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| Kenmore:158.18033 (Sewing Machine) | | Viewed 752 time(s) | | Review rated Helpful by 1 people Very Helpful by 4 people | | Reviewed by: | ThePolyParrot | 
 | | About ThePolyParrot | | | | Member since: 2/18/08 | | Reviews written: 9 | | Sewing skills:Advanced | | sewing machines reviewed: 4 | | Bio: more... |
| | Posted on: | 5/27/09 2:00 PM | | Approx price paid: | $75 | | Had this machine for: | 2 years | | Recommended? | Yes | Features
- Embroidery Stitches
- Adjustable Stitch Length and Width
- Adjustable Presser Foot Pressure
| | What ThePolyParrot likes about this machine
I like just about everything about this machine. It's an old model from the late 70's/early 80's and extremely capable. You see these and close cousin, the 158.1802 at garage sales all the time and they can be really cheap! Or, if you're patient, you can get one on eBay with all the bells and whistles and perhaps servicing for $100-200 - definitely worth the cost!
This machine is all metal with dual drive belts for starting, for sewing slowly or through many layers of fabric - it can power through anything you can fit under the presser foot.
I paid $75 for mine and it is in pristine condition. These machines were very complicated looking for their time and lots of people got them for presents and never did pick up sewing, so they're wasting away in attics and closets, like this one was.
It came with a hard plastic carrying case and a stack of trays full of accessories and feet. It has feet for just about any sewing task you can think of, except for an even feed foot. I bought one of those on eBay.
It is my favorite free-motion quilting machine in the entire growing "herd" of machines in my house.
The feed dogs drop at the touch of a button and changing the pressure on the presser foot is just as easy.
It uses the standard big class 15 bobbin so you can sew for a good while between bobbin changes. The bobbin case dismounts quickly for cleaning and then pops back in with two clips. I use the 15J bobbins that I bought for my Singer Futura, and the free-motion quilting is going even smoother with those than with the regular class 15 bobbins.
There are quite a few built-in decorative and utility stitches - overedgings, stretch stitches, triple stitches, etc - and there are 30 cams you can pop in for even more.
It is a big, heavy machine - smooth-running and reasonably quiet. It sews for hours without any trouble at all.
It has a monogrammer that does letters in two sizes, a buttonhole maker that you simply clip on and sew and lots of feet for any kind of sewing you'd like to do. I prefer to write my own monograms, using the monogrammer foot and a satin stitch.
I do garment construction, quilt piecing, free-motion quilting, darning and mending on my machine. I keep it always set up in my studio because it's fast to thread and always reliable with no fussing with the tensions. What ThePolyParrot does not like about this machine
It would be nice to have a lot more stitching designs available, but then again, I don't even use the ones I have.
I would like for the settings to be more intuitive. I need to consult the manual for every kind of stitch that I want to do.
I would like to be able to position the needle exactly where I want it, too.
The feet are "super high shank," so it's not so easy finding feet for it as it is for my low-shank and slant-shank machines. Now that I've bought the even feed foot, there aren't any optional feet for it that I don't have.
These are minor issues and certainly wouldn't keep me from buying one of these if it became available to me at a good price. I found an 1802 just as loaded with accessories and bought that one, too. Even after a $100 servicing for new belts and a COA, the machine is still worth more than I've paid for it. | *LOGIN to add a comment to this review
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| Reader Comments | | Mufffet | 5/27/09 | If you can, post a picture! I would love to see both your machines. I had the 1602, which is the 1803 without cam capability. It did indeed come new with a couple of boxes of accessories! I sold this machine back in 1977, after having it 6 years. Some days I wish I had kept it! | | * * * | | NM gal | 5/27/09 | Great review. Where did you find an even-feed foot for this high shank machine??? Thank you. | | * * * | | ThePolyParrot | 5/27/09 | I will try to get some pictures up - thanks for the suggestion. :)
There are several eBay sellers who sell the Super High shank even feed - and your local Sears will order it for you, too. :) | | * * * | | NM gal | 5/28/09 | My mom sold Singer sewing machines in the 70s and 80s. As a teenager I used her Singers to sew back packs,patch jeans and make hippie clothing from army
surplus. Needless to say I would get her
machines into some messy binds. One day she brought home a Sears Kenmore machine that she took in on trade and put it on my sewing table and said this is 'Your' machine. I whined and said I won't have a Sears machine. She told me to button up, watch and learn. She threaded the heavy weight needle grabbed some canvas doubled it and ran a straight stitch like she was sewing thin cotton. She then handed it to me and it was perfect and tight I could not rip it apart. I made Frostline packs and did some leather on canvas packs. I loved that funny green machine with all the cams. My machine got lost in the shuffle of life and my wife surprized me with one she found locally with every foot and cam and a ton of bobbins for $50. I have been revived and plan to make some leather and canvas tool carriers for my
work tools.
| | * * * | | 9patch | 8/25/09 | If the machine has a zigzag stitch, you may be able to adjust the width to move the needle. I can move the needle position on my Singer 201 by adjusting the width to get a scant 1/4 inch seam.
Really excellent review of this Kenmore 158.18033. | | * * * |
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