With the variety of accessories and attachments that one can use on these machines I decided that I needed to test out every one of them if I can. However, I wasn't interested in taking parts out of one of the "books" or "Towers of Power" so I designed a master set.
With the large number of parts that I had acquired, I was thankfully able to give each machine its own unique set according to its manual and still have plenty left over. With this I created my own master set, a master key to unlocking all the possible potentials of the sewing machines.
Lets note that first I purchased an adapter off of ebay between the Super High Shank to Low shank, so that if I had any attachments that were some how special or unique to Low Shank I could use them (in this case one of the monogrammers and a buttonholer)
The standard attachments that all the machines can work with are the same across all the lines, and are pretty typical to any sewer.
The Master Key set also includes one of each of the monogrammers that I mentioned in the monogramming post. With the adapters for the low shank to the Super High Shank, as all the machines in my set are SHS. I'll see if my theory works on these larger mechanical bits. As I already know it works on the regular feet.
I will test a variety of buttonholers on the machines as well, the buttonholers however have little to no variation besides material and how you select the button hole and the shape of the cam. The one difference however being a low shank more modern buttonholer that takes its queues from the original buttonholing feet seen in the 1940's nd 1950's. Please see the buttonholers post (will be added in the future) for clarity.
Perhaps the most important part of everything for the run tests is reviewing the pattern cams on all the machines, and seeing which work and which do not for these machines. And how well they work in comparison to the built in stitches of the same style. I suspect that external cams will be of equal or lesser quality as the cam stacks inside these machines are nearly identical to the external attachable C-style cams, but are made of metal instead of plastic. For a quick visual difference between cam styles see this pinterest link: Cam Styles
With this I have searched high and low for cams. And their numbers are as follows:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (there are two different 6's with identical end pattern, but different shapes and I will work with both), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 53, 56, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88.
An important thing to note with the C-cams and these pattern numbers are that many of the low number cams are hard to come by because the majority of sewing machines have them built in. For example: 1 is a basic zig-zag stitch, which is standard on most every machine of the C-cam era, but common to see in the E-cam era shortly before. So having these low numbered cams are often unnecessary.
The unusual thing to note about the cams that are in the 8x range is that they are tri-leveled cams, instead of the bi-level back stitch cams which are numbered 20-56. These tri-leveled cams are for later machines than the ones I am testing, they are for the 198x models an other late 70's models. The third level of the cam has the same general shape as the second level, except it adds a little magnet nub. My guess, because I don't have experience with that is to either allow for a complete pattern and trigger that, or to be a counter. I'll look into those more shortly.
Another thing to note about thes 8x cams tri-level cams, is that the pattern that is on them is reverse of another pattern in the 4x and 5x bi-level range. So you aren't really missing out on anything special.
Please see my C-Cam, bi-level, and tri-level posts for more specifics.
With the large number of parts that I had acquired, I was thankfully able to give each machine its own unique set according to its manual and still have plenty left over. With this I created my own master set, a master key to unlocking all the possible potentials of the sewing machines.
Lets note that first I purchased an adapter off of ebay between the Super High Shank to Low shank, so that if I had any attachments that were some how special or unique to Low Shank I could use them (in this case one of the monogrammers and a buttonholer)
The standard attachments that all the machines can work with are the same across all the lines, and are pretty typical to any sewer.
- Zipper
- Cording
- Overcasting
- Open toe/Applique
- Straight Stitch
- Zig Zag Stitch
- Satin Stitch
- Plastic Zig Zag
- Plastic Satin
- Binder
- Edge stitch
- Narrow Hemmer
- 1/4 inch Hemmer
- 3/8 inch Hemmer
- 5/8 inch Hemmer
- 7/8 inch Hemmer
- Gathering
- Ruffler
- Walking foot without teeth on the upper dogs
- Walking foot with teeth on the upper dogs
- Low shank ruffle/gathering with slit for a straight material
- Quilting foot
- Wide base monogramming foot
- Modern Kenmore Monogramming foot
The Master Key set also includes one of each of the monogrammers that I mentioned in the monogramming post. With the adapters for the low shank to the Super High Shank, as all the machines in my set are SHS. I'll see if my theory works on these larger mechanical bits. As I already know it works on the regular feet.
I will test a variety of buttonholers on the machines as well, the buttonholers however have little to no variation besides material and how you select the button hole and the shape of the cam. The one difference however being a low shank more modern buttonholer that takes its queues from the original buttonholing feet seen in the 1940's nd 1950's. Please see the buttonholers post (will be added in the future) for clarity.
Perhaps the most important part of everything for the run tests is reviewing the pattern cams on all the machines, and seeing which work and which do not for these machines. And how well they work in comparison to the built in stitches of the same style. I suspect that external cams will be of equal or lesser quality as the cam stacks inside these machines are nearly identical to the external attachable C-style cams, but are made of metal instead of plastic. For a quick visual difference between cam styles see this pinterest link: Cam Styles
With this I have searched high and low for cams. And their numbers are as follows:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (there are two different 6's with identical end pattern, but different shapes and I will work with both), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 53, 56, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88.
An important thing to note with the C-cams and these pattern numbers are that many of the low number cams are hard to come by because the majority of sewing machines have them built in. For example: 1 is a basic zig-zag stitch, which is standard on most every machine of the C-cam era, but common to see in the E-cam era shortly before. So having these low numbered cams are often unnecessary.
The unusual thing to note about the cams that are in the 8x range is that they are tri-leveled cams, instead of the bi-level back stitch cams which are numbered 20-56. These tri-leveled cams are for later machines than the ones I am testing, they are for the 198x models an other late 70's models. The third level of the cam has the same general shape as the second level, except it adds a little magnet nub. My guess, because I don't have experience with that is to either allow for a complete pattern and trigger that, or to be a counter. I'll look into those more shortly.
Another thing to note about thes 8x cams tri-level cams, is that the pattern that is on them is reverse of another pattern in the 4x and 5x bi-level range. So you aren't really missing out on anything special.
Please see my C-Cam, bi-level, and tri-level posts for more specifics.
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