The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

Good Ol’ Kenmore Sewing Machine

| 23 Comments

The last of the baby blankets are drying, and I have a few more booties and maybe one or two more hats, and I’m done for now with my load of donations for the hospital. I had posted on my Facebook page about my adventures in sewing, and one of my friends asked about what type of sewing machine I had because she was thinking of getting one.

Well, here it is, my good ol’ reliable Kenmore 30 stitch. Before I had this machine, my DH had picked up a used Kenmore machine at his grandparent’s antique/tool/what-not shop for $25. It even has a cabinet, though it does looks like someone took a hammer to it. Still, that machine is pretty decent, and after loaning it out to two sisters, it made its way back to me recently and I plan to keep it (unless I can find it a very good home).

My more recent Kenmore sewing machine is not exactly new as it is now at least 15 years old, and I know there are a lot of machines that are much fancier, but this little guy still does the trick. I noticed that my reverse seems to have stopped working, so I probably need to bring it in for service (yet another reason I don’t plan to get rid of my other machine any time soon). However, considering it has never been serviced at all in all these years, I think that says a lot!

Author: Tammy

Welcome to the Crafty Princess Diaries, my weblog and site where I get to blab about my passion for crafts, primarily jewelry making, and my crafting career. My name is Tammy Powley, and I decided to call my blog the Crafty Princess Diaries because of this very dorky picture I have of myself and because my husband often refers to me as “the princess and the pea,” which is just another way to say that I tend to be particular sometimes. Along with this weblog, I have a number of jewelry making books published.

23 Comments

  1. Pingback: Artsy blogging round-up! : Blisstree - Family, Health, Home and Lifestyles

  2. I have an ancient Singer that was my Grandmother’s and I can’t even sew! My sister-in-law just got a new machine with all the bells and whistles and she is going to give me her older one – and teach me to use it – YAY!

  3. That’s cool, Connie! I’m so glad I finally learned. My mom taught me some, but I usually ended up screwing up her machine. Then I had a roommate in college that was an amazing seamstress, and she really helped me finally “get” it.

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  5. Hello, I was wondering what model number this particular machine (in the image above)is? Thanks!

  6. Mr N. – It is called a Kenmore 30 Stitch, model #385. 1884180. I’m not sure if they still make this particular model. I probably bought it at least 15 years ago.

  7. I was given a kenmore 30 and I can’t get it to sew properly—leaves a big mess of thread below from the upper thread (not the bobbin). It doesn’t sound right either no matter how I adjust the tension.
    Have you ever had this problem?

  8. Probably it needs to be serviced. Call your nearest Sears to see about bring it in. Or see if there are any sewing machine places nearby. I don’t think there are many these days, but it doesn’t cost much to have one serviced normally.

  9. Oh, Karen, also first if you have the book that comes with the machine, check in there for trouble shooting. You may even be able to make some adjustments to the tension yourself.

  10. I have this exact sewing machine. I have been jobless for 2 years now and two of my kids have birthday’s coming up. (Jan. 27 and Fed. 2) So I am planning on selling it to my cousin. But the problem is I bought it 10 years ago used for around $160.00. I’ve never even used it. Don’t know how to. lol My cousin has tried it and said that it still works wonderfully. Told my cousin that we could talk about a price and look it up on line. I was thinking no less than $100.00. His wife said she was thinking about $40.00 before she had even seen it. I think not. We have not been able to fine it online. Until now. I found you. Yeah! How much do you think it’s worth? By chance do you know what year it is?

  11. @Mary I bought this about 20 years ago, but I have no idea exactly when. I suggest finding a similar Kenmore and using that to determine how much you want to get for it.

  12. What year did this sewing machine come out?

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  14. @ mary, I have this same sewing machine. Did you ever find out how much its worth?

  15. Hey I have this machine got it from a thrift store for $15 and its in a desk like cabinet very nice. I need s manual. Anybody got one they could copy n send to me for a fee.

  16. My reverse has stopped working also. Had it serviced and now it has stopped again. Not sure if it’s worth another repair. Did you get yours fixed?

  17. Hi Tammy,
    I found the same machine on Craigslist and the only thing that I noticed is that it seems to sew at kind of a slow pace…I was wondering if you noticed if yours sews at a slower pace, or at a reasonable pace?
    Thanks.

  18. I know it’s now years later from your initial post about the Kenmore 30 (385.*********)
    But I have some info. These were made by Janome for Sears. That’s why they look like a Janome of the same era like the memory craft. The plastic discolours like a same era Janome and they have the same problems as Janome of the same era. 1 being the reverse. They used grease on the reverse lever and push rod that was to dry after time and would cake up. If you remove the bottom of the machine you will see a thin black rod running to midway along the machine to a pivot point. Douse all the attached parts with lots of oil to loosen it up and keep working the reverse lever. In a couple of minutes it will loosen up and work for another 20 years.
    I am working on the same machine with same problem. About the tenth K 30 I have overhauled. They are wonderful machines. My other machine is a Janome MemoryCraft 6000. 135 built in stitches. Nice machine but had similar grease problem when I got it.
    Now works great.( touch wood)

    • Thanks, I will see about doing that. I actually paid someone to fix it. They claimed they had fixed it, but it just did the same thing when I got it home.

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