July 2026 – Sewing Machine Upkeep

Sewing machines and sergers are our workhorses. The machines that make us happy. Today, we learned how to make our machines happy. Russ B., a sewing machine repairman, spent the morning with us showing how to clean and oil our machines to keep them in tip top shape. It is ok to take the bottom off and wipe out the fuzz collected there. Any metal joints that move need a drop of oil. Gears need grease. And never use canned air to blow fuzz away; it just blows it deeper into the machine and impedes movement.

I learned to sew on an old straight stitch Singer machine. It needed to be oiled and greased regularly, which my mom taught me to do. Seeing Russ showing the inner workings of the 3 machines he brought took me back to my mom’s dining room table and the smell of the inside of my machine. To me, it is an unique smell that makes me smile. With my serger, I was taught to cut the threads at the spools and pull it out through the needles. To never pull it backwards. The why was not shared, and I never asked. I just did. For years. Russ told us to do this with our regular machines. Pulling the thread out backwards leaves a lot of fuzz in the tension disks and wears on the workings of the machine. We are to cut the thread at the spool, and pull through the needle. Just like the serger. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, as the saying goes. A new behavior to make a habit.

Our meeting started with a buzz as members were visiting with each other and ended with Sew and Share as always. Enjoy photos of some of their creations.