Are you new to sewing or haven’t cleaned your sewing machine in a while? Like other appliances/electronic devices in your home, it’s important to maintain and clean on a regular basis, so you can keep your sewing machine running smoothly for longer.

How Often Should I Clean my Sewing Machine

How often you clean your sewing machine depends on how often you use it. Typically, you want to clean your sewing machine once a quarter, unless you are using fabrics that are very fluffy and leave behind excess fabric pieces afterwards.

• Tip: Remove your bobbin and check if lint has accumulated. That is a good indicator that it is time to do some general cleanup and maintenance.

Steps for for Cleaning Your Sewing Machine

It’s never fun to hear squeaking or see build-up on your sewing machine. Keeping a clean sewing machine will help your projects run smoothly and will keep your sewing machine operating for longer.

Tools you need to clean your sewing machine:

• Instruction manual (if you lost yours, I’d recommend looking for a PDF version online)
• Lint brush
• A soft cloth
• Screw driver
• Sewing machine oil
• Spare fabric

Step 1
Read through your instruction manual for detailed tips to cleaning your machine.

Step 2
Unplug your machine and remove your throat plate with a screw driver.

Step 3
Once the plate has been removed, used the lint brush to remove all of the dust and lint from the machine.

Step 4
If you have a bobbin case, you’ll want to remove it according to your instruction manual and clean it with your brush. Once you’re done, put the bobbin case and throat plate back onto your machine.

Step 5
Now that your sewing machine is free of dust and lint, it’s time to oil your machine. It’s best to use sewing machine oil, as it’s specifically formulated for use on sewing machines. Most machines will come with this oil, but if you’ve run out or lost it, you can pick up more online or in your local fabric/sewing store. The oil should be applied to any of the moving parts on your machine. (i.e. The hand wheel)

Step 6
Use your cloth to remove any excess oil from your machine. Once this is done, your machine should be ready for your next project! Yay!

Step 7
Before you begin your next sewing project, I recommend running a spare piece of fabric through your machine to pick up any leftover oil. That way, if any is left on the machine, it will transfer to your scrap fabric and not onto your next project.

I never used to think about cleaning my sewing machine, and it seemed like a daunting task that would take a lot of time. Now that I know how to clean it, I do it on a regular basis. This helps my machine run smoothly and last for many more projects to come!

Do you have any additional tips and tricks for cleaning out your sewing machine? If so, let me know in the comments.