mandyrose

sorry can't upload my pic of my pride n joy grrrrrrr. a 1972 with cams and a special thingy for chain stitching when my son was growing up I used that stitch a lot .hmmm wonder why I can't upload my picture any suggestions how to do this I have done it once before with no problem

miriam

I sure do want to see how the chain stitch works - I have one.

J Miller

I have two that will do the chain stitch. One has the attachments, the other doesn't. I'll have to see if the attachments will fit both then I'll give them a good try.

Joe

nygal

I have my Mother's Kenmore still in her sewing cabinet. I kick myself...many years ago I got tired of moving it when we moved (air force) and I threw out the cams. I know crazy thing to do!! I will take a photo of the machine soon and post it. I really have no idea how old it is. But she had it for many years even before she gave it to me.

kitsykeel

Joe, here is my 158.1430. It does everything so effortlessly. Hubby picked it up in cabinet for $40.00 last year. I love the different stitches and does great double needle work. Most we have spent on any of my vintage machines, but it was well worth it.[ATTACH=CONFIG]411972[/ATTACH]

MaryAnnMc

I have had two Kenmores in my married life, and was frustrated with both because I could never keep the tension right. It seemed like every time I sewed, the machines would mess up and I would have to stop and take it to a shop for repair. I was terrified of messing with the tension! It wasn't until I started quilting two years ago that I learned that it was needles, or thread, or fabric, or me... the poor machines had been taking the blame! They are terrific, sturdy machines and being simple and un-electronic, are great for new sewers. Now that I have a lovely vintage Bernina, I rip her apart frequently for cleaning and oiling (gasp!), change my needles, consider my threads, and play with the tension until it's just right. My last Kenmore is in the hands of a sewing newbie. She has little time to sew with five homeschooled kids, and quits in frustration because "The machine keeps messing up". Now I can smile and assure her it's not the machine, it's probably curious four-year-old fingers. Those Kenmores are a gem!

J Miller

With the exception of Betty my 120-491 none of the Kenmores we have has given us any real tension issues. Betty came to us totally seized up and every nook and cranny was packed with reddish wool lint. It took a lot of work to get her to sew at all, and a lot more work to get her tensions right.
When machines keep screwing up, it's usually operator error.
Thread will have some effect on tension and you'll have to adjust the machine accordingly. I found that out when using the C&C Dual Duty Heavy thread on my "All Machines Quilt".

Joe

J Miller

Kitsy,

Nice machine. Very close to the two I just got.
Do you have the owners manual? That is the one thing that I think is really needed with a Kenmore, the manual.
With the manual you can make perfect stitches easily. Without it, you're up the creek. The controls are not intuitive or self explanatory.

Joe

Sweeterthanwine

I have an older Kenmore also and it sews rings around the other machine I had, a Singer newer model. Why I started using the Singer I'll never know, the Kenmore sews beautifully. Got it out the other day, cleaned it up, oiled where it needed and started sewing. I got it sometime in the 60's, it was my first owned sewing machine and I'll never give it up. Going to use it this morning to start sewing on a quilt top.

kitsykeel

Joe, I just typed in Kenmore Model 158.14300 and it cam up as a pdf. Everything is there from the original booklet. Hope you find yours.