The bobbin case and the bobbin area is the most important area to keep clean on your sewing machine. The space around the bobbin is limited, and just a small amount of dust can have a huge impact on the performance of your sewing machine.
Always read the instruction manual to find out how you specifically clean and maintain the bobbin case of your sewing machine. Always turn off and unplug the sewing machine to keep you and your sewing machine safe while cleaning. You can find the instruction manual for your sewing machine at the bottom of this page.
We cover these steps in this article:
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Step one: Remove the presser foot and the needle
Remove the presser foot and the needle to give you more room and to avoid damages. some sewing machines even require you to remove it. The needle is usually kept in place with a screw or a holder. This is usually easy to access on the shank of the needle holder. Always use two hands, one for unscrewing and another one to hold the needle. It can be a great idea to remove the thread before removing the needle. The presser foot can in many cases just be pulled directly off, but some sewing machines have a leaver or a button that realizes the presser foot.
Step Two: How to Lower the feed dogs.
To remove the pressure plate it is in most cases necessary to lower the feed dogs. This is usually done on a leaver close to the feed dogs. Usually in front or the back of the sewing machine. On some sewing machines, you have to remove the accessories box to access it.
Step Three: How to remove the bobbin cover and the pressure plate
Open and remove the bobbin cover and the pressure plate. How you remove the pressure plate varies from sewing machine to sewing machine. Some pressure plates can be removed with a switch, others are kept in place by screws. It is always a good idea to read the manual for your sewing machine before you start dismounting the bobbin area. In this tutorial, we are cleaning a Husqvarna Opal 650 Viking. we simply slid the bobbin cover away and use the screwdriver to whip up the pressure plate. We did also remove the bobbin.
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Step Four: Remove the bobbin house and clean it
When you have access to the bobbin house, try to remove it. On the most popular sewing machine, the
bobbin house is removable. Clean the area using a brush and a vacuum cleaner. It is not recommended that you use water while cleaning this area. Microfibre cloth is not recommended eighter as it can leave traces of fabric or get tangled into and bend sharp edges in this area of the sewing machine.
You might have gotten a brush included with your sewing machine. Some sewing machine requires oil under the bobbin house. If yours does, give it a few drops before you start reassembling the machine.
It is also recommended that you clean all the parts you just have removed.
How to Reassemble the parts and test sew
Put the parts back together in the opposite order to how you removed them. Be careful and dont put to much pressure on any parts while installing them. When something is installed correctly you should be able to feel and hear it. if you are unsure about how to install the bobbin house look for marking on the bobbin house and the sewing machine and line them up. When you are installing the pressure plate it is recommended that you turn it over and study the fastening points. These points are usually weak and shouldn't be given to much pressure while you install them. Take your time and find the points in the sewing machine it should be installed and look for the installment points. If any points are pointing at an angle, it means that the pressure plate requires some sort of sliding when installing it.
When the sewing machine is reassembled, it is recommended that you test sew it straight away. It's much easier to solve any problems now when you remember the installment process.
Keep in mind that it is common to do a needle replacement every time you clean the sewing machine.
Cleaning the sewing machine regularly is crucial for the health of the sewing machine and for the warranty. Make it a regular cleaning routine. You can read about how often it's recommended in this post. If you are looking for the instruction manual for your sewing machine, you can find it here.
Below you can see a video tutorial on how we cleaned our sewing machine
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