I just got a vintage Kenmore SM. Can you please help?
 

I just bought a Kenmore 158.1774 sewing machine. It is in a wooden table. I would like to know more about it. I hear it’s rare and from 1974. But, I’d love to ask you all. Any information is greatly appreciated. I have pictures but I don’t know how to upload them?

Here is some help for you. I now have my mom's sewing machine and it still works great and it was given me to 7 years ago. https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/ke...ine-parts.aspx

try this link and scroll down to the manual for 3 different models158.1774_158.17740_151.17741 there is a picture with a yellow backround pdf file for $5.95 i love my kenmores had one given to me a couple years ago and i went to that site and bought the manual $5.95 was worth it weight in gold to me.hope this helps enjoy your kenmore i bought my first kenmore back in 1972 and she is still going strong.

When someone tells you a sewing machine is rare, it's usually because they don't realize how well these things used to be made, or how many thousands were produced. These older machines are great to sew on, and they will probably last another 50 years or more.

Thank you so much!

Welcome to this board.

Welcome to the Quilting Board!

The old Kenmore machines are great, but I just have to say, its rare to find a rare machine! It always makes me chuckle and want to contact sellers on Craigslist when they try to sell a vintage machine as 'rare' when there are half a dozen of that model available on CL in that area, just to enlighten them.

These help threads are located in the QB Help Center, which is located on the bottom of the main page. You might check it out, there are probably other threads you might find helpful.

https://www.quiltingboard.com/qb-hel...g-t166655.html
https://www.quiltingboard.com/qb-hel...s-t168819.html

I have a vintage Kenmore 158 but not the same model as yours. They are workhorses. I bought mine in 1974 or 75. It sews better than my much newer Brother EX660. The Kenmore will sew through heavy layers much better than the new electronic machines.

I got my Kenmore for high school graduation from my folks. Not sure the model? 1977. Have not used it for a bit. All your comments make me want to get it out again!!!

Kenmore is a Badge name used by Sears, and Sears had them made by several different companies over the years, in this case the 158 prefix indicates the manufacturer, so if you have a Kenmore with a different prefix, it's made by a different company. BTW- Sears retired the Kenmore badge not that long ago, and started selling machines under the manufacturer's name.

I have a 158.18 something, I bought it specifically because it has a chain stitch adapter. I have a thing for machines that can do chain stitch along with regular stitching.

Gotta love those old Kenmores. Most, if not all of the 158 series were designed and built in Japan and are wonderful, sturdy, and dependable machines if well-maintained. They are well-designed and have virtually no plastic parts which makes them very heavy, but is also why they're so reliable. They'll run and run and will sew through virtually anything including heavy canvas and leather.
I have a 158-14001 which is the same model Mom bought in bought me 1969 or '70. I was in heaven back then because not only did it have a zig-zag stitch, it had a stretchstitch too!. Polyester double-knits (that we wouldn't dream of wearing today) were big back then and I made a wardrobe full; all possible because of the stretch stitch. I used that baby for YEARS. I used it to make my wedding dress, my daughter's wedding dress and a wedding dress for my daughter's best friend. I gave it away (silly me!) about 20 years ago but got nostalgic for it and found a refurbed replacement online. It works beautifully despite it's age and will probably outlive me. It's now my go-to machine for piecing, mending, and anything else I want to do when my big Brother quilting machine has a project under the needle that I don't want to remove for a little job.

I just noticed this thread, as I generally hang out at https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...thusiasts-f22/ You might want to post there as well. We like pictures :)

As Peckish gave links for posting pictures, I will just add that frequently the reason why they don't get uploaded is because they are too large and need to be reduced.

And adding to Dunster's comment "When someone tells you a sewing machine is rare, it's usually because they don't realize how well these things used to be made, or how many thousands were produced." Rare because they are comparing it to the machines made for planned obsolescence, or because they want to raise the price.

The date 1974 is correct for this machine per http://www.searsarchives.com/history.../sewing_id.pdf

Did you get the attachments and cams that came with the machine? Do you have the manual? Did you get the one that mandyrose referred to? If a manual came with the machine and you want a pdf for it, the manual can be found at https://www.manualslib.com/manual/96...more-1774.html It looks like if you have the right attachments your machine will chain stitch according to https://www.manualslib.com/manual/96...page=32#manual


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

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I have a couple of pictures of Kenmore machines.
I believe this is the one of which you speak.
Manufactured by Maruzen/Jaguar of Japan.
Should be an E-cam machine, and I'm not 100% positive but it
might be a super-high shank foot. Might want to measure it to find out.

My Kenmore 158 is a super high shank. I don't know if all 158's were or not.

The Japanese company Maruzen/Jaguar began production of "158" designated Kenmore machines in 1957 and continued to produce them for several decades. Their machines were high shank for many years before they began making the super high shank models. Meanwhile, other concurrent manufacturers of Kenmore labeled sewing machines made low foot models. It can be confusing, so it's always best to measure! =)

Do it, do it! I had my mom's old 301a that she got in 1956 or 57. After reading here about how many people liked them, I got it out and have been using it. It's become my go-to machine for some quick piecing. It also makes me happy to feel like I'm sewing on a piece of my personal history. I can remember coming home from school and my mom would be sewing away on the 301 on the kitchen table (she never had a dedicated sewing room).

You have my machine exactly. My mom bought it new in 1974. Great machine! The only think it can't do is foundation paper piecing -- the shortest stitch is still too long and I couldn't find a way to tear the foundation paper away without pulling out some of the stitches. Lucked into a Featherweight thats perfect for that so never need to buy another machine! These old all metal machines are workhorses that will run forever. I did pick up a second Kenmore on the cheap to use for extra parts if needed.

my Mom gave her 1970 Kenmore to my son so he could repair his own jeans when he left home. It had those wonderful cams that dropped into the top to give you lots of stitches. She used it until about 3 yrs before she died (2012--so was i pretty constant use from 1970-2009)when it was so heavy she could no longer lift it to get into car to drive to repairman. She replaced it with a cheap plastic Singer and complained all the time about that new "rickey-tickey machine"! I've told my son if he goes to get rid of it I want it back--so far that hasn't happened!

I have a 158.1774 that my sister got as a gift in mid 70s. Has all attachments and manual. Definitely not rare! It does do chain stitch, and has low shank, not high or super high shank presser feet. The cams are C cams, the most common kenmore cams that I have seen and interchange with many other kenmore models, including some that are super high shank models.

The picture you show is similar, but not identical to the 1774. Mine has a white and a green dot on the right side of the lever for special stitch selection where your picture shows an exclamation mark. The cam cover is also different, larger with a parallelogram shape.

This used to be my go to machine until I bonded with my Bernina 830. It sews thru multiple layers and has the largest selection of decorative stitches (thanks to my large collection of cams). It's not perfect, sometimes it balks at crossing heavy seams. It also spits out the bobbin case when I have to change the bobbin! Very frustrating because I can't find any combination of steps to prevent it. There have been mention of this habit in other machine on other threads (I think I remember Miriam and maybe MacyBaby having some machines with that problem), so it's not just me. I think that is why my sister was getting rid of it. Also, I must remember to hold both threads to the rear when starting a seam or thread nests will result.

I must have been half-awake, of course those are C cams. Wow.

This is really interesting. The 158.17740 and 158.17741 were both made by Maruzen/Jaguar. The machines are said to have been manufactured in either 1974 or 1975. Where it gets really interesting is that I have pictures of four different machines said to be model 1774. Each one of them is ever-so-slightly different. The photo I added above shows the one machine with a small cam door while all the others have larger doors. The dot and exclamation are on two of the four machines, while the other two have the dot and exclamation point -and also- a white and green dot below the exclamation point. This isn't the first time I've seen subtle differences between one year's model and the next. It make be possible that one is a true 1974, while the others are 1975? But I can't say for sure.

Presser feet are an additional problem for me. I have hundreds of photos of Kenmore sewing machines and rarely any information as to which machine had which size foot. When exactly Kenmore machines shifted from low to high shank is a good question. When they shifted from high to super high is just as mysterious. Some times I think they offered two sizes in the same model year. It's a real tangle - so thank you Rotary Queen for allowing me to at least identify one model. =)

"Rare" is a relative term, but as a collector of vintage Kenmores I can say that some models are harder to find than others. Try finding one of those 1060 "mini Kennies" and see just how rare they are!

I don't think there was any moment in time where they "switched" from low to super high shank. In collecting vintage Kenmores, I've never found any rhyme or reason for which machine has which shank type - there are models with SHS that are older than models with low shank, and vice versa. And it's difficult to find any resource that lists all the models and their shank types/features so you can know what you're getting if you bid on a machine sight unseen.

I acquired a beautiful Kenmore 158 480. I am struggling to find a needle holder that will fit this machine. The previous owner said she was using it but I am unable to attach a needle. Any suggestions? I am checking this sight before I buy a manual

Welcome to Quilting Board. According to this listing on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/KUNPENG-BP205.../dp/B077MDHWBC it is supposed to fit the 158.480. You may have to fashion some sort of thread guide for it.

We like pictures. In order to post pictures on Quilting Board, you will probably need to reduce or compress the picture to a file size that is smaller than 2MB. How to post images can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...020-01-17-.pdf
Don't forget to scroll over to the far right to find and click on the "Upload" button.

I have found that only the big red "Reply" button or "Quote" work to give me the paper clip icon to work for adding pictures.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...p-location.jpg

Some additional info regarding reducing images at post #4 and images for the scroll and upload button can be found at #5 of https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...d-t312607.html

Another way to post pictures can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/showpo...postcount=1143
And how to use an ipad to post pictures can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/qb-hel...s-t318147.html

Or simply - Make sure pictures are smaller than 2MB
Click on red "Reply" button
Click on the paper clip icon
Click browse - choose picture/s. (only 5 allowed per post)
Once they show up as being loaded, Scroll over to the right side and click on "Upload"
After the pictures show up as being attached, you can close that window and go back to the screen to finish posting your post.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

image of missing needle clamp.
 

I ordered another clamp to try. The one that i already bought said it would work on my machine has a piece that sticks out but doesn't really fit in the grove of the needle bar.

Attachment 643126

Is there a screw hole on the inner side of the needle bar? Can you see a needle stop in the groove of the needle bar? I'm wondering if you even have a needle stop in there somewhere. Sometimes there will be a screw holding a thread guide, which Janey mentioned, and which screw functions as the needle stop.