"kenmore" needles for 1970 sears kenmore
Michelle Giordano
wonderfully. I just received it recently off freecycle to teach my
oldest to sew.
Here is the problem:
the manual states only use kenmore needles (obviously from that era).
There is a diagram in the manual that shows the exact length the
needle has to be. I have one that came with it in a sears needle
package. I cannot find anymore of these. My sewing machine repair
guys that I go to for tune ups etc are adamant that it will use
standard size needles. I told them I tried that and the bobbin thread
would not pick up, so they then said my timing is off & to bring it in
for service. The only problem with that is when I put in the actual
"sears" needle it worked perfect. There is only about 3mm difference
in length, but it makes the difference. I am not a newbie to sewing,
I made sure it was up in there all the way, flat side to the back, not
bent etc...
Does anyone have any comments, advice? Or does anyone know where to
buy these shorter needles? I will try using a standard needle one
more time but if they didn't work the last five times I doubt I will
be doing anything productive.
thanks so much everyone! This is a great machine, according to the
sears archive it is a white machine with the kenmore brand on it.
Michelle Giordano
Michelle Giordano
have said this first....
!!! Hello! I am back after about 2 or 3 years of not being able to
read the group! I missed it so much. It looks like some of the girls
& guys I used to post with are still around, and alot of new-to-me
people too! I used to post under the name dnmgiordano I think, I
can't even remember my old username!
Michelle Giordano
On Sep 10, 8:57 pm, Michelle Giordano <michellegio_...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> I have a 1970 sears kenmore 1701, its a beautiful machine & sews
> wonderfully. I just received it recently off freecycle to teach my
> oldest to sew.
(snip)
> Michelle Giordano
Bobbie Sews More
Welcome back!!
Barbara in SC
Juno B
myself .Michelle with the 3 little girls, lots of sewing skills and a
job with an insurance company.Oh and you live in Saskatchewan
Hope you stay around for awhile.
Juno
Michelle Giordano
don't know why I don't believe it LOL because I remember both of you!)
Yes Juno, that is me! Three cute girls, MAD sewing skills!!! (upgraded
myself there LOL - ok maybe not so great, but hey, I have to walk the
walk right?) and I still do work in insurance, but I took a position
with an insurer, so now I am underwriting, not selling. I prefer it
much better. And we have a new addition to our family..... No not a
human baby, sorry. A pretty little blue point siamese or burmese
cross female. The father was the siamese or burmese, or perhaps
ragdoll considering she is very bendy and relaxed most of the time...
the people we got her from didn't know what the father was. She is
about 15 weeks old now & we just love her! We call her Tinky. But I
think that is enough bragging for a cat...
I do have a sears in town, not too far from where I work. I am going
to call there and see if they have someone in their sewing machine
department who knows anything about sewing machines at all. Our city
is majorly short staffed everywhere.
In other news I have to announce the untimely demise of my 1977 Singer
due to a sewer back-up. This Kenmore is the replacement.
Michelle Giordano
Emily Bengston
On 9/10/08 10:48 PM, in article
3fcb3811-fcb1-4ad4...@w24g2000prd.googlegroups.com, "Michelle
Giordano" <michell...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Welcome back, Michelle!
I had a couple Kenmore machines in the 80s-90s,and never had problems
getting needles from Sears.
In El Paso, TX, where I lived for years, I went to the repair store to buy
the needles, but the store in the mall also had them.
My DS inherited a Kenmore when his aunt passed away last year. I don't know
how old it is, but it had a couple Kenmore Q-needles with it, that I've been
using while playing around with it since DS got a manual, it was lost.
DS says he will look at the mall soon, and if Sears has them, I'll post the
info on here.
Emily(in Houston awaiting IKE)
BEI Design
<snip>
> Emily(in Houston awaiting IKE)
Oh, dear!!! Another one so soon! Stay safe. Are you going
to have to evacuate?
Beverly
Kate XXXXXX
Hello, love! Welcome home!
Best thing to do is to look at the Needle System. If it's a standard
705/130, then, theoretically any make in this system should fit.
However, you may find that some makes work better than others... All my
machines (including the old Singers!) work better with Schmetz needles,
none like Singer brand, and only one will work with Organ (and it
doesn't take 705/130's, but a different type). I think Singer brand
needles have a rep for being slightly shorter, so you might try those...
Kenmore are only a brand: they were never a make of machine. The
machines were bought in and badged for them from several different
manufacturers over the years.
No sewing machine company makes their own needles, and they never did.
These were always bought in from different specialist needle
manufacturers. The best are made in Germany. My preferred makes are
Schmetz, Rhein (who make Bernina brand needles), and Klasse. Organ &
Singer brand (not sure who makes those these days) are both made in the
Far East.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
Mary Fisher
"Michelle Giordano" <michell...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3fcb3811-fcb1-4ad4...@w24g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
Oh my gosh! Barbara & Juno! I can't believe you guys remember me (I
don't know why I don't believe it LOL because I remember both of you!)
> ... But I
think that is enough bragging for a cat...
A cat can never have enough bragging!
Mary
Wayne Hines
<ka...@diceyhome.free-online.co.uk> wrote:
> No sewing machine company makes their own needles, and they never did.
> These were always bought in from different specialist needle
> manufacturers. The best are made in Germany. My preferred makes are
> Schmetz, Rhein (who make Bernina brand needles), and Klasse. Organ &
> Singer brand (not sure who makes those these days) are both made in the
> Far East.
I've come across some Singer-branded needles recently made in Germany.
Most of them are stamped "Made in Brazil".
gwh
--
Kate XXXXXX
machines... The last several packs of Singer needles I've come across
were made in Taiwan and China. Horribles things...
Bobbie Sews More
sometime use in my Kenmore, Singer, and Pfaff! Boy oh boy, is my memory
fading! But I have a lot on my mind with my BIL being in the hospital in
Cardiac intensive care. And my sister is in bad health, And a cousin
passed away and will be burried tomorrow. Gotta have an excuse!
Barbara in SC
Kate XXXXXX
IMS
needles (Singer, Kenmore, etc) will state that very same thing - you
MUST use their brand of needle! It's baloney. They did that to
increase sales of their own brand of needles.
I have several 1970s era Kenmores and they are super machines! And
they use universal needles....I like Schmetz and they just fine with
Schmetz Universal size needles, 15x1.
Kenmore needles back in the 70s were made by another comapny (I think
it was Organ) and today they're made by whomever has the lowest bid :)
If it possible the other needles you have aren't the standard
universal size? There may be some debris built up in the little
channel the needle sits in. Remove the needle, and use a old dental
pick or similar instrument to see if there's stuff in there 'skewing'
the way the needle sits. Alchohol on a qtip will help loosen it up
for removal.
Congratulations on keeping a great old machine out of the dumpster and
returning it to useful service! They do not build 'em like that
anymore!
-Irene
IMS
-Irene
Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:01:37 -0700 (PDT), Michelle Giordano
Bobbie Sews More
Barbara in SC, stopping to take a break from life for a few minutes.
Juno B
> Thanks Kate.
>
> Barbara in SC, stopping to take a break from life for a few minutes.
>
>
My thoughts and prayers go out to you. You are very wise to take the
life break for awhile. It helps .
Love and Hugs,
Juno
Emily Bengston
On 9/11/08 1:40 AM, in article o5Gdnc9zeLHyIFXV...@comcast.com,
"BEI Design" <nobeide...@comcast.net.invalid> wrote:
After the mess of traffic 3 years ago with Rita, when thousands decided to
evacuate at once, the counties have set up a plan for evacuation, according
to zip codes, beginning with water-front properties and moving westward.
Since our home is about 70-75 miles west of Galveston, we are not in any
evacuation zone as of yet.
DS is on his way home from his work out of town and when he gets home, we'll
decide if we'll leave early in the morning or not. When Gustaf was coming
toward us, we planned to leave, but also stocked up on bottled water,
non-perishable foods, batteries, charcoal for the grill, propane for the
Coleman stove, etc. and all of it is here.
I will post as often as possible; everything will be past in a few days.
Emily
Emily Bengston
On 9/11/08 5:21 AM, in article
3ZSdnRgrmLW6bFXV...@earthlink.com, "Barbara Raper"
<bar...@peoplepc.com> wrote:
Prayers for your BIL & DS; am sorry to hear of your cousin's passing.
Just take a sewing break and make something fun for yourself, to give your
mind a break.
Emily
BEI Design
> >
> After the mess of traffic 3 years ago with Rita, when
> thousands decided to evacuate at once, the counties have
> set up a plan for evacuation, according to zip codes,
> beginning with water-front properties and moving
> westward. Since our home is about 70-75 miles west of
> Galveston, we are not in any evacuation zone as of yet.
> DS is on his way home from his work out of town and when
> he gets home, we'll decide if we'll leave early in the
> morning or not. When Gustaf was coming toward us, we
> planned to leave, but also stocked up on bottled water,
> non-perishable foods, batteries, charcoal for the grill,
> propane for the Coleman stove, etc. and all of it is
> here.
> I will post as often as possible; everything will be past
> in a few days. Emily
Good luck! It appears yet another one is forming out in the
Atlantic.
Beverly
Michelle Giordano
Secondly: Thanks everyone! What a wealth of knowledge on the
subject. I will definitley try cleaning out the needle holder ( whats
the name?) and see what happens. I have some Singer needles around
here too, but I do prefer schmetz & klasse.
Thanks Everyone!
Michelle Giordano
*who has re-written this four times already because the cat kept
swatting me*
**who is totally into desingning purses now**
Michelle Giordano
out my existing stock of needles. The needle in the "sears" needle
case is a standard size. the needle that was in the machine is a
tailor-form, and that is what I thought was standard size until I
looked closer. The tailorforms I have came with this new-to-me
kenmore & I didn't know about this brand. These are about 3mm or so
longer!!!! They are longer at the top of the needle.
Geesh! No wonder it didn't work for me with those needles. I think I
am going to keep them to remind myself never to assume. The size is
so close, and there are so many brands out there.
Whats even better is a girlfriend from work brought me her old kenmore
to play with over the weekend. She just got married and wanted to get
a sewing machine just to have around for hemming etc. She was going
to buy a brand new one and I mentioned I would take an older one any
day. She said she had one that used to be her grandmother's but
didn't know how to use it. I told her bring it to me, I will oil it
and make sure the timing is correct (if not she will have to have it
serviced). Now I can test it with needles LOL. It is such a cute
little machine. Its a model 385 if I remember correctly and it looks
late 70's to mid 80's. It comes with the most adorable fabric travel
case. I can't wait to try it out.
Michelle Giordano
<snip>
>
> Here is the problem:
>
> the manual states only use kenmore needles (obviously from that era).
> There is a diagram in the manual that shows the exact length the
> needle has to be. I have one that came with it in a sears needle
> package....
The only problem with that is when I put in the actual
> "sears" needle it worked perfect. There is only about 3mm difference
> in length, but it makes the difference...
Emily Bengston
On 9/11/08 4:31 PM, in article
e107bbc1-81f8-40ad...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, "Michelle
Giordano" <michell...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> AGH I had some major blonde moments there. I didn't bother to bring
> out my existing stock of needles. The needle in the "sears" needle
> case is a standard size. the needle that was in the machine is a
> tailor-form, and that is what I thought was standard size until I
> looked closer. The tailorforms I have came with this new-to-me
> kenmore & I didn't know about this brand. These are about 3mm or so
> longer!!!! They are longer at the top of the needle.
>
> Geesh! No wonder it didn't work for me with those needles. I think I
> am going to keep them to remind myself never to assume. The size is
> so close, and there are so many brands out there.
>
> Whats even better is a girlfriend from work brought me her old kenmore
> to play with over the weekend. She just got married and wanted to get
> a sewing machine just to have around for hemming etc. She was going
> to buy a brand new one and I mentioned I would take an older one any
> day. She said she had one that used to be her grandmother's but
> didn't know how to use it. I told her bring it to me, I will oil it
> and make sure the timing is correct (if not she will have to have it
> serviced). Now I can test it with needles LOL. It is such a cute
> little machine. Its a model 385 if I remember correctly and it looks
> late 70's to mid 80's. It comes with the most adorable fabric travel
> case. I can't wait to try it out.
>
> Michelle Giordano
>
Michele, I forgot to tell you last evening-mind is addled with this
hurricane headed in our direction; BUT I should have told you that the
people from who DS got the manual for his Kenmore: Their address is
RELICS 1457 N Nottawa St. Sturgis, MI 49091
website: rel...@sewing-machine-manuals.com
I am not associated with this business, only a happy recipient of a manual.
Emily
BEI Design
> Michele, I forgot to tell you last evening-mind is addled
> with this hurricane headed in our direction;
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5day#contents
Looks like it will head toward Sharon H after it comes
ashore. I hope you and DS have everything battened down!
Beverly
Michelle Giordano
safe, warm & dry.
Michelle
>
> Michele, I forgot to tell you last evening-mind is addled with this
> hurricane headed in our direction; BUT I should have told you that the
> people from who DS got the manual for his Kenmore: Their address is
> RELICS 1457 N Nottawa St. Sturgis, MI 49091
> website: rel...@sewing-machine-manuals.com
> I am not associated with this business, only a happy recipient of a manual.
> Emily- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Emily Bengston
On 9/11/08 8:00 PM, in article 6LmdnclPQ6fYIlTV...@comcast.com,
"BEI Design" <nobeide...@comcast.net.invalid> wrote:
Yes, we are, to use the county judge's words, "Hunkered down and sheltered
in place." There are certain zip codes with mandatory evacuations, but we
aren't in them, so we are staying home. I saw on the maps it will head
toward Sharon's and we'll say prayers for them as well.
Emily
Emily Bengston
On 9/11/08 9:56 PM, in article
2cd5ec8f-7c8b-4c42...@25g2000hsx.googlegroups.com, "Michelle
Giordano" <michell...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Yes, we will be safe, hopefully. We are taking precautions, as suggested by
authorities, and have several days food & water on hand plus charcoal for
the grill and propane for the Coleman stove.
Emily
FarmI
> Yes, we will be safe, hopefully.
Good luck.
We are taking precautions, as suggested by
> authorities, and have several days food & water on hand plus charcoal for
> the grill and propane for the Coleman stove.
I'm always mildly amused by those sorts of instructions. Living in the
country we always have thos ethings in bulk supply and I'm sure we could
live for almost a month on what we have on hand.
Pogonip
>>
> Michele, I forgot to tell you last evening-mind is addled with this
> hurricane headed in our direction; BUT I should have told you that the
> people from who DS got the manual for his Kenmore: Their address is
> RELICS 1457 N Nottawa St. Sturgis, MI 49091
> website: rel...@sewing-machine-manuals.com
> I am not associated with this business, only a happy recipient of a manual.
> Emily
>
That's Linda and she's absolutely super. Her site is at
http://www.tias.com/stores/relics/
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
Emily Bengston
On 9/12/08 2:07 PM, in article 48cabdfe$1...@news.bnb-lp.com, "Pogonip"
<nob...@nowhere.org> wrote:
> Emily Bengston wrote:
>>>
>> Michele, I forgot to tell you last evening-mind is addled with this
>> hurricane headed in our direction; BUT I should have told you that the
>> people from who DS got the manual for his Kenmore: Their address is
>> RELICS 1457 N Nottawa St. Sturgis, MI 49091
>> website: rel...@sewing-machine-manuals.com
>> I am not associated with this business, only a happy recipient of a manual.
>> Emily
>>
>
> That's Linda and she's absolutely super. Her site is at
> http://www.tias.com/stores/relics/
Yes, she is great! I was having some problems with the cams and sent them
an e-mail; she called to advice me what to do, then later called back to see
if I was able to solve it.
Emily
Liz
"Kate XXXXXX" <ka...@diceyhome.free-online.co.uk> wrote in message
news:f6ednQ7EKdA7ZFXV...@posted.plusnet...
> Bobbie Sews More wrote:
>> Ha! I didn't remember the name of the Schmetz needles, but that is what
>> I sometime use in my Kenmore, Singer, and Pfaff! Boy oh boy, is my
>> memory fading! But I have a lot on my mind with my BIL being in the
>> hospital in Cardiac intensive care. And my sister is in bad health, And
>> a cousin passed away and will be burried tomorrow. Gotta have
>> an excuse!
>> Barbara in SC
> Have some ((((((BarbaraHugs)))))) Sounds like you need them.
OMG, Kate! My last name is Hug and my daughter-in-law's name is Barbara
Hug!!!
BTW. my Comcast account decided to drop newsgroups until last week so I've
been stuck with Google for reading posts, but it's so nice to finally be
able to respond again.
Liz
cotten.e...@gmail.com
ItsJoanNotJoann
>
> hello, im new to google groups. i recently bought a kenmore 1701 and it has no manual. anyone know where i can find a free manual?
>
>
to search the threads about where to locate manuals.
Not sure if they were free or not, though.
BEI Design
<shrug> This one is reasonably priced, IMHO
http://www.sewingmachinemanual.net/Sewing_Machine_Manuals/Kenmore/Kenmore_Model-1701_instruction_manual.htm
--
Beverly
http://www.ickes.us
Kay Lancaster
> hello, im new to google groups. i recently bought a kenmore 1701 and it has no manual. anyone know where i can find a free manual?
http://www.sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine_Manuals/Kenmore_Manuals/Kenmore_1701_Instruction_Manual.htm though it
is not free. Here's another: http://www.sewconsult.com/kenmore/158%20manuals/kenmore_158_instruction_manuals_3.html
My usual place to look for free Kenmore sewing machine manuals is through Sears parts services, but the search there
comes up dry.
Kay