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» How To Oil Your Sewing Machine (Video) How To Oil Your Sewing Machine (Video) I love love love my old sewing machine! My mom gave it to me as a gift for graduation, and I seriously abused this poor thing. But it stayed strong and powered through, no matter what I sewed with it!
Alas, it’s time for me to finally move on and upgrade to a machine that’s not such a beast. So I’m giving this machine to a friend. But, I’ll admit, I didn’t oil it as much as I should have! (I’m disappointed that I didn’t inserted clips in this video of the machine running before and after I oiled it — you wouldn’t believe how noisy it was before! SERIOUSLY!) Do you know that oiling a sewing machine should be part of regular sewing machine maintenance? Watch how to do it here. Hey everyone, I want to talk to you about taking care of your machine; specifically, oiling your machine and how to do it.
Now, this is my very first sewing machine. My mom got it for me as a gift for my university graduation, and I love this machine. We have been through so much together. We have sewed so many things and we’ve been up a lot of nights working through a lot of projects. It’s an incredible machine; it’s an old Janome. It basically powers through everything; it’ll sew chiffon, it’ll sew denims.
You name it; layers, delicate things, intricate details, it does it all. But it’s just time for me to move on. I’ve got a new machine that I’ve been working with and I think that it’s time for me to pass this on. So, I have a friend who my machine is going to be going to. I definitely want to make sure it stays in a good home.
But, it squeaks like a maniac. So I want to make sure that when I pass on the machine to my friend that she’s not thinking, ‘What is going on with this machine?’ because it will last her another twenty years.
I told her that. So, I’m going to show you how to oil this machine – how to oil your machine at home – in order to keep it running smooth forever. Your machine will come with a few supplies suitable for oiling it.
You’ll probably have a couple of screwdrivers. And then you’ll have a little tiny tube of oil, like this. Plus a little lint brush. And then these are some tools I’d suggest adding to that: you might want to get a bigger thing of oil. Just make sure that it’s specifically for sewing machines. You don’t want to use just any oil, and you don’t want to use a 3 in 1.
Make sure you’re using sewing machine oil. And then I like to have on-hand a cheap little toothbrush. I find that’s great for getting lint out. Also Q-Tips; now, these kind of leave lint behind, but if you get the very inexpensive, like no-name Q-Tips, then they don’t have as much fluff and fuzz on them. And I just like them for getting in there and grabbing little bits. And then I like to keep a little tiny bit of fabric on-hand as well.
I’ll often use like a flannelette or a fleece or something that will grab fibers and not leave any threads or lint behind. This is just a jersey, but definitely look for something that will help to kind of grab – through static electricity – grab your lint out of there without leaving any fibres. So the first thing you want to do is kind of clean and dust your machine; get rid of any excess lint that you see around here. And then, basically, we’re putting oil in wherever you have metal on metal.
So I would suggest taking off your presser foot and your needle; just leave those over to the side. This needle mechanism, it goes up and down; there’s lots of action, lots of movement happening around there.
Just put a little tiny dab of oil in there, basically, anywhere that metal touches metal – if it gets a little bit messy, we’ll go around after and clean it up – where metal rubs on metal, metal goes up and down, you want to get in there. So, this is just right by the needle clamp. I’m just putting a dab of oil in there. You can use the screws to take this off – take the throat plate off, get in there and dust it around. And then in the front of my machine; I’ll take off this extension, flip this down.
I want to clean out in here and oil in the back mechanism here. So, I’m going to move these out of the way and pull out – first pull out your bobbin case and then pull out this whole hook mechanism. So I’m pulling this out, pulling this out.
Janome 659 Instruction Manual
And then another thing you may want to do it put a little bit of the machine oil on your fabric, and that way when you’re kind of wiping this and cleaning it off, you’re going to distribute a little bit of oil on there as well. So we’ll just get some in there.
Make sure you get some right, right, right at that hook portion and then we’ll just get in around the back too. So, I like doing this because it kind of cleans and distributes just a little tiny bit of oil all at the same time. Then I can put a little bit more just right in here where those are going to touch. Always wipe it off right around here, because you don’t want any excess oil coming up into your machine and on your fabric and on your garments. And then I’m going to use the same cloth that has a bit of oil and I’m going to go in the back here; just underneath and in and around all base mechanisms. Now, before you do this, just make sure you get rid of as much dust as possible. Whether you’re using sprayed air – I know some people love to use a canned air.
Janome 659 Instruction Manual
That’s not always necessarily the best just because you might get threads and lint jammed further into your machine, but I know some people love it. But even just a cloth without any extra fibres is great too. So I’ve smoothed in a little bit of oil back in this mechanism back here. And then just make sure you get it on all of our little pieces that are going to be rubbing in together.
And a little bit right at that back centre point, right at the back. Again, once I put in a couple drops, I’ll just take my cloth in there to smoosh it all around and absorb any excess. Once you’ve got that done, we’ll put everything back in its place. Just make sure everything’s going in properly. And you can always check your machine’s manual for specific instructions.
Look up the manufacturer online, because each company has a different recommendation. Bring these clamps down here to lock everything in place. I’ll just give my bobbin another quick wipe. Make sure that there’s no excess dust and I’ll get in there too. Then I’ll put my bobbin back in – sorry, the bobbin case. Give the bobbin case a good wipe.
Snap that back in, close that all up, and then we want to do the side of the machine. This can come off. So your machine – you might have access to this in a different way, but this is how I do this particular machine. Undo this screw right here and this whole side case comes off. So, turn this around to the front. Again, get in there, wipe everything down. You probably want to turn your machine off before-hand just so you don’t accidently sew something or hurt yourself or, you know, do anything else that could be damaging.
And then I’m just taking this cloth – it already has a little bit of oil on it – and I’m going to add a little bit more and then we’ll just kind of get in here, wipe it down. So, I’m kind of doing like a two in one; I’m getting rid of excess dust while putting some oil in there as well. And, basically, you just want to put little drops of oil anywhere that you see metal touching metal. So I’m going in a little bit closer and then just wipe away the excess, of course. And then this is kind of the top of where your needle is; that piece is always moving up and down, so that’s a good one to get also. And then once that’s done, you can close everything up.
I’ll put this piece back on, put the screw back in place, and then put the cap back on. I’ll slide this back. I’ll replace my presser foot and my needle and then I’m good to go. So there you have it. It’s not that difficult to oil your machine once you know what you’re doing and once you have the right tools. Now how often should you oil your machine?
Some people are really, really crazy about it and they’ll do it after every project or once a week, and that’s definitely okay, but I wouldn’t. You know, don’t drive yourself crazy. So I would suggest listening to your machine. See how it feels. See how it sounds. See if anything has changed.
Otherwise, you could do it preventively maybe once a year, once every few years. But with a workhorse like this, I barely did it. So it’s not something that you should go nuts over, I think, but it is a good idea to do it from time-to-time.
Now that the New Year is fading in our memory and resolutions might be slipping a little, we wish to. Dare you to take time to sew; embroider; serge; use your Digital cutter; experiment with your embroidery software and generally sew up a storm!. Dare you to your dream up projects to sew and embroider. Dare you to complete these projects! Before the holiday season, our Janome machines probably worked really hard to make hand-made gifts you know we like to do that and they are often the msot popular gifts we give! And we know what you were sewing as you told us when you entered our janomelife Christmas book give-away.
You were all very busy! So it is probably a good time to remind you: Did you thoroughly clean out your machine after its hard work? Some fabrics leave a little stain from dye which needs to be cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap before you forget! Remember also to remove the needle plate and the bobbin case to remove all lint and fluff which would have accumulated down there.
It is quite normal – just like dust collects in our homes! But it does need to be removed. Many of our newer machines now have the fabulous one step needle plate remover button to removing the needle plate without having to use a screw driver to remove the screws. SO much quicker and easier.
This button pops the plate up in an instant and when your cleaning is done, just click it back on. One step needle plate removal button Now.about oiling: you have the needle plate off and the bobbin case out. Take a look at the centre of the hook race – that is the metal cup area in which the bobbin case rests. Do you see the very centre is a little round part which looks like it might have lint stuck in it? See pic below.
DO NOT REMOVE THIS. It is not lint or fluff. It is the wick for oil. Put ONE drop of good quality sewing machine oil onto this wick. The oil should NOT shlosh around all over like in a swimming pool! Oh no, then you have put way too much oil and you will have to mop it up with a paper towel. Just watch after putting ONE drop: You may see one little bubble come to the surface of the wick as the oil soaks down into the wick.
If you repeat this important step often, 1 drop is all that will be needed. But if you are a bit lazy with this task, you may need to do 2 drops this time.
When one or 2 bubbles have popped up, you have enough oil. If no bubbles, then the wick was probably quite moist enough.
And the oil should not overflow the wick area. I like these brushes as they help me get out all that lint & fluff that collects in my sewing machines and sergers. Ask your local Janome dealer to order you oneof these.
It is a good idea to replenish your supply of bobbins after a busy time of sewing. You can use the bobbin winder to refill your bobbins with Janome bobbin thread – which is thinner so is receomemnded for embroidery projects. (No-one like the feel of a bullet proof vest when the embroidery is complete so do use appropriate threads).
This Janome bobbin thread is available from your local Janome dealer in large cones and smaller spools as well packets of prewound boobins: Janome bobbin thread is available at your local Janome dealer. Part #’s are as follows: 300m: # 200921781 (white) 800 meters: # 27-J-209-1 (Black) 1,600 meters: # 27-J-208 – 16C (white) 20,000m: # 770433004 (white) 120wt thread so very thin – great for embroidery asit is polyester and smooth and strong. # PWBOBBIN -W (white) or #PWBOBBIN-B (black) Did you know this? Each bobbin contains 80 yards = 74 meters. And the special machines that wind our pre-wounds do it much tighter than our sewing machines wind so more thread is contained on a pre-wound than on a self wound bobbin. Now you are all set to start sewing up a storm again? Well we hope so!
This post courtesy of Celine over at Vie Janome – translated into English and edited slightly. About lizafrica I am the National Education Manager for Janome & Elna Canada (including Artistic Creative products) and I LOVE to sew!
I have been employed full time in the sewing and quilting industry for almost 30 years so I bring a wealth of sewing knowledge & expertise to this blog. I enjoy all forms of sewing from quilting to sewing garments to machine embroidery and software. Pretty much everything in my life is seen through the eyes of a passionate sewer! I am constantly on the look out for fun, innovative and inspiring ideas to share with you all on this blog. I also love to read, knit, travel and spend time with my family and friends. Hi Audrey, Our Service Manager advises that it is NOT a good thing to over oil your machine as it can do more damage than good sometimes. Which is probably why there is not info on oiling in the manual?
We advise you to have your machine cleaned, serviced and lubricated regularly by an Authorized Janome Dealer who will take care of this for you. Of course, we know many people do not follow this recommendation. A drop of oil in the wick is okay as long as it is a drop from time to time but it is not advisable to get any oil on the bobbin case and hook surfaces. Hope that clarifies the matter. Hi Sandy, You sure can! You may use it for all of the above but the Janome pre-wounds are a 60wt thread in white and black so are pefect for your embroidery projects.
I do use for regular sewing and quilting sometimes but often prefer to use a slightly thicker thread in my bobbin for those projects – same thread as my needle? If you use Janome pre-wounds for embroidery, you may not need the yellow dot bobbin case for embroidery. The regular bobbin case with red mark may be fine. However, if you wind your own bobbin thread for embroidery, you will need to use the yellow dot bobbin case. Liz JANOME CANADA Like. Hi, Our Service Manager advises that it is NOT a good thing to over oil your machine as it can do more damage than good sometimes. Which is probably why there seems to be conflicting pieces of information about this.
We advise you to have your machine cleaned, serviced and lubricated regularly by an Authorized Janome Dealer who will take care of this for you. Of course, we know many people do not follow this recommendation. He did tell me: A drop of oil in the wick is okay as long as it is a drop from time to time but it is not advisable to get any oil on the bobbin case and hook surfaces. Hope that clarifies the matter. Liz JANOME CANADA Like.