Sewing

I have the 201 manufactured in 1953. I have been doing much research on the 201 and 201-2 for the last couple years. In good working condition with cabinet you are worth to a collector about $150.00. Collectors love the 201 class because it will sew through demin leather and heavy fabics with ease. It is also a very quiet machine. Good luck and happy sewing.

Whilst there have been many variations of the sewing machine through the years, credit is generally given to Elias Howe. Elias Howe was employed in a machinist's shop, where he had the opportunity to experiment with inventing a sewing machine. He successfully demonstrated his first sewing machine in 1846, and patented his lockstitch sewing machine on 10 September 1846 in New Hartford, Connecticut.

Howe faced a legal battle after Isaac Singer invented the up-and-down motion mechanism, and Allen Wilson developed a rotary hook shuttle, both filing for patents. After winning one suit, the three inventors pooled their patent rights in the Sewing Machine Combination. It was under this patent that the sewing machine was then successfully marketed.

Thread is the name for the string used in sewing. It is usually very thin, so that it is easily put through the eye of a needle and pulled through fabric. It is sold in many colors, and in many different weights.

In about 5 seconds of searching, I discovered that there was. Unfortunately, I suspect the follow up question will be where you can get one, and that's a much trickier question to answer. Your best bet is probably ebay, or you could try an anime/manga/weird stuff from Japan shop if you live in a large enough metropolitan area to have one of those.

I have this model as well with the full cabinet and chair that I'm trying to research. So far, I have found where someone said the sewing machine itself (matching the model number) was made in 1954. See link below.

Good luck!

If you are talking about the specific model Athena 2001, that was made by Singer. If it's a different model, you are asking about, I have no idea. If you are talking about the year, it could be many different companies.

Hi, as much as someone is willing to pay for it. It varies a lot. Depends upon condition, also, and if it has all the accessories and cams that should be there with the machine. Accessories and cams take a while to hunt down, and customers might not want to spend that much total on the machine should they have to wait and hunt, etc. If it's filthy, beat up and needs servicing, well, not much.

The belt usually refers to a rubberized small belt that runs from the motor-shaft to a shaft that moves the needle. It looks like a fat rubber-band. On the older machines, it was clearly visible on the turn wheel. The newer machines have them hidden inside the machine. Depending on your particular machine, you may be able to change them yourself. Some, however, require changing by a repair man.

Firstly, you've to know what you going to make or about the measurement? All measurement has it LENGTH & WIDTH. Equations as bellow-

# Body Length + Sleeve Length + 10 (for folding {sleeve & bottom}) * (Chest width + 4 C.M.) * 2 / 10,000 * G.S.M. (Gram per square meter) Range / 1000 * 12 * 10% (wastages)

= K.G. per Dozen

Firstly, you've to know what you going to make or about the measurement? All measurement has it LENGTH & WIDTH. Equations as bellow-

# Body Length + Sleeve Length + 10 (for folding {sleeve & bottom}) * (Chest width + 4 C.M.) * 2 / 10,000 * G.S.M. (Gram per square meter) Range / 1000 * 12 * 10% (wastages)

= K.G. per Dozen

The standard measurement for weight and quality of fabrics is grams per square meter, usually abbreviated as GSM. This is the accepted standard in the United States as well as in foreign countries. Towels and bath robes typically vary from 300 to 800 GSM; other fabrics may have values as low as 100 GSM. The same units are used for toilet paper and other tissues (18 to 22 GSM is typical) as well as paper towels (35 to 50 GSM is typical).

Occasionally I receive requests to convert these units to U.S. pounds (usually from U.S. visitors who are not comfortable with metric units). The reason grams per square meter are used even in the U.S. is that they are a more accurate indicator of quality than pounds. Let's compare, for example, two towels both weighing 1.5 pounds (680 grams) but with different dimensions, as follows:

Towel A weighs 1.5 pounds (680 grams) and measures 26 by 52 inches (.66 by 1.32 meters).

Calculate the surface area by multiplying the length and width in meters: .66 times 1.32 equals .8712 square meter.

Divide the weight in grams (680) by .8712 and find that you have a 780 GSM towel-quite plush.

Towel B also weighs 1.5 pounds (680 grams) but is larger, measuring 34 by 68 inches (.864 by 1.727 meters).

Multiply .864 by 1.727 to determine the area: 1.4921 square meters.

Divide 680 grams by 1.4921 and find that this towel is only 455 GSM-nice but not nearly as plush as Towel A.

As you can see from these examples, there is no direct conversion between GSM and pounds; the total weight of the towel is actually the product of the GSM and the towel's dimensions.

NOTE: The surface area of a bath robe would be harder to figure because of the various pieces and angles, so the GSM would be equally difficult to figure this way.

Prior to the invention of the sewing machine, sewing was done by hand with needle and thread. This method was very time consuming and consequently people only owned a few pieces of clothing, not the closets-full that we do nowadays.

In sewing departments they have patterns for Halloween costumes. They should have one for Alice in Wonderland. The pattern will tell you what materials, how much and directions for how to sew it. most are sold out though..........

I have a Sears Kenmore model 83 sewing machine cabinet style, model # 117831 and the patent # is 1646962. There are also these numbers on it E-6354 and 83X20205. I am not good with the compute so wondering if you could get me info. and it's worth on it.

Roughly about $40 if the cabinet's included ... really, it's usually whatever the market will bear. And since you can usually buy a new machine with the same or more features for about $100, most people choose to buy new.

OTOH, price is also driven by sentimental or antique value ... in this case, not much. :( Just to set the record, the 5186 refers to the electric motor on the sewing machine, most machines with this motor are not so old. They date to around early 1970s.

It is my understanding that this machine, the 158.904 was manufactured in 1987 in Canada

If it functions and smoothly I can't imagine that it's dollar worth is anything but its worth in ability to sew is as they say priceless....... This is a ruff little go getter machine, as stated IF you have all the parts and it does still function smoothly it zigzag's- had decorator stitches and overcasts. you can do any kind of sewing with it and it moves fast. So in the world of sewing machines and money Not Much I don't think if it is please tell me because I own one...

it can go either way you just have to push the stitch length dial up and then it will go backwards

We purchased our Kenmore Sewing Machine Model 95 on 28 September 1967.

My wife is still using it.

I bought my 158-12512 in 1980 at Sears in southern Ontario, Canada. I then operated a dressmaking business for almost 10 years, using this machine, one serger and one industrial sewing machine daily. I have now gone through two sergers, sold the industrial, but still have the Kenmore - which is actually waiting on the worktable behind me to finish a large project for the Nursery at my local hospital. I luv this machine, and don't want to ever loose it!! I just realized that I've worked this lil machine for 33 years, and it still purrs. Hope this helps.

An enclosed seam, or a French seam, is a seam that is sewn with the wrong sides of the fabric together. A second seam is usually sewn with the right sides together so that the first seam is enclosed.

If I'm not mistaken, all sewing machines have the same 'basic' structure so this means that if you just put the bobbin in the bobbin case in the bottom of the machine, hold about 5 inches of the thread out then dangle it over the back (away from you). Next hold about 10 inches of the top thread, that's been threaded through the needle, and with the other hand turn the wheel counter clockwise, (or clockwise, I think this varies per machine). The point is to allow the top thread to loop around the bottom one, and it should do that automatically. All you have to do is just turn the wheel until the needle dips down all the way and back up all the way. After this point you can do a couple of test stitches and if it hasn't picked up try it again, but it should!

Good luck.

I got mine in 1972 for my HS graduation present - after 39 1/2 years of LOVING it, it is finally dying and I need to replace it and I am bummed!