November Quick Tip

Time for another Brother Sews Quick Tip!

Keep A Clean Machine Like many of you, I sew a lot, and sewing can be messy! Many fabrics tend to leave a lot of lint in both in “seen” and “unseen” places on your machine. In particular, I’m talking about the bobbin area known as the race, as well as the area under the plate where the feed dogs are located. Excessive lint in this area can cause improper feeding and leave residue on your lovely projects. Do you know the proper steps for routine cleaning in the bobbin area of your machine? Follow this guide and clean your machine regularly to enjoy many happy hours of sewing time.

• Before attempting, please turn off your machine. Remove the presser foot for better visibility. It’s a good idea to remove the needle too but I left it in place in these photos. See Figure #1.

[caption id="attachment_17546" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #1[/caption]

• Expose the free arm on the machine. Slide the bobbin case cover off and lift out the bobbin case. See Figure #2.

[caption id="attachment_17547" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #2[/caption]

• Next, loosen the screws and remove them from the throat plate. See Figure #3.

[caption id="attachment_17548" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #3[/caption]

• Store the screws temporarily for safe keeping. THE Dream Machine
  has a couple handy spots that are magnetic. I used one of those magnetic places to keep track of my screws. See Figure #4.

[caption id="attachment_17549" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #4[/caption]

• Use a small brush to remove lint from the bobbin area and all around the feed dogs. See Figure #5.

[caption id="attachment_17550" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #5[/caption]

• When everything is all clean, it’s time to put everything back in place. If you removed both the bobbin case and the throat plate, it’s important to put everything back in a special order. First, replace the needle plate. Next, place the bobbin case back in the machine making sure the projection on the bobbin case is aligned with the spring. The bobbin case should lay flat. In the photo below the yellow arrows show the projection and the spring. See Figure #6.

[caption id="attachment_17551" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #6[/caption]

• Some machines have additional markings for alignment. THE Dream Machine
  has a white arrow and a white dot that line up when the bobbin case is properly inserted. The red arrows show these two spots in the photo below. See Figure #7.

[caption id="attachment_17552" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #7[/caption]

• With the needle in the machine, gently rotate the handwheel to make sure the needle is not hitting, and you have everything properly in place. Slide the cover back on, replace the bobbin, thread up the machine and you’re good to go and ready to sew!

[caption id="attachment_17553" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Figure #8[/caption]