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  • 2 weeks ago
Keep your Singer 1120 mechanical sewing machine running smoothly with this easy, beginner-friendly cleaning tutorial. In this video, I show you step-by-step how to remove lint, clean the bobbin area, and properly maintain your machine at home.

Regular cleaning improves stitch quality, prevents thread jams, and extends the life of your sewing machine—especially if you work with lint-heavy materials like cotton, wool, or natural fibers.

✨ What you’ll learn:

How to safely open and clean your Singer 1120
How to remove lint from the bobbin and feed dogs
When and where to oil your machine
Common mistakes to avoid

🧵 Perfect for beginners and anyone using a mechanical sewing machine.
Transcript
00:00I was in the middle of a project and my sewing machine just decides to give me messy stitches,
00:07skipped stitches and tangled thread under my fabric. As I insisted, it went on to breaking my
00:15top thread from the spool pin. That is when I knew something was wrong with my machine.
00:23I made a decision of cleaning my sewing machine at home for the very first time.
00:37After I decided to clean my machine, I had to switch it off and that is the first thing I
00:44did,
00:44switching off the machine. I went on with unscrewing it so I wanted to access the inner parts of my
00:55machine. So that is me unscrewing and trying to take this machine apart. As I'm done,
01:03the threading system is all exposed. You can see the take-up lever.
01:10As I went on with checking what was wrong, I came across this broken thread that was stuck somewhere
01:19in my machine. I don't know if you guys can see it very well. At last, I got that stuck
01:25thread out of
01:26the machine. I took out the accessory storage compartment so that I can access my bobbin area.
01:34And as I opened it, I had access to the bobbin area. I started unscrewing it slowly by slowly,
01:43and I took out the bobbin case. As you can see, it is a lot of lid, a lot of
01:53dirt. I used the brush
01:55to remove the lid from the feed dogs and around the hook, the circular metal part under the plate.
02:04If you have tweezers, you can use them to remove tangled thread or broken thread underneath your
02:11bobbin compartment. Do not blow air with your mouth. This is not good because that will just extend the
02:20lid into the inner parts of your machine. And you don't want that. So use a blush slowly by slowly.
02:28Use a clean piece of cloth slowly by slowly. And please don't use water or cooking oil. You must use
02:37sewing machine oil, not cooking oil or any other oil because that's not recommended for your machine.
02:45I had to unscrew the needle plate and access the down part of the machine. So when you take off
02:53your
02:53needle plate, you will have access to the feed dogs. And I wanted to clean that part too. After taking
03:01out the needle plate, this is how my feed dogs look. Very dirty. So I had to use this blush
03:10slowly by slowly
03:11and take out that lid. That's me unscrewing and taking out my presser foot. After I'm done with the
03:21presser foot, I went on with taking out the needle and cleaning my upper threading system very well.
03:30So I got this piece of cloth and I used some oil. You can use two to three drops of
03:38your oil with your
03:40clean piece of cloth and clean your machine. I guarantee you'll get very good results.
03:47Slowly take your time. It is your machine and you can take all the time you need to clean it.
03:54That's
03:54another way of showing love to that machine because you and that machine make magic. I had to take my
04:01time while cleaning using some tweezers and making sure everything is clean so that I could assemble my
04:10machine. For my next new project, please take note, don't over oil your machine because over oiling your
04:19machine will cause some stains on your fabric when you start sewing. So use like two to three drops of
04:27oil is enough. Don't over oil it. I have a video about how to thread a sewing machine step by
04:35step and I also
04:37have a video about how to wind a bobbin. So if you're looking for the details of those two videos,
04:43I have a link in the
04:45description below for those of you who may need it because this is not a detailed lead tutorial on how
04:51to thread a sewing machine. It's actually basically cleaning. I reattached my presser foot and I screwed it
05:01into place. I went on to the part where I had to change my needle. I had samples of needle
05:08with me and I took out
05:10one. After inserted my needle into my sewing machine, I went on and attached my presser foot. After
05:20everything was done, I had to put back my accessory storage compartment and screw my machine. One of the
05:31most asked questions is how often do you clean your machine? In my opinion, I think this is a personal
05:39choice and decision and it's based on how often you use your machine and for how long do you use
05:47it.
05:48So it varies by a person and how they use their machine. Take an example of you using your machine
05:54once in a week, two times in a week and using it for two to three hours or one hour
06:00or 30 minutes. So
06:02in my opinion, I think this is a personal choice. If you use your machine often, it means you have
06:09to
06:09clean it more often. If you don't use it more often, you don't have to clean it all the time.
06:15So it varies how long do you use it and how much do you use it. Common Mistakes
06:21While cleaning your machine using cooking oil or some fancy oil. Skipping the bobbin earlier while cleaning,
06:29not changing the needle is one of the most common mistakes. Over oiling your sewing machine. This
06:36can cause stains on your fabric. The last mistake is skipping under the needle plate. This is where most
06:43of the dirt and lid hides. So if you take a decision to clean your machine, don't forget all the
06:50important
06:50parts. And please change your needle because the daff or laff needle will not give you smooth and straight stitches.
07:00So please take time while cleaning your machine and clean all the important parts.
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