Many who own an Embroidery machine may not be aware of some of the differences between what happens to your machine while doing embroidery & when your machine is performing normal sewing functions.

More than you ever imagined…

Domestic Embroidery machines have been with us now for close to 20 years, but only within the last 5 years has the true potential of these machines started to be tapped. With the rise of the Internet plus the rapid advances of technology in Sewing machines, The Sewing Machine Doctor has started to notice that these machines are being used far more than was possibly imagined when Singer & Janome released the first true embroidery machines. This has started to place stresses on these machines that need to be acknowledged & monitored as part of a normal service regime.

30 years ago it was normal for a machine to be used for around 2 hours a week. This was usually in a stop/start fashion, and garment construction typically involved short bursts on the machine. This probably hasn’t changed for most home sewers today, although domestic machines are used a little less in favour of some functions that can be performed by an overlocker.

Are you a serious embroidery addict?

An embroidery machine can in some cases be working up to 6 hours a day for a serious addict however. When an embroidery machine is sewing a design that is one colour for instance, of 25,000 stitches, this is the equivalent of sewing for 625 metres in one direction without stopping. This places considerable stress on the mechanical part of the machine, and creates wear in the thread handling areas. There is also a considerable build up of thread dust, fabric fibres & little bits of stabilizer that can foul a mechanism. It is vitally important that embroidery machines are therefore regularly serviced (at least every 12 months) but if there is a large amount of work being done with the machine (over 10 hours a week) then a six monthly cycle is recommended.

What happens when it’s not serviced regularly? Eeeew. It’s not pretty…

The Sewing Machine Doctor has already seen the results of embroidery machines that are not serviced regularly. And it’s not pretty. Lack of lubrication has led to failure of Main shafts in some embroidery machines & increased noise in many machines. Build up of lint has damaged some tension units, and general wear has necessitated multiple parts replacement in others. In most cases these problems are avoidable with regular service. A new hook that has been damaged by three years of sewing without service can cost as much as $250 to replace, yet with a yearly service by The Sewing Machine Doctor, this could have been repaired without need for replacement. Most lubrication problems will be dealt with by preventative maintenance. By the time your machine seizes up, there’s a lot more that will need to be done as a result —that just would not have happened if the embroidery machine had regular service.

You have invested a lot of money in your hobby. To keep your embroidery machine going for as long as possible requires just a little bit of ongoing investment. The Doctor concurs that it’s money that is wisely spent.

Remember what the Doctor says — Prevention is better than the cure…