Kenmore 158.16250

新しいミシンに場所を譲るため、義母からもらったお古のミシンはケースにいれて、押入れに閉まっておくことにしました。
ケンモアというブランドで売られていたけど、日本のジャノメの工場で作られた日本製だよ。昭和５２年式だよ。

Before I retire my Kenmore, I would like to record its goodness.

My machine is Kenmore 158.16250. According to the serial number, it was made in 1977 in Japan. So was I. We were meant to be together.

The Man of the House cut out a base shape from a desk so the machine can be buried almost flush with the desk surface. But even without a custom desk, it has a nice large relatively flat work surface.

The machine was originally my mother-in-law's. MOTH always talks about his mother sewing all his Halloween costumes. At one point, when she became a quilter, she bought a Bernina as her main machine, and kept Kenmore as her back up. She handed it down to me about 10 or 12 years ago.

Great metal body and solid; covered with very durable glossy paint. (or is it enamel?)
It came with a hard carrying case.

The harp is about 7 inches.
It has a little knob for adjusting the presser foot pressure behind the thread uptake on top.

The table comes comes off for a free arm. You can disengage feed dog.

And open the little flap door to expose the bobbin area. If you move the two black plastic levers out, some of the components can come out for cleaning and oiling.

The presser foot has up position and extra high up position (though you have to hold it manually for the extra height) for thick fabrics.
The feet are slanted super high shank, and although it is not a snap-on, it is very easy to put it on and off (just move the lever up to attach or lower to release).
There is a thread cutter at the shaft as well.

The throat plate is simple but has convenient markings. In addition to the seam line markings on both side of the needle hole, the bottom horizontal line is 5/8" so you can stop and pivot at 5/8" seam allowance.

The needle place can be changed to a zig-zag plate with just one push of the metal spring release without unscrewing the throat plate entirely.

There is a total of 11 stitch variations.

Unfortunately, the machine uses imperial units. The longest stitch (6 on the bottom dial) I believe means 6 stitches per inch, and bigger the number, shorter the stitches.

The side and the top covers are just snap-ons. Very easy access for cleaning and oiling.

The bottom of the machine does have screws and it can be opened fully as well.
This is the top.

Other than the new foot controller and the light bulb, I believe all the parts are original.
For accessory, I got them all from MIL except for the walking foot.
I was never good at rolled hem, so gave up on the various width rolled hem feet.
I don't think I ever used the binding foot either.

This machine has done what I asked and I feel so bad that I have to retire this guy because I bought a shiny new toy. Such a good useful machine to be sitting in a closet.
Well, maybe I can use this machine if I ever need to take it to somewhere...