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Bernina 440QE: Cleaning and Oiling Your Machine

robyn — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:44:50 +0000

Each year around the holidays – or more specifically, while I’m in the middle of the holiday sewing craziness – I lament about how infrequently I manage to perform the maintenance that I know my machine so desperately needs at this time of year: cleaning and oiling!

First, the procrastinator makes an appearance: ”Just one more bobbin.” or “When I’m done with this quilt!”

Next, denial sets in: ”Wow, where are all these fuzzies coming from? Must be this batting.” or “Really, I’m sure that ca-chunk-ca-chunk-ca-chunking is just the dishwasher.”

But the dirty dishes are still piled up, and your projects continue to flow through the machine, one after the other. And you don’t do it. Or at least, I don’t. Not nearly enough.

But there’s no excuse! It’s so easy and takes about 3 minutes. Below are the steps for you to do it yourself. At least someone will be cleaning their machine, even if I’m not.

Cleaning and Oiling Your Machine

Getting started: Unthread your machine and put it in the “needle up” position. Turn it off. Find your brush and oil. The ones pictured above came with my machine.

Step 1 – Approach: Quietly, gently approach the machine in its native habitat. Speak in soothing tones, so it doesn’t suspect anything.

Hunting for fuzzies.

Step 2 – Open the top: Press open the stitch plate beneath the presser foot and remove it.

Woah, this could get ugly. See the fuzzies already trying to escape?

Run! Here they come!

Step 3 – Defuzzify: Brush out all the fuzzies and gunk, bits of broken needles, toast crumbs, dog hair, extra threads, whatever else is stuck in there:

This can get a little messy, and it's hard to get into all of the nooks and crannies.

Step 4 – Appreciate: Admire your clean machine top, and replace the stitch plate:

Clean and fuzzy-free.

Clean top with stitch plate.

Step 5 – Bobbin area: Open up the bobbin door, and remove the bobbin. Clean out the fuzzies you can see.

Clean out what you can see. More detailed cleaning will follow shortly!

Step 6 – Release the bobbin hook: Now, release the housing that holds the bobbin hook in place. There’s a handy little lever on the top left of your machine to release it. Push this lever to the left to release the housing. The housing will flop down:

Press the lever on the top left of your bobbin area to release the metal/black plastic housing. Not so conveniently for this tutorial, my thumb is covering it up.

Step 7 – Remove the Bobbin Hook: Open the bobbin housing and remove the spiky part that sits on the right-half of the bobbin area. This is called the bobbin hook. It’s the part that rotates around the bobbin and makes stitches.

Remove the bobbin hook. Boy, I need hand moisturizer!

This is what it looks like up close:

Bobbin hook up close. I hear this item costs about $70. Treat it nicely!

Step 8 – Clean like the wind!: Now clean out the hook and the rest of the bobbin area with your handy little brush so it looks like this:

Shiny!

Diversion! – Understanding the inside: Small side trip! The bobbin hook sits inside the housing and “races” around in a circle while you’re sewing to make stitches. The little track that it goes around on is called the race. Ultimately, this is the part that needs the oil on it.

The race - this is the part that ultimately needs to have oil on it.

This is the part of the hook that sits in the race.

There are two different ways to get oil onto the race. Are you ready? 3, 2, 1…

Step 9 – Option 1 – Oil the Hook:

The hook, getting a one-drop oil bath.

Step 9 – Option 2 – Oil the Race:

Oiling the race - One drop is all you need!

Place one drop of oil at the bottom of the race hook.

Please note: You only need to do ONE of the above methods. You DO NOT need to do both. When you’re done with your chosen method, the rest of the steps are the same:

Step 10 – Put Humpty Back Together Again: Reinsert the hook into the race and close the housing again:

Clean and put back together.

Step 11 – Run the machine and listen to it purr: As the hook turns in the machine, oil will be distributed along the race. Run the machine without any fabric in it until the oil is distributed. This saves you from the disappointment of getting a bit of oil on your project as the machine settles in to its new-found lubricated state. Machine sounds better, doesn’t it?

Take your new tidy machine for a spin.

When should you oil your machine?

I’ve heard a lot of different things: Every bobbin, every 3-5 bobbins, at each needle change, every day, never… But my rule of thumb is usually the following:

1) After using up 3-5 bobbins.

2) When it start ca-chunking – sometimes the machine just sounds like it needs oil. When this happens, I oil it. It’s possible that it hits this mark after the 3-5 bobbin stage, and comes from my minor neglect, but I will deny this if anyone asks.

3) When Bernina tells you you should - Bernina will display a cute little oil can icon on the front of the machine after about 180,000 stitches, indicating that it’s time to oil. Almost all the sewers I know oil more frequently than this, but it’s a good reminder to get once in a while, and it’s a cute icon, to boot!

What you shouldn’t do when oiling: Compressed Air

People say that compressed air is ok for the older mechanical machines that are not computerized. However, most sewing pros I know don’t use compressed air on their computerized machines, for fear of blowing the dust into the internals of the machine and messing something up. I’m not sure I buy it completely, but better safe than sorry! I steer clear of it just to be sure!

Hope this little tutorial was helpful. Happy cleaning!

Tutorial: iPod Touch Cover!

robyn — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:27:22 +0000

Hello my music-listening, smart-device-toting sewing friends! Some of you may recall my little green iPod cover (that, incidentally, never got its own blog post, but has made some special (or stealthy) guest appearances in some posts about other bags (like here and here!)). Not only have you observant readers spotted it in a few places, but a several of you have asked for a tutorial. So, let’s call this my overdue New Year’s gift to you! I hope you find it useful and fun to make. You will have your iPod tucked into a cute, padded, and protective cover in just about 1-2 hours or so with this little photo-full instructional guide.

If you’re looking for a killer accessory duo for your iPod or other smart device, check out my PodPillows on Etsy!

If you make a cover from my tutorial, please consider uploading some photos to the Dog Named Banjo Tutorials group pool on Flickr.

You will need:

- one 10″ x 3 3/8″ piece of quilting-weight fabric for the outside.
- one 10″ x 3 3/8″ piece of quilting-weight fabric for the lining.
- one 9 1/2″ x 3 1/8″ piece of thin fusible fleece.
- one 1 1/4″ x 2 3/4″ piece of exterior fabric.
- one 1 1/4″ x 2 3/4″ piece of lining fabric.
- one set of Velcro dots (if you don’t have the round dots, you could also cut small squares for this – no biggie!)
- some double-sided sewing tape. This is optional but a useful tool!
- an iPod Touch! (also optional, especially if you’re planning to give this as a gift!)

First, a few small notes:

You may notice that I’m using Denyse Schmidt’s Hope Valley fabric. Yum! Also, it’s perfect for this, because it’s non-directional. This tutorial works best with fabrics whose patterns don’t have a top and bottom. Know what I mean?

Also, all seams are 1/4″ unless otherwise specified (like in that one spot later on in which I specify a 1/2″ seam).

Just to be clear, I created this tutorial based around my 8GB iPod Touch that I got a bit over a year ago. the newer iPods may have slightly different (thinner) dimensions.

Now that you know what you need, let’s get this show on the road.

1. Cut out the fabric

Here's what it will all look like when it's cut out. The fusible fleece is at the bottom, and is totally in camo mode, trying to hide from the camera against the white background!

That wasn’t so bad, was it? You can now rest your cutting muscles, but warm up your ironing muscles. Ok, next up – fusible fleece.

2. Attach fusible fleece to lining

The fleece is sized to be slightly smaller than your lining fabric. You’ll want to center the fusible side of the fleece on the wrong side of the lining fabric, so it’s not actually touching any of the edges. This means that your seams won’t be quite as bulky when you finally sew everything together. Clever, no?

The two sides of the fusible fleece are pretty distinctive. You'll want to place the non-fuzzy side of the fusible fleece down on the wrong side of your lining piece. The fleecy part should be facing up! Don't forget to line up the fleece so that it's centered on the lining piece! None of the edges should be flush with the fleece.

Once it’s centered, flip the lining + fleece over so that the right side of the lining is facing up. Haul out the iron from the closet and warm up that bad boy to the wool/steam setting.

Stretch… crack your knuckles. One, two, three… Fuse!

No need for a press cloth or for anything fancy. Just go over the entire piece a few times with your normal ironing motion! It should fuse the fleece enough for the purposes of this project.

3. Fold lining in half and sew the long sides of lining together

Fold the lining in half widthwise, right sides together, so the two short ends are together. The fuzzy part of your fleece should be facing out, like so:

Fuzzy side out, right sides together!

Pin the sides together, and sew both long sides of the lining. Do not sew the top or bottom – just the two long sides!

Hey look! The Bernina has snuck its way into another tutorial, and this one's not even about it. Not to fear... She'll get another of her own tutorials soon!

4. Attach velcro to outer fabric

First, fold your outer fabric in half lengthwise (long edges together) and finger-press so that you can see a slight crease, as in the picture below. This will help you to get the pesky Velcro centered on the fabric when the time comes to sew it on.

Grab one part of your Velcro pair. I like to put the firm (not the fuzzy) part on the main body of the iPod cover, so reach for that one.

Now, reach for your double-sided tape, if you have some. (If you don’t reach for some pins.)

If you have it, attach a little double-sided tape to your Velcro. It's a piece of cake to sew on when it stays in one spot! Above, two pieces of double-sided tape with the backing still on.

Stick or pin the Velcro so that the top of the dot is 1″ below the top of the fabric. Now sew!

You can sew the Velcro on in a circle, or you can do a few straight lines to keep it in place. Up to you!

5. Fold the exterior in half and sew the long edges of together

Fold the outside in the same way that you folded the lining – widthwise, right sides together so the short sides are lined up together. Now sew a seam down each of the long sides. Once again, don’t sew the top or bottom edges together.

I just opened a new box of pins, and I'm adoring the little pink pearlescent ones. There's nothing better than a new box of fresh, straight pins! If it weren't for the publicness of the Internet, I'd probably still be using my old, horrifyingly bent pins that have definitely seen better days. Thank you, Internet!

Now let’s see what we’ve got. You should have two pieces that look like this:

Congratulations! You now have a completed exterior piece and lining piece!

5a. Trim the edges of each of the pieces

Is it unfair to have a 5a? Probably, but hey, they say not much in life is fair, right? Plus, this tough love attitude will get you a great finished product! Really!

Anyway, you really ought to trim about 1/8″ away from the side seams of both the lining and the outer pieces. Once you’re done hop over to number 6!

6. Attach fuzzy Velcro piece to the lining of the flap

Once more, reach for your pins or your double-sided tape. Center the Velcro, fuzzy side up, about 3/4″ from the bottom of your lining piece for the flap. Here’s a picture of the under-side of the Velcro dot with the double-sided tape, getting ready to be stuck to the fabric:

Flip the Velcro over, and it'll stick nicely to the lining, all ready for sewing. This picture shows the sticky part of the double-sided tape, all ready to adhere.

Now sew the Velcro dot to the lining fabric! Can’t you just see this all coming together? Your iPod Touch will soon have this adorable flap to hold it snugly in place.

Just like the other Velcro piece, it doesn't matter if this is sewn in a circle or in lines. Either way, just make sure it's secure! This sucker will get a lot of use if you're like me and taking it in and out of its pouch all day long!

7. Sew together the flap and turn inside out

Now take the exterior flap piece and the interior piece you just sewed Velcro onto, and place them right sides together. Sew three sides together – the two long sides, plus the short side closest to the velcro you just sewed on. Leave the remaining short side open, like below.

Trim the three sewn sides, and make diagonal cuts at the bottom corners. This is to reduce bulk when you turn this sucker inside out. Take care not to cut your seams!

Now turn the flap inside out. Beware! This flap is small. You should invoke the help of something pointy (but not sharp) to help you turn it inside out. This is by far the most challenging part of the tutorial! I rely on my stash of trusty cheap Bic mechanical pencils.

Sidenote: I love these Bic pencils and have massive quantities of them, lest they go out of business some day. I will always buy the 50 packs when I find them in stores (which is less frequently that I used to). See? Perhaps I'm right to be paranoid! I'm not sure why I love them so much, but I do.

8. Iron and topstitch three sides of the flap

All done turning? (Did you invoke your favorite mechanical pencil?)

Now give it a quick iron, and topstitch the three sewn sides, leaving the opening… well… open.

It should look about like this when you're done!

Yay! You’re done with the flap!

9. Reassess the situation

You’re almost done! Take a sec and lay out what you’ve done. If you turn your lining right side out, the pieces you have in front of you should look something like this:

A clever little trio of pieces!

Ready to move on to the last steps? All that’s left is the final assembly.

10. Place the lining bag inside the exterior bag

First, make sure the lining is right-side out.

Next, make sure the exterior piece is right-side in.

Third, insert lining into the exterior, like so:

Think of these as individual little bags. Insert the lining bag into the exterior bag. Put it in all they way so the edges are flush!

Once you’re done, the top edges of the lining pouch and the exterior pouch should be flush. Line up the exterior seam with the lining seam on each side. It’s these little finishing touches that make all the difference!

Now, mark the center of the back of the pouch:

A handy trick is to just fold the entire thing in half lengthwise (long edges together) and mark the center fold.

11. Place the flap between the lining and the exterior

This one gets its own step because it’s kind of tricky to explain. Thankfully, I have visual aids! (This is the part where, in real life, I might whip out a Powerpoint slide presentation, plus some props, to demonstrate the technique. Alas, this isn’t that kind of real life, I guess! Today we’ll use annotated images instead!)

Insert the flap between the back of the exterior pouch and the lining pouch, making a flap sandwich. Make sure that you don’t place the flap on the same side as the Velcro that you put on the body of the exterior pouch!

Hopefully you can tell where the flap gets inserted. Make sure the fuzzy Velcro and the lining side of the flap is facing the lining and the exterior of the flap is up against the exterior pouch. Just think - exterior to exterior, interior to interior!

Push the flap down all the way so that the opening is flush with the edges of the lining and the exterior. Now pin it all together, leaving a ~3 – 4″ opening at the front of the pouch!

I'm leaving most of the front open. The opening will be there so that we can turn the cover inside out - the fun part! See where the three pins are closer together? That's where my flap is pinned. Juuust a little extra TLC there to make sure it's not moved out of place and actually ends up straight in the end.

12. Sew all the way around the pouch, except for the 3-4″ opening you left unpinned

Sew using a 1/2″ seam from one pinned end to the other. This is kind of tricky! In the picture below, you’ll see that, since the pouch is so small, there’s no way to get this around the free arm. Instead, you have to sew from the inside, and hold the rest of the pouch off to the side so that you don’t sew the entire pouch together by accident!

You'll want to sew from the inside bottom for this task. It's easier. Just take care to hold the rest of the pouch out of the way so you don't sew it all together! (I've done this. It isn't recommended!)

13. Done? Now turn the pouch inside out!

This is the fun part! It’s like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon after eating one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries…

Stage 1: shy butterfly shows its lining.

Stage 2: shy butterfly shows its exterior

Stage 3: Shy butterfly gets help from the friendly stick animal to get his lining where it belongs. (What? Change sometimes happens with outside forces involved, right?)

14. Sanity check!

Sanity check: Now that the cover is turned right side out and is almost done, does the iPod touch fit?

Because we’re skeptical by nature, let’s make double sure.

Yup! (Of course it does! You don't think we'd get this far and it wouldn't fit, do you?)

Yup! Fits. Moving on. Time to stitch up that hole and apply our finishing touches!

15. Pin and topstitch.

The back and sides of the top of your iPod Touch cover should be stitched nicely together but you might recall that we left a big opening in the front to allow the butterfly to experience metamorphosis.

Pin that hole shut, making sure that the exterior and lining pieces of fabric at the opening are roughly folded in at about 1/2″ to make a straight line at the front of the pouch. The fabric will naturally want to fold at this spot, since the rest of the pouch has a seam there.

Once you’re pinned, we topstitch! Living on the wild side, we’re topstitching from the inside. Unconventional, yes, but really? The only way this will work…

I topstitch 1/4″ from the top of the pouch. I like to start at the back so that the reinforced (read: slightly unsightly) part of the stitch isn’t right in front.

Take good care to keep the side of the pouch closest to you out of the line of the needle, or you'll be ripping out a seam that sewed the top of your pouch shut!

16. Insert iPod Touch and enjoy!

Phew, that wasn't so bad, was it? Sometimes these tutorials make things look so hard when they're not really so hard! Hope you got through it and have a lovely iPod touch cover to show for it!

I’d love to see pictures of things you make from this tutorial! Please post pictures of your iPod Touch cover in the Dog Named Banjo Tutorials group on Flickr! I’d love to see what you made!

You can find more pictures of the cover-making process not shown here in my Flickr set dedicated to this tutorial.

If you’re among the ranks of the iPod carrying, I’d love for you to share your favorite app with me in the comments of this post! Mine is VegOut – it’ll list all of the closest vegetarian restaurants based on where you are at that moment. What did we ever do before these things?

P.S., if you’re looking to fully outfit your iPod, or if you’re looking for great holiday gifts for your iPod-loving friends, check out my PodPillows on sale at Etsy! They’re great for music and phone devices of all types!

Copyright Dog Named Banjo, 2010. This pattern is strictly for personal use only. You may not sell items made from this tutorial. Thanks!