#Kenmore sewing machine
Text
My very dear friend loaned me her family's sewing machine. I have been using it every day since!
Getting it set up took only a little fiddling around, looking up manuals, and a sprinkling of YouTube autodidactism to solve my thread tension issues. But I got it working and have made several mediocre projects already! I even managed to make some good projects, too! But you'll see soon!
I am absolutely delighted to have a sewing machine in my home, and not have to bus to the library to sew!
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
I had to say goodbye to my sweet sewing machine last week.
I was so bummed to find out that a cog had broken and the repair was beyond expensive if they could even find the right part. It was hard to let it go. I picked this beauty up at a thrift store in South Carolina for an asking price of $75, but I think I got about $10 off with a discount. A complete steal. This Kenmore was a workhorse. I put it through everything a beginner sewer could. I have also had it for over 8 years, so, honestly, I got my money's worth. Here is to this tough queen. Thanks for the best of times.
90 notes
·
View notes
Text
Please help me identify which model of sewing machine this is by Sears Kenmore
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Found a kenmore button hole foot at the thrift store which is the same brand as my sewing machine and might fit on it better than my singer foot and all the pieces are still in the box I’m jumping for joy
#I felt a bit guilty getting it at first because we found a beautiful kenmore sewing machine there too#and I thought it was meant to go with it. but based on the picture I took of the machine and opening the button holer just now I don’t think#it would have worked with That machine. so I feel no guilt separating them. yay yippee
1 note
·
View note
Text
Today I fixed my sewing machine which had been broken for 1 calendar year because I googled "why isn't my sewing machine picking up the bobbin thread" and reading some of the suggestions that popped up and trying them and let me tell you kids, sometimes it is just that simple
#i felt like a brain genius#and then like a complete moron because it turned out the solution was#“take the needle out and look at it and put it back in”#and like i'm not sure how that fixed it but thank you random commenter on a sewing forum#you helped me get my 1971 Kenmore machine working again even though i am sure you were talking about a modern Singer machine
0 notes
Text
Today's sewing was about fixing up some basics!
First up, I put DIY ripstop in the important part of these new work shorts. (Yes they're solid dark black; I had to fuss with lighting to make this visible.) They're going to be replacing a pair that is too light-colored and shows marks where I sweat.
The next project was this Frankenstein shirt!
A few weeks ago, I dumpster-dove for some sealed bags of clothing. One keeper was a dark grey tank top with some lime green heathering and trim around the arms and neck. It's a men's XXL, so a size too long. I cut it shorter and kept the hem intact.
I also have a plain black shirt that I thrifted before realizing quite how short it was. I tried it, but as a busty woman working a cargo job, I didn't like everyone seeing most of my torso when I had to reach overhead.
Fortunately, both of these hems were almost exactly the same size. And it's jersey, so you can fudge it a little and no one will ever know. I used the smocking stitch on my machine because it's the only reliable stretch stitch that my lovely 1983 Kenmore can produce. It rumples a little, so I'll wash it to make it relax and then live with however it turns out. Success!
#diy ripstop#visible mending#mending#sewing#diy#cj sews#solarpunk#it's not waste until you waste it#use it up wear it out make it do or do without
64 notes
·
View notes
Text
@crow-sews my beloved kenmore 17501 - i call him DOOMTRAIN. The handwheel for the chain drive modification was a BITCH to fit without a lathe but in an absolute miracle it worked out. Hes my second-to-oldest son, I have a LOT of vintage machines but hes my baybee, i baught him broken, bad timing, busted parts, etc, so I never felt weird about changing anything about him. Hes in the middle of upgrades now, hes fixing to get an industrial bobbin winder modified to work with his chain drive, and he will eventually get a conversion to a brushless motor and a battery pack, and and and and... but legit i could talk about him and his repairs and upgrades forever so ill spare you 😅
and the buttonholer fleet - i have the greist in blue, poor ass memory, mine, but mechanically its like almost identical to the singer buttonholer - even the cams are cross compatible. The pink on the singer washes out and looks brown in the photo but irl its offensively bright.
(Note to tumblr at large : obviously dont try this at home, mains electricity very dangey, chain drive ( hes gonna get a chain cover eventually) very dangey, angle grinder and spinning handwheel very danger, much risk, math is involved, wire gauge and shielding very important, UL listed components, safety upgrades not entirely completed in photo, do not attempt, youl probably die, vintage machines in good working order ought to be unmodified, all your opinions are correct, etc etc, shocked and apalled, etc etc. )
30 notes
·
View notes
Text
Does anyone have advice on learning how to use a sewing machine from scratch? I have a working Kenmore 148 15600 but I have NEVER used a sewing machine and I have no idea where to even start. I want to learn how to sew but there's just so much information out there (and a lot that's specific to newer machine models) and I really need somewhere to jump off from.
253 notes
·
View notes
Text
Period is definitely about to happen, so that’s that cleared up.
In other news I cannot use a walking foot to save my life OTL
I currently own (at least) four (4) walking feet and not one of them fits on my two main machines (a Sears Kenmore Zigzag and a Singer Golden Touch & Sew (which I know is not a good machine but I grew up sewing on it and I love it)). I’ve yet to try any of them on the machine I got from @dollsahoy and the idea of trying any of them on the antique Singer I have from my great grandfather is frankly very funny to me (I /think/ the machine works but I’ve never once tried it). I suppose next I could try them on the Necchi machine my mom got from her mother.
Also I do actually have a serger lmao it’s just that I used it like one time after I bought it and the blade broke and I bought a replacement but now it’s been years and I still haven’t put the new blade on… >_>;;;
All of this just to sew one doll sweatshirt 9_9 it’s kind of pissing me off lol because I know this thing will take no time to make, but it’s been such a long time since I tried sewing knits/stretch fabrics that I FORGOT how impossible it is. I think the last time was when I cosplayed as the white ranger from Jettoman, and I actually did use a walking foot on my Touch&Sew, but it didn’t actually fit the machine and it was pretty ehhhh and at the time I was just like ‘whatever I just need to finish this cosplay’ but I can’t figure out how I did it back then??? And again it didn’t work /well/
Whatever I WILL figure this out
(Advice is certainly welcome tho)
6 notes
·
View notes
Note
Is there a sewing machine you would recommend for an intermediate level cosplayer? Preferably with a few bells and whistles (buttonhole, different stitches, foot attachments) and something that is designed to be opened up and repaired? I don’t do heavy amounts of sewing all the time, but need something that can stand up to “oh shit the con is next week and I haven’t even started my cosplay” levels every couple months.
My advice will always be to go go a goodwill/your thrift store of choice OR Craigslist OR Facebook Marketplace OR estate sales/older friends of the family and look for a pre-loved metal machine from before the 1980s. Usually you can get one for $50-$80 and then sink $100-$150 into getting it tuned up by someone who knows what they're doing and you'll be in business for a good while.
Find the manual online, make friends with the search string for the machine make/manufacturer/model number on YouTube, and get acquainted with Sewing Parts Online and you should be good for a decent while. I think my mother's avocado green Kenmore she's had since the 1970s has gone in for a professional tuneup maybe twice since I've been alive, and put up with both her doing Crazy Upholstery Projects and me going from "don't know what I'm doing, but the machine can handle this, right?" costumer to "this is a longshot but I've seen this machine do dumber things?" professional costumer.
(If you have $$!!, Singer Featherweight, but they can be SPENDY to buy and then difficult to accumulate all the attachments for. I managed a series of Ridiculous Luck moments to get mine, and got the attachments as a weird perk of my job, and I fucking love her. They literally say in the manual "so easy to maintain the housewife can do it herself!" and they are not wrong- that is the easiest machine to field strip I've ever worked on, and exceedingly similar to the Juki industrials I use every day.)
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
I don’t own a dress form, so some unaesthetic pics of the first successful dress I’ve sewn (including a liner!) and some sewing geekery under the cut.
Fourth ever zipper installation and first invisible zipper. I misaligned the tops of the zipper, which resulted in a small gap at the top and the waist seams being slightly off, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out (and no special zipper foot involved). And I don’t know where the buttonhole guide for the old Kenmore sewing machine is, so hand sewn buttonholes for me. I ordered a pack of covered button blanks to make matching fabric buttons.
I hand gathered the waistline for the skirt, but the layers of fabric were so thick in places, that the Kenmore was like “wtf are you doing to me” and skipped stitches in multiple areas when it was time to attach the skirt to the bodice. I ended up doing a weird version of a backstitch by hand to reinforce the waist. And because I don’t care if the inside looks a little weird since no one will see it, I hand stitched bias tape to close up the raw edges.
I used dress option A from Simplicity Pattern 9164, and modified it to include a side seam pocket, a skirt liner, and I didn’t use the included pattern for the skirt itself. Instead I just used the entire width of the fabric, one panel for the front and one for the back. Overall, this pattern was easy-ish to follow as a beginner, but one does have to read the directions pretty well. For background, this is the third rectangle/dirndl-style skirt I’ve done, so that wasn’t very difficult. I’ve attempted making a bodice before when I tried to make a collared shirt for my mom’s dog and one too-big 40s style dress, so I had a little bit of experience with that.
It might be me being a beginner at sewing, but the instructions for the collar were on the confusing side. What the instructions said vs the diagrams showed and what would make sense when actually sewing the collar didn’t match up. I ended up remaking the collar according to how I did it with the dog shirt and then following Simplicity’s directions to attach the collar to the neckline. The inside still looks a bit weird, and I’m going to veer a little from the pattern directions the next time I make this dress to see if it makes things easier because there was still some awkward hand sewing. Thankfully the sleeves included multiple points to match up with the armholes, so that made setting them a breeze compared to doing the collar.
There’s some weird sections but I’m very happy with how it turned out. I ordered a belt making kit, so once that arrives I’ll be making a matching belt using the leftover fabric I used for the collar and sleeve cuffs.
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
RIP 1970's Kenmore sewing machine from Sears.
You served me well.
I hope my next machine is half as good as you (unlikely).
#i want a machine that has more stitches and i never had a zipper foot before so that will be an upgrade at least#but all the modern machines in my price range are made out of plastic and feel cheap#personal
2 notes
·
View notes
Note
Out of curiosity, what kinda sewing machine do you have? Did you free motion the quilting or did you use a template for it? I've only done walking foot with a template or stitch in the ditch quilting so far, so I'm interested in what your process is. Your quilt is stunning!
I have an old Kenmore! I got it as a gift when I was a kid and it's been going strong since! It's just a regular machine, not a long arm or anything fancy. I have a free motion foot that took a little getting used to (and even now you'd see a lot of skipped stitches if you looked up close hahaha) but is fun to work with. I just improvise the stitching patterns! I'm thinking of getting those grippy gloves for quilters because it does take a lot of arm strength to move all that fabric around in smooth curves. When I made my first quilt I made a little tiny quilt for my cats to practice free motion on, it was a good way to figure things out. And thank you!!
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
everyone manifest with me that I can make this vintage singer buttonhole foot work with my vintage kenmore sewing machine that I’m 60% certain was made at the singer factory so this should maybe hopefully work please please please🤞🤞🤞
#making freehand button holes on this thing is so fucking hard. I need this to work#the buttonhole foot was found in our basement and used to belong to an old treadle singer that got sold years ago
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
A very niche joke, I know, but why do the uniforms in Star Trek Into Darkness look like old crinkle finish Kenmore sewing machines?
#vintage sewing machines#Star Trek into darkness#I do not understand the costume choices in that movie#nor many of the choices made in general#I love the crinkle finish machines but mostly because the they’re ugly as sin and I need to show them love out of pity
5 notes
·
View notes
Link
If anyone has an older machine that needs a bit of TLC, this may help you with your machine. Most older home sewing machines have very similar mechanics, and I hope this helps you if you have one that just needs a good oiling.
#sewing machine#vintage sewing machine#how to care for vintage sewing machine#how to oil your sewing machine#sewing#machine#vintage machine
3 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
archivistprotocol
hello archivist
antisocialshoe
Zoe⭐
texts-from-the-old-guard
Texts From The Old Guard
28yuenlong
元朗屋網 - 28YuenLong.com