How To Care For Your Sewing Tools Properly?

A sewing machine is an important appliance for a fabric artist. This machine has great use in many ways. A sewing machine is an investment of a long time. Even if you use it every day or once in a while, you should be taking good care of it. Checking for maintenance and repair issues to make sure it is useable for next time. The same goes for sewing tools.

Sewing tools are important as sewing machines. You may not be able to sew without those tools. If are a regular user of sewing machines like me and passionate, you know that better tools and equipment are hard to find and expensive. So, would you like to know, how to care for your sewing tools? In this article, you will gain knowledge about the importance of caring for your sewing tools, easy tips to care and necessary maintenance.

Key Takeaways

  • Importance of sewing tools and why they should be taken care of.
  • Sewing tools and how to care for them.
  • Outcomes of not caring about sewing machines.
  • Take action before these tools cost you a fortune.

Importance of Taking Care of Sewing Tools

The sewing machine requires specific tools and accessories like any other machine to operate. Every seamstress has some level of investment in their sewing machine and other sewing tools. After all this effort and spending, you really want to give up or waste that money again to replace those items whether you could have done something just a little differently to take care of them.

I prefer to utilize my sewing tools for as many years as I can. Let me tell you a couple of big reasons for this approach:

First and foremost, it is a lot of money to spend if you do not take care of your sewing tools.

Secondly, if you love sewing and doing it for many years, you would know that sewing requires the best of tools. And it is really hard to find genuine sewing tools around.

There is a wise saying, “Prevention is better than cure.” So, make every piece of tools useful by taking good care of them.

Sewing Tools to Care

Your sewing machine has a few specific tools and body parts that need to be taken care of.

Sewing tools to care
Sewing tools to care

Let’s see what those are:

  1. Sewing machines
  2. Iron, Ironing Board, Needles, and Bodkins
  3. Seam Ripper
  4. Cutting tools like rotary cutters, scissors
  5. Needles and pins of all kinds
  6. Bodkins
  7. Measuring Tape
  8. Ruler
  9. Marking Tools

There are a few other tools to count if you are using an advance level sewing machine.

How to Care for Your Sewing Tools: Easy Tips

There are a few easy tips to take care of your sewing machine and sewing tools as well. Let’s see what those are.

First, you need to unplug and replace your sewing machine. If you have an attached table of bars for the sewing machine, then move only the machine to a safer place. Then, separate every small part of the machine. Place them in a safer sight for cleaning. Take sewing tools and put them in a separate place. Do not mix up machine parts with tools. Now, take one tool at a time and clean them up.

1.Sewing Machine

Keep your machine in good shape by regular cleaning. Basically, clean the surface of your sewing machine using a clean cloth. Use the default brush that came with your machine or a cleaning brush to carefully remove the fluff from the inside of the machine. Set your mind to cleaning your machine regularly after every finish of work. Every machine has different parts and tools. So, check the user manual to find out the parts and tools.

Sewing Machine
Sewing Machine

2.Iron, Ironing Board, Needles, and Bodkins

First, check the iron’s manual for the recommended cleaning method. Generally, you can clean the iron with a damp cloth to remove dirt and dust when it is cold. Then turn the iron and rub the soleplate with a dry towel to remove sticky dirt. There is a special cleaner to remove dirt and grease from your iron. You can buy it from crafts stores.

If your iron has a water reservoir for steam, fill the reservoir with a mixture solution of half vinegar and half water. Then, turn the steam setting to high and steam the iron over a towel to remove the remains. Use a cotton brush to clean the steam holes. Clean your ironing board, bodkins, and needles with the same solution.

Iron, ironing board, needles, and bodkins
Iron, ironing board, needles, and bodkins

3.Seam Ripper

A seam ripper is a tool that makes our easy even when we make mistakes. This tiny little tool can cut bobbin cotton, cutting and removing stitches. To clean this tool, simply use vinegar and water mixture. You can also clean it with a cleaning brush or a piece of fabric.

4.Cutting Tools

Most of the cutting tools do not need to be cleaned. Scissors come with manufactured stainless steel. But for several uses, it can get dull. Use a cloth or cleaning brush to remove any fluff or cotton.

Rotary cutters with the blade need to be changed. Replace the blade periodically when it seems uncut threads or gets hand and wrist fatigue. Every time you change out the blade, do a quick cleaning of your rotary cutter. Take the cutter pieces and wipe each piece down with a clean cloth to remove any fluff or excess. Just one drop of sewing machine oil around the center of the blade before reassembling the rotary cutter.

Cutting tools
Cutting tools

5.Ruler and Other Tools

Rulers, marking tools, and measuring tape can pick up oil and dirt from your hands, fur from fabrics, and stickiness from the fusible web. To clean those, wipe them down with a clean cloth and add a solution of 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 cups water. You also can use a glass cleaner that is safe to use on acrylic rulers and marking tools.

Results of Being Careless of Sewing Tools

You may buy the best tools that you could afford. But, these tools will get dull and useful after months if you do not take care of them. The scissors with not cut the fabric. The seam ripper will not work and there will be a mess. This will happen and hamper your sewing pretty effectively. Not cleaning rulers, measuring tools and other acrylic tools can cause oil and fur on them. A stickiness will always be there to put dirt on your hand.

So, to prevent that, you need to follow some precautions. These suggestions can help you to protect your sewing tools and care for your sewing experience neat and clean.

Precautions

To prevent your sewing tools to get ruined or damaged, you need to take care of your sewing machine first. Here are some basic precautions that can help you to keep your sewing tools safe.

Precautions
Precautions

Use a Sewing Machine Cover

Dust is the common enemy of all machinery. Keep your machine clean and store it under a dust-free cover or a hard case. This is a better way to protect machines and tools from damage.

To prevent interior dust backlog is to use only new and high-quality thread sewing. Unplugging the machine regularly and cleaning the dust inside the bobbin case with a cosmetic brush.

Needle Changing

It is very important to change your sewing machine needle regular basis. Needles lose lifespan over time and become useless which can lead to looped threads, skipped stitches, pulls in the fabric, and potential damage to the machine. To avoid this, change your needle every time you complete a scheme.

Compressed Air to Take out Fluff

Whenever you complete a project, your machine gets plenty of fluff from the fabric. To remove that you need to give your machine a thorough cleaning. Compressed air is the best option to remove fluff and thread from feed dogs, tension discs, and the bobbin area.

While using compressed air, keep the nozzle at least 5 inches away from the machine. Keeping the nozzle a fair distance to maintain any damage that happens to the machine and its tools.

Mandatory Servicing

To prevent any big problems happen to your sewing machine make sure you have professional servicing each year to keep your machine in clean and shape. No matter if you have an economy sewing machine or an exclusive model, annual servicing is a good idea.

An expert and qualified service person will adjust the timing and tension and clean the areas of your machine that you may not get to by yourself. The machine’s lifespan as well as machine tools will be greatly extended and serviced by a professional from time to time.

Wipeout Dust after Each Use

To keep your machine and tools clean, mop them down with a soft duster after each use. Be sure to unplug the machine before you clean it. A quick check with scrap and a quick cleaning of the bobbin case can remove dust, fur build-up, and thread pieces that may damage the machine.

FAQs

Why is the point to care for sewing tools?

Taking good attention to your sewing machine and other sewing tools will help you to use them for longer and utilize maximum investment.

How do you store sewing tools?

I keep loose tools in place by storing them in smaller containers within drawers. Select silicon dividers to avoid damaging drawers and tools. Save the top drawer for the most-used tools. Use the lower drawer for less-frequently accessed items.

Why tools should be stored properly?

Storing your tools is necessary to prevent collecting dust, grease, and rust. By doing that, they’ll last longer and perform better. Caring for your tools also allows you to save money. As you can avoid buying to replace damaged ones.

Final Thoughts

Sewing machine tools are important as the machine itself. You may not be able to sew if you do not have a seam ripper or needles or cutting tools. You need to take care of those tools at any cost. Most of us take these tools for granted. This mentality can cost us a fortune. So, be mindful of your sewing tools and follow precautions.

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