I decided to give my sewing machine a bit of cleaning, so got out the owner's manual to see what to do. I removed the bobbin cover like it said and much to my surprise, this is what I saw:

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/E-G-L/Bobbin1.jpg[/IMG]

There's a LOT of junk in there! And this machine is only 3 months old. Granted, I have made 6 quilts on it during that time, but I was really surprised by how much junk has accumulated in it already during this short time. Time to get the shop vac out now.

I clean mine once a week when I'm piecing and before and after any quilting. They fill up fast!

LOL - that reminds me of when I was a new sewer and I kept getting "birdsnests" on the bottom of the fabric - my friend/quilt teacher suggested I clean the bobbin casing area - I took out the bobbin and thre was about 1/8 in. worth of sewing dust under the bobbin! cleaned it out and everything immediately worked!

great suggestion/picture!

Yup, you got the fuzzy thing going on there. :shock:

Much to my delight I am not the only one with a fuzzy bobbin area. :lol:

Using fleece as a soft touch to placemats adds quickly to my fuzzy bobbin area. :shock: :roll:

Deara

Sometimes I get so involved in quilting I forget to clean. Once I had so much lint under the cover that it pushed it up. Never again.

That must have been scary! :shock:

I bought an attachment for my vacuum cleaner with a brush head, and angeled head and a flat head to clean my bobbin area. Of course I don't use it often enough!! I got it out of a Bethlehem HomeSew catelogue

I'm surprised it didn't cause you any problems - some machines are real tempermental about build-up.

I scoot the cleaning brush around about every second or third bobbin change.

My machine is that way. I have to clean it about every second or third bobbin. Sometime I have to clean after one bobbin depending on the thread.

I clean mine after every project,just depend on the size.And not to hjack your thread but how often to you oil your machine and change needles. My repair guy says oil to machines is like people/water,and we all know how we work when dehydrated. And I change needles after every large quilt project( I don't throw them away,I use them them for a spare. What do you all do?

I have Babylock machines and you don't oil them, you can void your waranty if you do. As for needles I throw mine away after using, I feel that once I've changed a needle its "goodness" is gone. I really don't see a need to keep a used needle unless you changed it out to change to another size and it's still got its "goodness". If a well used needle can be recycled for something else, I would like to know. I'm all for recycling. :lol: :wink:

Wow, Eddie, that is a whole lot of junk in there - your machine is FULL of dust bunnies. I think you are going to have to do some housekeeping a bit more often than every three months! LOL. And while you are at it, have you checked inside the bobbin case too? I have a little spring inside mine, and dust collects there just as much as anywhere else.

I clean mine every time I put in a new bobbin. It doesn't take that much time to clean.

Sybil

Okie, used sewing machine needles can be used to hang pictures. It leaves a smaller hole than a nail and is just as strong or stronger.

Judy

I cleaned out the lint around the bobbin case and didn't realize how much builds up in areas where you can't see it. So I was surprised to see the "matress pad" under the throat plate.

Now the plate comes off regularly as well; but if you don't know.....

(When I first started sewing, I did not realize that I was supposed to change the needle. I thought the clunking noise and the big holes were normal. :oops: :lol: )

Yeah, after I look that picture I lifted the bobbin case out and there was a lot of fine lint under it as well. The shop vac sucked it all out, and then a few blasts of compressed air took care of the rest. Looks great now!

Yikes!! And I thought mine was bad..........

Thanks for the reminder!!! :D :D :D I try to clean mine often, but do forget!!! :oops:

I will look for an attatchment for my vacuum, mine has lots of nooks and crannys!!

Awesome tip on using the needles for nails!!! I think I will file them a little blunter first, just in case one hits the ground :roll:

After the shop vac, I finish the cleaning with bent cotton swabs in the hard to reach areas. Amazing how much lint is still sticking in the crevices. :!:

That's scary. I need to go and clean mine out too. It may take a while. Thanks for the reminder.

Definitely fills up fast. I take my plate off, usually because I've messed something up, but it gives me a chance to clean that area out! I've found that a LIGHT spray of canned air helps me.

Far out!

*rushes off to check machine, armed with vacuum cleaner*

WOW! I clean mine every time I use it! I oil the bobbin case too after about every 4 or 5 bobbins I use too. My tech said I keep my machine very clean.

I also use the vac attachment for sewing machines.

I clean my bobbin area every few hours of quilting. I know the best way to keep my macine running for a long time is good maintenance. I am always surprised at how much accumulates in just that little bit of time, and how much quieter it is after each cleaning.
OHSue

I have cleaned mine out to find enough lint to knit a small sweater, I clean it pretty often but every so often it still coughs up a hairball or two, I clean it fairly often, maybe not as much as some of you do but on a fairly regular basis,

Don't forget to check between your feed dogs as well, sometimes it can build up there as well and they won't work quiet as well.

My new machine is a front loading one, I use the extended table all the time unless I am doing something that has to wrap around to sew it, I leave the door open, that way some if it escapes all on it's own and I can see when it is building up.

Watch using the canned air, it is cold and you can freeze things with it if you over spray.

I clean mine a couple of times a week, something I was taught as a child when I first started sewing.

A friend of mine came over to sew and she said that her machine was not running as nicely as it normally does... I asked her when was the last time she cleaned it... well, never she said... so I pulled out my vacuum attachments and handed them to her. She was about floored when she opened up her machine. It was solid! I think she has added cleaning and oiling to her routine now lol. It was way worse than yours to say the least... but yeah, doesn't take much to get a ton of lint in there!!

I clean mine once a week, whether it needs it or not.
Easy way to clean out between everything in there if you don't want to use your vacuum. (I won't use mine because I'm afraid it might suck up something it's not supposed to)
Anyway...if you get a Q-tip, put a little dab of oil on it and GENTLY put it down inside the bobbin area, give it a little twist, it'll grab the dust in there.
I also won't use canned air because sometimes "wetness" will come out. The man that I take/took my machines to for cleaning says to NOT use canned air for that same reason.....

Wow Eddie...guess your machine is thanking you now for all the cleaning you did! You might want to pet it nicely for awhile and hope it forgives you for letting it get soooo dirty!! :wink:

I read to not use canned air. I was reading tips from a shop and he said that he can always tell when someone uses air because it blows the lint deeper into the machine where it does more damage and you can't clean it out.

I use my old needles to hang things like quilts on the walls. They are strong for thir size. As for my bobbin case I clean evey second bobbin or I have trouble with my thread.

I clean mine often after having trouble once a long time ago. Who knew? It really helps it work sew much better! Never thought to take a picture of it, but then there are some thngs I don't want to share! :?

I totally agree with Pam ! Never use canned air on your sewing machine . Can blow that dust and lint into the workings of your machine and totally mess it up ! I use my vacuum , very carefully . For lint I can see I use tweezers . I'm not too sure about using a q-tip either . Seems like that might push lint farther down in the machine . A clean machine is a happy machine :lol: Annie

I use my "used needles" in my bulletin board. Using better quality thread causes less fuzz in the bobbin area. I do clean mine often and oil periodically. Good thread and new needles are cheaper in the long run than machine repairs or even professional cleaning. I learned this from the sewing machine repair man a few years back.

Wow, Eddie, looks like tiny mice moved into your sewing machine. I clean the "dust bunnies" from my machine once a week. So use the little brush to reach back into the machine behind the bobbin area to get to the lint. Also the bobbin case itself needs brushing out. With my old 830 Bernina I also clean above where the top tread tracking area is. Just like a car you need to check the oil and air filters and maybe kick the tires, LOL.

I clean my bobbin area each time I change the bobbin. I use a sable artist brush and canned air. Works great.

I was going to say the same thing Pam, I had my Bernina serviced last week and the engineer said definitely DO NOT use cans of air, it blows any loose debris up into the 'works', and if that is the case, then sometimes the whole machine has to be stripped down for cleaning.

Quite a few years ago I watched a woman on T.V making wall hanging "ART" pictures out of dryer lint... They were quite stunning... I was amazed at all the colors she had. Think we stumbled onto something here with using thread fuzz bunnies.... ???? a big lol !!!

its been awhile since I've done mine but this post inspired me.....it was full! I also got my threadcutter that had quit working to cut again!

I give mine lite swipe with the brush very time I put in a new bobbin and then take it all apart less often. My machine likes to be clean, it acts up otherwise.