If you ask a quilter what their most important quilting tool is, I’m willing to bet they will say “my sewing machine!”. For that reason, it’s a good idea to keep in in the best shape possible so you can keep on quilting. So this week, I will share my tips on keeping your machine humming along and some other related tips So let’s get started!

Sweeping out these areas each time you replace a bobbin will keep excess lint from accumulating and getting pushed deeper into the machine. Use the brush that came with your machine or a small make-up brush.

This is also a good time to oil the areas of your machine recommended by the manufacturer. It’s a good idea to read the manual that came with your machine to find out exactly what they recommend when it comes to oiling. If you don’t have a manual, chat with the maintenance person at the quilt shop that maintains your machine. They should be able to instruct you. Take notes!

Above are tools that came with my machine when I bought it. If you want a brush and oil tool that is specific to your machine, go to the quilt store where you bought your machine or to one that sells your brand to get them.

Additional Basic tips:

• Treat your Machine Right: During the sewing and quilting process, treat your machine right by keeping the needles fresh so they don’t break. Sometimes a broken needle can fall through the throat plate and imbed itself inside the machine… then it’s time for a visit to the repair shop.
• You can also avoid broken needles by not sewing over pins, even if they are very lightweight pins. I did this once and the timing of my machine was thrown off. Then I needed, you guessed it, a visit to the repair shop.

Tension Tips:

The wrong tension in either your bobbin or you top thread can cause all kinds of things to go wrong when you are piecing. Here’s a few tips.

Tip #1: Before starting a project. Grab a few scrap pieces of fabric and sew a seam. If the fabric is looping up on the underside, the top thread tension is too loose. If you see the bobbin thread on the top piece of fabric or your thread breaks, your top tension is most likely too tight. Adjust the tension and keep sewing test seams until you are satisfied with the results. Be sure to use the same weight of thread and the same type of fabric for your testing as you will be using for your project.

Tip #2: When unthreading your machine, do not snip and pull the thread out from the top.

This is something I did not know until I researched it a bit. The thread runs through your machine going down towards the needle, so pulling it out from the top through the tension disc (below, left photo) can throw off the tension. Instead, snip the thread up top and then pull the thread down and out from the needle area (below, right photo). This keeps the thread going in the direction it’s meant to and should not effect tension.

Machine Needles & Tips:

These needles have a shank, which is the fatter area on the needle, that hand sewing needles do not have. The shank is the part clamped by the sewing machine’s needle holder. It tapers down to an eye at the end. Another big difference from a hand needle is this needle has a groove that “hugs” the thread as the needle passes into the fabric you are stitching.

Machine needles come in different sizes for different weights of fabric. You’ll see a number like this on the package: 80/12. The numbers represent European (larger number) and American sizing. Needles with lower numbers (9-12) are for lighter and medium weight fabrics and needles with higher numbers (14-18) are for heavier weight fabrics. Needles for standard stitching have a slightly rounded end and are considered universal. There are also quilting needles for machine quilting that have a delicate, slightly sharper point than the universal to go through the three layers of a quilt sandwich.

Sewing Machine Needle Tips:

Tip #1: A good rule of thumb is to change the needle after you finish piecing a large project or a few smaller projects like table runners. If you sew with a needle that should be changed, you can cause damage to your fabric. A dull or damaged needle can snag fabric, make a hole, and also break your thread. If you hear a “punching” sound or see snags as you stitch, it’s definitely time to change the needed.

Tip #2: If you have not used up the needle but need to change it to do something else, put the partially used needle back in the case with the flat part of the shaft facing up so you remember that you used it.

Tip#3: Avoid Thread Jams

Now it’s time to sew but to  make sure every thing runs smoothly before you start piecing, I like to start with what I call a leader/ender piece when I begin stitching. If there are tension problems or the thread jumbles up for any reason, it will happen on this piece, not your good fabric pieces.

This is also a thread saver, since I am not pulling my finished piece away from the machine to snip it. I just run this leader/ender piece through at the end of my stitching and snip my sewn unit off after it’s out from under the foot. 

Random Machine Tips

Tip #1: Make sure your presser foot is down before stitching. This seems like an elementary tip, but if you’re in a hurry you may forget to lower it. If you start sewing with it up, threads can tangle up, not only on top but in the bobbin area, causing damage to your machine. Luckily some newer machine models will not allow you to start sewing unless it senses the presser foot is down.

Tip #2: Before replacing a needle, cover the needle hole in the throat plate so the needle you are taking out doesn’t accidently fall into the machine. Place a scrap piece of fabric on the throat plate to cover it while you work.

So that’s it for this week. This finishes up my “essential tools” care and maintenance tips. If you can think of any others, let me know in the comments.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne