How to Clean Gunk Off Your Sewing Machine Needle (Especially After Fusible Interfacing)

If you’ve ever worked with fusible interfacing, you probably know the struggle: your sewing machine needle ends up coated in sticky gunk that looks like it came straight out of a glue trap. Not only is it annoying, but it can also mess with your stitches, tension, and even your mood (ask me how I know…).

But fear not - there’s an easy, quick fix that’ll keep your machine running smoothly and your needle in top shape!

What You’ll Need:

• Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol)

• A soft cloth or cotton pad

• A gunky needle in need of love

Here’s What to Do:

1. Turn off your machine. Safety first!

2. Dab a little rubbing alcohol onto your cloth or pad.

3. Gently wipe down the needle, focusing on the area with the most buildup. It should come right off!

4. If it’s really stubborn, you can remove the needle and give it a more thorough cleaning. Just make sure it’s dry before popping it back in.

And that’s it! A few seconds of TLC and your needle’s ready to stitch like a dream again.

Why It Matters:

That sticky buildup doesn’t just look gross—it can actually cause skipped stitches, uneven tension, and unnecessary wear on your machine. Regular cleaning (especially after using interfacing or adhesive-backed materials) keeps everything running smoothly and helps your projects look their best.

Bonus Tip:

If you’re using a lot of fusible interfacing in one project, keep an eye on the needle and give it a quick clean between sections. It’ll save you headaches later!

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Want to see it in action?

Check out my video where I show you the process in real time.

Have any other favourite sewing machine care tips? Drop them in the comments - I’m always collecting new tricks!

Happy sewing, and may your needle always be gunk-free!

Florence Frayed Bag - Pattern Release!

 New PDF sewing pattern release! The Florence Frayed Bag!

It is the perfect little evening bag, very high end and exclusive looking with it’s frayed seams and very structured shape. It’s got a fully lined zipper pocket and an open slip pocket for your cellphone and you can chose to make it with or without handle connectors.

The Florence Frayed Bag pattern is available in English and Swedish HERE.

The Florence Frayed Bag is absolutely a new favourite for me, so fun to sew and you will for sure get the question ”where did you buy that bag” when you wear it!

This one I made from a thrifted denim shirt. This pattern is perfect for repurposing those denim clothes, fraying curtains or upholstery fabric you might have on hand. The lovely silver vinyl and bag hardware is from Borlänge Sycentrum.

It's surprisingly roomy despite it's small size.

The zipper pocket is fully lined and it has a slip pocket for your cellphone.

Florence Frayed Bag Sew Along Video, I recommend you watch it on YouTube directly by using this link.

I LOVE this little bag! It just makes me so happy! I love how it can take any outfit from "nice" to "WOW!" This Florence Frayed Bag is the one I made for my YouTube tutorial for this pattern and I just can't get over how something can be so cute AND be so fashionable at the same time you know?

This version I made in a pink boucle fabric bought from a local shop, I'm sure you can find similar in most fabric shops today as it's a popular fabric for dressmaking.

It's such a fun sew and I hope you'll love it as much as I do!

Almora Bag - Pattern Release!

I'm so excited to finally be able to release the Almora Bag! It is a great everyday bag, fits so much more than one would think based on it's dainty appearance! The rounded, puffy and sweet outline combined with the safety of the zipper closure and it's interior zipper pocket makes it perfect for a day on the town!

It's available in English and Swedish HERE!

It also has a YouTube Video Tutorial where you can sew along with me!

The Almora Bag was an instant new favorite for me, fun to sew and looks so high end! This bag is both stylish and secure. I just ADORE mine and see many more in my future!

This beautiful quilted look vinyl is available from several places right now, but I bought mine from Do or Dye Custom fabric: https://doordyecustomfabric.com/

The pretty edge connectors are from Color Zipper: https://colorzipper.com/gurtbandaufhaenger/473-600-2-stueck-gurtbandaufhaenger-vierkant.html

This versions exterior is made all in quilting cotton, with only the accents in vinyl. The quilting cotton is from a local shop, the vinyl from: https://borlangesycentrum.se/

The interior zipper pocket is large and easily accessed.

The bottom is sturdy and broad, making the bag nicely roomy.

This one is quilted in vinyl from https://borlangesycentrum.se/vinylerfuskskinnkork/, the quilting I made you might recognise andI have a video tutorial showing how to do it below.

If you lengthen the strap to 21" like I've done here, you can wear it on your shoulder. 

Learn how to quilt a bag in this DIOR inspired pattern

Tula Pink La Passacaglia - Sick sewing

I started this project when I was too sick to sit up by myself and therefore unable to sew on my sewing machine. This was as they were trying to get my Cogan's Syndrome under control and I was bed bound to and from for a few years. It's currently managed as well as can be hoped, however, after three years of managing to avoid it, I caught covid! And therefore I've been bed bound for nearly two weeks again (as I'm immunocompromised I had a short stint at the hospital but they managed to get my oxygenation under control and my CT scan looked ok luckily and I got to go home). So I'm therefore taking up my "sick sewing" project again so I thought I'd share my progress here. 😊

Those who know me know I really dislike hand sewing so taking on this kind of project is perfectly insane I know! But I just LOVE the look of these quilts so it had to be tried! I of course choose to work in Tula Pink fabrics, as they're my absolute favorite!

It started very humbly with this little rosette center from her Zuma line, man this took me soo long!

It was quickly built up a little with some Zuma seahorses once I started to get the hang of things:

Followed shortly by this one, also in her Zuma line:

I then felt I had to branch out a little so then came this one with Tabby Road center and Zuma around: 

Right now I'm working on my first row of stars lying in the couch (jeez they're fiddly!), I'll share that as soon as I have it done!

Stockholm Bag - Pattern Update and Revision!

My most requested pattern update is finally HERE! The much loved Stockholm Bag now comes with optional zipper closure! The pattern has been completely rewritten and is now up to the standard of my new patterns! 

If you've purchased the old version pattern:

If you've previously purchased the pattern, you'll get a push update saying there's a new version available. If you have purchased the old version pattern through Etsy, a very old version of my website or in paper form, just drop me an email showing you've purchased the pattern and I'll email you the new PDF version for free. 

It also has a YouTube Video sew along with me now where we sew this Stockholm Bag together: 

You can now choose to close your Stockholm bag with a very nice zipper closure! This version is made with gorgeous eco-leather from Made By Lullan and it's lined with Tula Pink's gorgeous Sugar Skulls print from her De La Luna collection.  

This bag is super sturdy, stands up on it's own and has room for a LOT of stuff! The perfect beach or day on the town bag, it's ~12" (30cm) high and ~18" (20cm) wide at the top and 5" (13cm) deep at the base.

 

The interior has also been updated with a nicer and larger zipper pocket. 

You can of course choose to make it without closure or with a magnetic snap. 

This version I made with a vinyl I bought when travelling many years ago and finally dared to use. The cotton contrast fabric is Geode & Ink in Mint from Borlänge Sycentrum. The lining is Fairy Dust from Tula Pink. 

Zipper pocket on one side.

And generous open pockets on the other. 

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My amazing pattern testers were awesome as ever and tested the pattern for me, and they have done such an awesome job! A sincere thank you goes out to each and everyone one of you for helping me make each new pattern - into my best pattern yet!

I'm so very grateful for all your help and hard work, I could not do this without you!

Sabrina Charette - of Bags & More that you can find HERE on instagram made this stunning version.

Helena Halvar Tall - Whom can be found here on instagram made this beautiful hand embroidered one.

Anja - whom you can find on instagram here made this beautiful vinyl version, you'd never be able to guess it was her first time sewing with vinyl!

Eva Arthursson - made this super cool zebra print version.

Jayne Plant - of Bright Bag Design that you can find on Instagram HERE  made this adorable 85% version. 

Liselotte Hagström - That you can find on instagram HERE and on Facebook HERE made beautiful two beautiful ones.

 

Liselotte Tillberg - Made this awesome 80% size version with flat handles and beautiful connectors. 

Vicki Evans - made this beautiful flowery version.

Angelina Izzi Umemoto - Made this super cool version.

Abbey Hamblin - Made this lovely Hunger Games version with flat handles. 

Ariane Griffiths - of La Petite Stitcherie that you can find on Instagram HERE made two pretty (less heavily interfaced than the pattern recommends) versions with lovely handle attachments.

Frida Nilsson - of Tygfavoriter that you can find on Instagram HERE and Facebook HERE made this awesome Eevee version. 

Annie Kate - Made this beautiful, aurora inspired version.

Lisa Nyberget - of Kakankläder whom you can find HERE on Instagram and HERE on Etsy made this epic Disney princess version.

Thanks a million everyone!