Kenmore Users

Comment

Comment by Elizabeth Smith on November 29, 2009 at 11:12pm

I love my Kenmore. It stitches slowly enough to stitch the smallest pieces for the dolls that I make. My Singer wants to suddenly take off making it hard to control. It is stubborn to get started and wants to sit and hum then take off in a burst. And the Singer is my newest machine. I love my Kenmores. I got one at a flea market last summer. It is in a cabinet, has a multitude of stitches and also has cams for other ornate stitches. I thought $20 was a steal. It needs a couple of minor adjustments and I'll be off and running, oh, I mean stitching. I don't think you can go wrong with a Kenmore.

Comment by Alie Stevens on June 25, 2009 at 5:46pm

$135 in 1956 today would be equal to 1,058.99, according to DollarTimes.com where they have an inflation calculator. I was curious so I checked it out. I can't imagine the average home sewer back then being able to afford $135 machine.

Comment by Phyllis on June 24, 2009 at 4:41pm

Another Kenmore enthusiast here. My first was bought, to sew myself maternity clothes, in a Sear's Vineland, NJ store early 1958. It was work horse. Circa 1975, the stitch tension went awry. Was able to get the part because this happened 3 years before the 20 year limit on replacing parts went into effect. However, I have yet to get the part put into place.

The following URL might be of interest to members.

http://www.ismacs.net/sears/sears.html

My machine is near page end, with the caption below reading -
Perhaps it was an answer to Singer's popular Model 301? The "Kenmore 71", manufactured by White, was a rotary model made of aluminum and weighing only 17 1/2 pounds. It sold for a pricey $134.95 in 1956

Over the years since the early 1990's, I have purchased Kenmore's for my daughter, son, and most recently 2006.

Though I do know there are sewists who abhore anything "Kenmore."

Comment by Phyllis on June 24, 2009 at 4:21pm

Alie - Can appreciate your being slightly bummed. Any plastic part can present a problem. Having the other pieces does indeed make up for the irreplaceable part.

Comment by Alie Stevens on June 24, 2009 at 11:29am

I'm slightly bummed. My recent find of the vintage kenmore for $20 has just been declared unrepairable by my sewing machine repair man. It was sewing but the stitch length was messed up and when he looked at it he told me that the ONLY plastic part on the whole machine was cracked - the disc connected to the stitch length button. And Sears doesn't make that part anymore. It will sew but only with a basting stitch length. The good news is that the ruffler attachment I got with it, (not to mention all the other attachments) is worth more than $20. AND I can use those and the cams on my other Kenmore. He's giving my working Kenmore a tune-up. I can't wait to get it back, I have soooo much sewing to do!

Comment by M J Isenhart on June 20, 2009 at 11:26pm

Thanks Marty. It is nice to know I have a vintage. I bought my kenmore in 1979. It is still going strong. I have had no problems with it. I thought about getting a new machine, but not any more.

Comment by Margaret "Marty" Cobb on June 20, 2009 at 7:33pm

A sewing machine is considered vintage at 25 years old. An antique sewing machine would be 75 years old or older. Kenmores last forever it seems.

Comment by M J Isenhart on June 20, 2009 at 6:39pm

What age is considered Vintage for Kenmore sewing machine?

Comment by susan romine on June 20, 2009 at 6:11pm

Sinclair's sewing machine repair manual was available years ago at my library. Its probably out of print by now, but, if found it has many helps for the not-so-obvious adjustments for the iron-horse machines that aren't just quite right. Grab this old book if you find one. I believe they spanned different shuttle shuttle styles also.
When one of my Kenmores 'adjusted' itself when dropped on a concrete floor I was able to get the machine parts realigned and set back where they belonged before jarred out of place.

Comment by Alie Stevens on June 19, 2009 at 2:57am

I just picked up another Vintage Sears Kenmore sewing machine for $20! It came with the cabinet, bench, cams, attachments, manual, and these "Sew by Color" instruction cards. It looks like everything was kept with such care, and the attachments are in beautiful condition. It belonged to someone's grandmother. I didn't get it as cheap as Laura did hers, but this is such a deal!

It is missing the bobbin case, which seems odd since everything else has been so well kept. But, I think I can replace that with no problem.

Here's some photos of the old girl.

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