Today I will be showing you how to do some sewing machine maintenance on your front loading bobbin sewing machine. I have made a video showing you how to take apart the bobbin area and give your machine a good oil and clean.
Have a machine with a top loading bobbin? No problems! See the tutorial for a top loading bobbin machine here..
I’m hoping you will all have the confidence to do some sewing machine maintenance on your machine whether it has a front loading bobbin or a top loading bobbin.
Sewing Machine Maintenance – Oil and Clean Video for Front Loading Bobbin Sewing Machines
or watch it here on YouTube
Steps for cleaning and Maintaining You Sewing Machine (Front Loading Bobbin)
The following guide is a snapshot of what you will find in the video above
Before I started removing parts, I took out the thread and unplugged the power cord from the sewing machine.
Step 1: Remove the needle and foot (I remove the ankle part as well to give me more space to work in)
Step 2: Remove the needle plate by loosening the screw/s. keep the screws with the needle plate as you do not want to lose these.
Step 3: Use a soft bristled brush to brush out all the lint and fluff front around the feed dog area.
Step 4: Open up the bobbin cover and remove the bobbin case if you haven’t already done so. 
Step 5: Undo the ‘black finger’ looking clips (you may also just have a button in your machine) to release the hook ring and the hook. It helps to have your machine on a slight lean here to stop the parts from just falling out of the machine.
Step 6: Completely remove the ring and the hook from the sewing machine. Give these parts a quick brush once you have removed them.
Step 7: Brush out the hook race area with your soft bristled brush to remove that lint and fluff build up.
Step 8: Oil the centre of the hook race with sewing machine oil, if machine needs it. Double check with your manual.
Step 9: replace the parts that you just took out. ensure the ring is the right way around. If you want to see someone putting the ring in back to front, then just watch the video! *facepalm* I do turn it around once I realise. I was a bit too focussed on making sure the notch at the bottom of the ring lined up with the groove.
You can replace the needle plate, foot and needle here and be done with it or you can remove your face plate and oil one more part, if you want to give it a go.
If your machine has a screw holding the face plate on (this covers the mechanism that makes the needle go up and down) then you need to unscrew that first. Some machines may just have a hinged face plate, like mine machine does.
You can apply some oil to the pin mechanism that moves up and down when you turn the hand wheel. You can also brush out any lint while you are here as well.
replace al the bits and bobs you removed from the machine and you are done. You may want to give your machine a quick once over with a dry cloth, but that’s about it. Yay!
The thought of taking your sewing machine apart can be scary, but once you know how to do it, it’s not all that scary after all.
If you’re still having trouble getting your head around your sewing machine maintenance then think of your sewing machine like you would think about your car. You tend to check your car frequently to see how the tyre pressure, oil, water, etc are going between professional services, right? It’s the same with your sewing machine. Cleaning out your bobbin area and feed dogs and oiling (if needed) is your maintenance you do in between your big sewing machine services. These big services should be done by your local sewing machine technician or specialist once a year or so. If you look after your sewing machine, it will look after you. 
If you’re interested in how to do some sewing machine maintenance for your machines timing and tension then you can also check out these Man Sewing Video tutorials. His photo on the videos are hilarious so even just check that out for a laugh!
Happy cleaning and maintaining!
Domenica
