Give your machine some regular TLC!
Tomorrow is the 1st of the month so, if you are not a regular cleaner of your machine, mark on your diary on the 1st of each month to give it a mini spa day!
Your machine should have come with a screwdriver to remove the needle plate and a small brush for cleaning. The best tip I came across several years ago was to also use a pipe cleaner. The one in the picture started out white so you can see it's had some use! It is great because the lint gets stuck to it so it is easy to actually remove from the bobbin area rather than just move it around. Also because it bends it gets into all the nooks and crannies. Be sure to clean the bottom of the needle plate too because you can get lint build up there aswell.
One thing that is not in the picture is oil - my machine does not require oiling apart from at its service but be sure to know if you should oil yours, what oil to use, where it should go and how much. How much is really important because more is not always a good thing. Too much lubrication means it can get in the wrong places and worst of all work its way down onto your sewing!
Oiling and cleaning are so important. I even cleaned the inside (due to a screw falling in there). It wasn't hard and not as bad as I expected!
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