Embroidery on Kenmore Super High Shank Sewing Machines

 Many people want to learn to embroider on vintage Kenmore sewing machines, and want to know which foot to use, if any. 

Sears never sold a vintage Kenmore Super High Shank "HOPPING" embroidery foot,  possibly due to low demand, but also because the Super High Shank Quick Change System includes a lever, which must be installed on a reverse threaded screw, behind the needlebar, by spinning thelever around, until it is the correct tightness, and it must do so, exactly where anormal needle holder thumbscrew would be.

To avoid this, engineers designed a needle holder with a tiny front screw, and if anyone wanted to use a ruffler, or even feed walking foot, on a Super High Shank model, they had to buy it from Sears, and it included a special screw to attach to the right side of the needlebar, in order to operate the mechanical fork on the ruffler, or walking foot. 

Sadly, Super High Shank rufflers and walking feet are very rare, and expensive, if the seller realizes what they have, and the special screw is sometimes missing. (I have seen these screws offered for sale online, I think it was Michigan Sewing Supply,but I have not checked if it is still available, anytime recently.)

You CAN freehand embroider on any sewing machine, if it is set up right, but not all fabrics, or threads, will form a stitch, depending on your set up. Specialty threads often take special settings and feet, sometimes you will need to stabilize, or interface fabric, in order to get stitches to form.

I chose to test the vintage Kenmore 1803, as an opportunity to use my metallic threads and needles which I acquired a few yearsago, but had not yet figured out a project to use them on. Yeah, I know, metallic threads are some of the hardest to sew with, but it was kind of fun, even though they break, if you sew too fast, lol!

Many people have recommended using the Kenmore monogrammer foot, which looks like a button sewing foot. I usually do my embroidery using built in stitches, but in order to help people find ways to freehand embroider with vintage Kenmore's, I decided to make a video, showing how it works.

TIP- when freehand embroidering, you need a FLAT smooth surface, in order to move your hoop smoothly. I had not realized, until it kept messing up my smooth hoop movements, that the particular Kenmore table I was using, has a small hinge, right in the middle of the seam where the leaf folds flat, and it kept stopping my hoop, getting it stuck!

If your table has a hinge in this area, consider taping a thin piece of cardboard, like thefront of a cereal box, over the top of the hinge, using removable Painter's tape, so you won't have your embroidery messed up!

For embroidery with the blue metallic thread, I used 2 spools, and because it is wound on the ling skinny spools which feed best horizontally, I installed horizontal thread holders, mine originally were purchased from Kathy Ruddy's Live Guides (according to the packaging, I acquired them from a costume designer's estate sale). 

Metallic threads sew best with a metallica needle, I used size 12.

Zigzag freemotion stitch width 1

My blue stitches are very messy and jerky, from getting caught on the table hinge. I kept thinking it was a bobbin jam, until I checked, but no jam. Finally, I realized it was the hoop catching on the hinge.

For  straight stitching freemotion, with 2 metallic threads, upper tension of 3 worked best.

For zigzag freemotion, with 1 metallic thread, a tension of 0 worked best. I used stitch width of 1, with the feed dogs down, of course, so stitch length didn't matter. A medium to slow speed works best with metallic threads, because they break easily.

My fabric is ONE LAYER OF CHINTZ fabric, which has heavy sizing, basically like a heavy starch, which makes it very stiff, so I did not need stabilizer, or interfacing. I stretched it very tightly in the wooden hoops. It sounded like a drum when tapped.

I found it easiest to install the hooped fabric, with the needlebar at the highestpoint, before attaching the monogrammer foot.

I did loosen presser foot pressure, on the top of the machine.

I cannot guarantee the monogram foot would work for quilting, I worry there might not be enough room for thick layers to feed smoothly.