Kenmore 8 Stitch Sewing Machine Manual

							  
I 
/ 
Changethepresserfoot 
Snap-onpresserfeet 
1.Bringtheneedletotheupposition. 
2.Raisethepresserfootlever. 
3.Pushthefootreleaseleverandthepresser 
footwilldropoff. 
4.Placethenewfootontheneedleplate 
aligningneedleholes. 
5.Lowerthepresserfootleversothatthe 
presserfootholdersnapsonthefoot. 
6.Pushdownthepresserfootthumbscrew 
toengagethefootholderandthefoot 
securely. 
Screw-typepresserfeet 
Tousesomeaccessoryfeet(seepage6),you 
mayneedtoremovethepresserfootholder. 
1.Bringtheneedletotheupposition. 
2.Raisethepresserfootlever. 
3.Turnthepresserfootthumbscrewtoward 
thebackofthemachineusingthelarge 
screwdriver. 
4.Removethepresserfootholder. 
5.Insertthenewfoot. 
6.a.Lowerthepresserfootlever. 
b.Tightenthethumbscrewusingthe 
screwdrivertofitthefootsecurely. Presser 
foot 
holder 
! 
Foot 
release_,_ 
lever 
Foothold_ 
Foot 
thumb 
screw I 
19  
						

							  
IIII IIIIIEr,¸ IIIII 
UsetheFeedCoverPlate 
Thefeeddogsautomaticallyfeedthefabric. 
Ifyouwanttopreventthefeeddogsfrom 
feedingthefabric,usetheFeedCoverPlate 
whichcoversthefeeddogssothattheydo 
nottouchthefabric. 
NOTE:Usethefeedcoverplatewhensewing 
onbuttons,makingbuttonholeswith 
thesnap-inautomaticbuttonholer 
anddarning. 
1.Insertthetwoknobsonthefeedcover 
plateintothetwoholesonthefabricfeed 
area.Thecurvedcornerswillbetoward 
youwhenitisinplace. L 
/I 
i1 
l UsetheDoubleNeedle* 
Placethesecondspoolofthreadontheextra 
spoolpin,andthreadthemachineasyou 
wouldforasingleneedleexceptthedouble 
threadguidesprovidedbelowtheneedle 
clampscrew.Drawonethreadthrougheach 
oftheseandthrougheachsideoftheneedle 
fromfronttoback.Makecertainthreadsare 
notcrossed. 
*Seetheoptionalaccessoriesonpage6. 
2O  
						

							  
3.LEARNTOUSETHECONTROLS 
Yourmachinehasmanyspecialfeaturestomakeyoursewingbotheasyandaccurate.Takea 
minutetolookatthethreecontrolsthatregulateyourstitches. 
StitchSelector 
Yoursewingmachinecanmakeavarietyof 
stitches.TheyarepicturedontheStitch 
SelectorDial.Inaddtion,therearethree 
buttonholestepspicturedonthedialalso. NOTE:Beginningonpage24,youwillfind 
detailedinstructinsontheuseofeach 
stitch. I!¸ 
Orangepatterns_Bluebuttonholesteps 
Greenpattern__---Orangepattern 
Greenpatterns Bluebuttonhole 
-Yellowpatterns 
StitchLengthControl 
Tolenghtenastitch,turnthedialtoward 
you.Toshortenastitch,youturnthedial 
awayfromyou.Youwillsee5numberson 
thedial.Thesetellyouthenumberofstitches 
perinchwhenyouaresewing. 
NOTE:Studytheorange,green,yellowand 
bluesectionsonthiscontrol.These arerecommendedrangesofstitch 
lengthandcolor-codedtothestitches 
picturedontheStitchSelector. 
Theorangelinebetween0and24isthe 
settingusedfortheshorteststitchessuchas 
insatinstitching. 
Orangepatternranpatternrange 
Shorter 
Bluebuttonholerange Yellowpatternrange-X/ 
L°n;;:ternrangei_!!_l_lll 
Greenpatternrange--/\ Orangepatternrange 
_Shorter 
j_i!Longer 
Bluebuttonholerange 
21  
						

							  
1•2•3--_5-_ 
t IIII 
StitchWidthControl 
(Model14501,14502,14571,14572only) 
Thewidthofallstitchesproducedonthis 
machine(exceptthestraightstitch)canbe 
madenarrowerorwiderbyadjustingthe 
stitchwidthcontrol. 
Todecreaseorincreasethewidthofastitch, 
slidethestitchwidthcontrolfrom1-5.The 
higherthenumberthewiderthestitch. 
Whenstraightstitching,setthiscontrolat 
1toachieveuniformstraightstitches. 
NOTE:Studythecoloredsectionsonthis 
control.Thesearerecommended 
rangesofstitchwidthandcolor- 
codedtothestitchespicturedonthe 
StitchSelector. 
I 
Reversestitchlever Besidesthesethreecontrols,thereareother 
controlsonyourmachineasfollows: 
ReverseStitchLever 
Pushdownandholdthelevertoreversethe 
directionofyourstitches.Themachinewill 
goforwardagainwhenyoureleasethelever. 
BACKTACKING 
Secureyourseamsbytakingthefirstfew 
stitchesinreverse.Thenallowthemachine 
togoforward.Thisiscalledbacktacking. 
Reversethemachineattheendofyour 
seamsaswell. 
CorneringGuides SeamGuideLines 
Theneedleplateismarkedwithseamguide 
linestohelpyoustitchstraightseams. 
Thestandard5/8linesarebolderforyour 
convenience. 
Thedimensionsindicatethedistancefrom 
thestraightstitchneedleposition. 
Thecrosslinesarecorneringguidestohelp 
youmakesquarecorners.Seepage26for 
detailedcorneringinstructions. 
22  
						

							  
4.PRACTICEGOODHABITS 
--Beforeyoubegintosew 
1.Checktheneedle: 
a.Isitinsertedproperly? 
(Seepage13) 
b.Isitthecorrectsizeforyourfabric? 
(Seethechartonpage14) 
c.Isitthreadedproperly? 
(Seepage15) 
d.Isitstraightandsharp? 
NOTE:Manysyntheticfabricsdull 
yourneedlequickly.Besure 
toreplaceneedlesoften. 
2.Checkthethreads. 
a.Aretheybothontopoftheneedle 
platesurface? b.Doyouhave3-4inchespulled 
towardthebackofthemachine. 
NOTE:Holdthethreadsforthefirst 
3to4stitchesoftheseamto 
keepthemfromtanglingunder 
thefabric. 
3.Checkthestitchcontrolsandpresser 
foot. 
a.Arethecolorcodesonthecontrols 
matchedcorrectly? 
b.Doyouhavethecorrectpresser 
footfortheprojectandforthetype 
ofstitchyouhavechosen? 
Whenyoubegintosew 
1.Testthemachineonascrapof 
material. 
a.Alwaysbeginyourfirststitchesby 
turningthehandwheeltowardyou 
tolowertheneedleintothefabric. 
b.Runthemachineataslow,even 
speed.Themorepressureyou 
applytothefootcontrol,thefaster 
themachinewillstitch. 
c.Adjustthetensioncontrolif 
necessary.(Seepage17) d.Backtackatthebeginningandend 
ofeachseam.(Seepage22) 
e.Finishsewingwiththeneedleatits 
highestpositionexceptcornering. 
f.Guidethefabricgently.Donot 
pull.Themachinewillfeedthe 
materialatitsownspeed. 
g.Alwaysturnthehandwheeltoward 
you,neverawayfromyou. 
NOWYOUREREADYTOLEARNTHE 
STITCHES.PLEASETURNTOTHE 
NEXTPAGE. 
i, 
23  
						

							  
5.LEARNTOUSETHESTITCHES 
II 
MachineSettingChart 
Thefollowingpageswillshowyouhowto: 
1.SettheStitchSelector. 
2.SettheStitchLengthControl. 
3.SettheStitchWidthControl. 
NOTE:Machinesettingsaregraphically 
shownforyourquickreference. charts,selectandsewavarietyof 
stitchesshownbelow. 
4.Usethestitchcorrectly. 
Simplyfollowingtheillustrated 
TopthreadtensioncontrolStitchwidthcontrol 
f_,f NOTE:Youmaywanttousefabricscraps 
toexperimentwiththesestitches. 
Thismanualwillshowyouthebest 
usesofthesestitches. 
1.2.345 
1 Stitchselector 
0 
PresserfootStitchlengthcontrol 
f=---L 
i,_I_I•ee12-1- 
J¢....1j-!J -i 
Zigzagstitch 
Three-stepzigzag 
Blindstitch 
Shellstitch 
i 
Boxstitch 
rwo-pointshellstitch 
Elasticblindstitch 
Elasticedgestretch 
Overlockstretch Straightstitch 
Built-inbuttonhole 
Straightstre_tch 
Rick-rackstretch 
Smockingstretch 
Overcaststretch 
Sergingstretch 
Elasticstretch 
24  
						

							  
StraightStitches 
Topthreadtensioncontrol 
Seepage17. Stitchwidthcontrol 
z 
1toobtain 
uniformstitches. Stitchselector 
0 
Presserfoot 
f 
*Straightorzigzag 
_.foot _NOTE:Formoststraightstitching,theI  straightfootwillgiveyoubestcontrol.You 
mayusethezigzagfootifyouprefer. Stitchlengthcontrol 
12ororangerange._ 
NOTE:Alwaysbeoinyourfirststitchesby 
turningthehandwheeltowardyouto 
lowertheneedleintothefabric. 
*Choosethisstitchtoperformthefollowing 
tasks: 
SewingaStraightSeam 
NOTE:Usetheinstructionsthatfollowas 
generalrulesforhandlingyour 
machine,regardlessoftheparticular 
stitchyouareusing. 
1.Backtack(seepage22)bybeginning 
1/2inchfromthebeggin!ngoftheseam. 
2.For5/8inchseam,lineuptheedgeofthe 
fabricwheretheseamguideismarked. 
3.Backtackattheendofeachseam. 
4.a.Turnthehandwheeltoraisetheneedle 
toitshighestposition. 
b.Raisethepresserfootbypushingthe 
presserfootleverup. 
c.Pullthematerialtowardthebackorside 
ofthemachine. 
d.Usethethreadcutteronthepresser 
footreleaselevertocutoffexcess 
threads. 
25  
						

							  
26 Cornering 
guide 
SquaretheCorner5/8fromthe 
fabricedge 
.a° 
b. 
2.a. 
b. 
Co Stopstitchingyour5/8inchseamwhen 
thefabricisevenwiththecornering 
guide(crossmarks). 
Leavetheneedleinthefabric. 
Liftthepresserfoot. 
Turnthefabricsothattheunstitched 
sideislinedupwiththeseamguide. 
Lowerthepresserfootandstitchinthe 
newdirection. 
Top-stitching 
Top-stitchingimprovestheappearanceofa 
tailoredgarmentandatthesametimeholds 
facingsinplace. 
Youmaywanttostitchwithathreadof 
contrastingcolortoyourfabric. 
1.Setthestitchlengthat8-6. 
2.Stitch3/8inchfromtheedgeontopofthe 
fabric. 
Darning 
1.a.Attachthefeedcoverplate(see 
page20). 
b.Removethepresserfootholder(see 
page19). 
c.Stretchthefabricwiththeholeinthe 
centerbetweenembroideryhoopsas 
shown. 
2.Lowerthepresserfootleverandsewata 
slowspeed. 
/ 
3.Movethefabricbackandforthwitha 
steadyrhythmuntilyouhavecoveredthe 
darningarea. 
° 
Whentheareaiscovered,turnthefabric 
sothatyoucanrepeattheprocedure 
acrossthefirststitches. 
NOTE:Ifthegarmentisbadlydamaged,you 
maywanttoputaseparatepieceof 
fabricundertheholetoreinforceit.  
						

							  
IIIII_1 
Basting 
, 
2. 
, Setthestitchlengthcontrolat6. 
Setthetopthreadtensioncontrolat1-2 
tofacilitatepullingoutbobbinthread. 
Insertpinsatrightanglestotheseamline, 
withthetipofpinsjusttouchingtheseam 
line. 
NOTE:Pinsmustnotcomeincontactwith 
thefeeddogs.Neverpinonthe 
undersideofthefabric. 
= 
4.Sewoverthetipofpinsslowly. 
NOTE:Ifindoubtaboutsewingoverpins, 
removeeachpinasyouapproach 
it. 
Gathering 
° 
2. 
3. 
4, Setthestitchlengthcontrolat6. 
Setthetopthreadtensioncontrolat1-2. 
Sewoneorasmanyrowsofparallel 
stitchesasrequired,butdonotbacktack 
atthebegginingsandendsoftherows. 
Removethefabricanddrawupthebobbin 
threadtogatherthefabrictotherequired 
lengthorfullness. 
27  
						

							  
Needletoleft 
offoot Needletoright 
offoot Attachingazipper 
1.Tosewdowntherightsideofthezipper, 
attachtheleftsideofthezipperfoottothe 
presserfootholdersothattheneedle 
passesthroughtheopeningontheleft 
sideofthefoot. 
2.Tosewdowntheleftside,attachtheright 
sideofthefoottothefootholder. 
Cording 
*Usethezipperfoottomakecordingforslip 
covers,pillowsetc. 
1.Attachtherightsideofthezipperfootto 
thepresserfootholder. 
2.Wrapthecordwithastripoftruebias. 
3.Stitchclosetothecord. 
28