is no tomorrow.

I try to clean my the bobbin area of my machine quite often. I use flannel a lot and it can really lint up the bobbin area. I am so bad about changing the needle though. :oops: Sometimes I do use it until it breaks. :oops: And probably equally bad with the rotary cutter. I don't change it until it gets hard to use. :oops:

probably not often enough....

Needle--when it gives me fits
Machine--before I start sewing each time both oil and clean
Rotary cutter--just recently bought one so don't know yet.

Lint in the bobbin area is cleaned at every bobbin change. That way it doesn't build up and make a problem.
Needles, ah well, sometimes I do forget to do that often enough, but usually you can tell when something is wrong.
rotary blades, as needed, when they do not cut properly, I change the blade. Also after I nick a pin (which usually happens 10 minutes AFTER I have just changed a blade) Sigh!

Glad you ask this. I swear I have never changed my needle. Machine is about 15 years old, but I didnt use it for about 8 or 10 years much. Guess I better do it. It never broke and you know the old saying,,,, If it aint broke don't try to fix it. LOL

I clean my maching when finishing a project or sooner if I am switching between projects. Needles are changed on a need basis. My old Kenmore was oiled on a maintance schedule(set by me LOL) My new Brother is a computer so it has to go to the shop. I guess its like everything else.... a little maintance goes a long way be it with your sewing, auto or anything else.

I change mine after I quilt a new project

Quilt police gonna getch ya.

Depends on which machine. My Bernina, which is my general use machine, gets the bobbin area brushed with each bobbin change and brushed and oiled after each project. Sometimes it gets confusing if I am working on simultaneous things. The needle gets changed after every 6 bobbins. My darling Featherweights, which get taken to retreats and sewing days, get a complete "D&C" (dusting and cleaning) after each day of marathon sewing.
My rotary cutter blades get changed when they starting nicking fabric or it feels like they require more pressure to use.

I change my needle with eash new project plus clean bobin area/ I was doing this last nite and I tried test sewing and it just kept agoing..I remember someone a day or two ago said their wheel kept going...You'll never guess what went wrong. I went and got my husband and He started shaking his head....I had caught the cord around my pedal and naturally it kept sewing

After 3 years, I finally cleaned out the bobbin case of my cheap but very well behaved Brother BC1000. The lint was so thickly packed that it quite literally couldn't work anymore. So I cleaned it out and changed the needle, and it works again.

One of these days, I'll have my husband oil it. I am well known for my 'heavy handedness', so while I can technically oil it myself, I would also wind up oiling the table and the floor.

You and I are very much alike with needles. But I finally did change the one that had been in use for 3 years...and it did seem to help. In any case, I got my money's worth out of that first needle!

I change my needle, clean/oil the machine with every new project I start. They go out to be serviced every year and so far they all run like a charm.

Mine oils itself so no prob there, I change the needle when it starts going pop pop pop,(sometimes during a project) but always before a new larger quilt. And I too clean the bobbin area whenever I put in a new one

That's about right.

Well having a Son who is a Bernina Tech it is like having a sewing policeman in the family , when he drops in to see Mum you can bet he will flick the bobbin case door open and look .......I have been caught out a few times , But I must admit I do change the needle every 8/10 hours of sewing .My new machine tell me when it needs oil ,and when to have it serviced , (which usually costs me a roast dinner ) I am very spoilt it is done on the spot.
My sewing machines are very precious to me so I look after them as if they were living things ....they can sooth my soul, cheer me up , make me loose my temper , and make feel very clever......now how many people do you know that can do that in the space of 30 minutes. Cathy

I meant a lady that buys a 100 needles at a time for
$44. from the store she bought her machine They order them for her. Much, much cheaper.

1]when it breaks!
2]never
3]don't use one