Singer "Featherweight" Sewing Machines

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Same quality stitching of the big boys with smaller compactness and portability. They still weigh a ton by todays standards.

 

My mother is collector and I drove out to Tracy to get her a white one around 2015 (she had a couple of black ones already) as a surprise. The sellers wife died and he was liquidating her collection. I could have got 6 more for $30 a piece, all with their original cases, working, and perfect condition but one has to draw the line somewhere. Back then, I didn't think they would have exploded in price. Still worth every penny, even at todays prices.

 

There's a 222K model that does free motion. Those are difficult to find and cost a pretty penny.

 

https://singer-featherweight.com/blogs/schoolhouse/free-arm-featherweight-222k-and-how-it-differs
 

[this post was last edited: 6/6/2023-23:07]
 
Stan,

 

I have something very similar to that treadle machine. I helped a friend back in the 1970's clean out his grandparent's house. He gifted me that machine. In turn I gave it to my mom, and she used it for  decades. When she passed, I acquired it again, and it's been sitting in my bedroom ever since.

 

AFAIK, the "feather weight" Singer only has one stitch, adjustable for stitch length.
 
Singer, featherweight, portable sewing machines

I got one from a great aunt. She bought it in the late 50s when she went into a retirement home and didn’t want to take the big machine, unfortunately, her eyesight got so bad she never used it.

My mother ended up using it for quite a few years, and now I have it

They are considerably lighter than the old machines the one you have Stan it’s not a featherweight it’s made of cast-iron. The featherweights were made of aluminum.

It’s a good little machine. I haven’t used it in a long time, however

I haven’t looked lately, but they usually went for about $400 , you should’ve bought all those Dan you could’ve made some money on them at 30 bucks apiece.

John
 
 

 

I've bought a couple of these over the years for my mother, a prolific quilter of 30 years.  A few of her friends had them and she wanted to give one a try.  The first one she bought from a friend 20 years ago, had it serviced at the Singer shop and it worked OK.  It was in minty, like-new condition but gave her all sorts of trouble while using.  She ended up selling it after I came across an estate sale of a sewing machine collector and bought another FW for less than $50.  The house had roughly 150 sewing machines, parts, manuals, etc.  By the last day of the sale, they were giving sewing machines away if you'd take them.  The FW had been serviced but I cleaned it up and mom gave it another go.  It seemed to work ok but she missed some of the features found on newer electronic machines (needle-down stop, etc.) and eventually went with a 3/4 size Pfaff portable and last year bought a Bernina 300 series for retreats, classes, etc.  She's had Berninas since 1976 and is a loyal customer, her last 750 QE had >5 million stitches logged.  

 

A number of her quilting friends still have FW machines, but most don't use them regularly other than for the occasional nostalgic value. 
 
221

The Featherweight is a model 221. It was manufactured from 1933-1968. It is a 3/4 size machine and, unlike similar earlier machines, the body was made from cast aluminum instead of cast iron. It's size and portability is one reason quilters love it.

It only does a straight stitch, but the stitching is beautiful.

I have a 99K. It also had a long production run. Like the 221, it is a portable 3/4 sized model. It only does a straight stitch and, like the Featherweight, the stitch is beautiful. It has a cast iron body. Despite it also being a 3/4 sized machine, it weighs a ton compared to the FW.

I have just been gifted a FW in mint condition and am considering replacing my 99K with it for a daily driver. I also have a 501 Rocketeer that has gorgeous space age styling and does zig zag and more stitches. It was produced between 1961-63.

The 501 and 99K use the same bobbin which tempts me to stick with my 99. I've had the FW serviced, but I haven't used it yet. The 99 and 501 have drop in bobbins and the 221 has a bobbin cassette. I think there is a small learning curve for using the cassette, and I haven't had time to do it yet.
 
R: #7

Stan,
Your Singer Treadle sewing machine is just like the one both of my Grandma’s owned. My paternal Grandma owned a dry cleaning business in El Cerrito, Calif and she also did alterations on her Singer Treadle machine in the store.

My maternal Grandma got her Singer Treadle machine in 1919 as a wedding gift. She sewed the clothing for her four daughters on that machine and during the Depression sewed clothing for people in Cullison, Kansas where they lived. When the family left Kansas in May of 1935 during the Dust Bowl, after Black Sunday, one of the worst dust storms, Grandpa told her that there wasn’t enough room in the little trailer he’d built to pull behind their ‘29 Chrysler. Grandma said, ‘Well if the Singer isn’t goin to California then neither am I!” So grandpa found room for the Singer.

When they moved into a mobile home in ‘64 Mom got the Singer. I learned how to use a sewing machine on that Singer Treadle machine. It is the best sewing machine that I ever used and I wish that Mom hadn’t gotten rid of it. When the leather belt broke and couldn’t be repaired anymore I fashioned a makeshift belt for it using old tennis shoelaces tied together and by God that worked. Necessity is the Mother of invention as they say.

Eddie
 
The idea that anyone would do something so ...old fashion like making a blanket when one can buy wonderful professional robot made linens is a tribute to how willingly we people will regress to things previous generations knew.

Like owning a dog or
having candles or
recalling acts that are no longer acceptable or needed.
 
Singer Treadle

Eddie, I agree with you on the Singer Treadle. My Grandma had one and I learned how to operate it. The treadle made it very easy to start a stitch because you could rock that treadle and get it started easily. Once you got going you could just sew right along. I have a very old sewing machine with electric motor and I like having electric for most sewing jobs. My sister collects the Singer Lightweights.
 
Nothing beats a Singer Treadle machine for sewing thru multiple layers of heavy fabric like denim. I also believe that the stitches are tighter and smoother too. They may not reverse and you have to turn the fabric to back-tack, and there’s no zig zag, but the trade off is straight stitch perfection.

Eddie
 
My great-aunt Ella had a Featherweight because she mostly lived in apartments most of her adult life and this was a more compact option for her. When she passed in 1989 my Grandma Baumann took it with big ideas of using it instead of her Singer treadle machine. Well, that never happened. I think she was intimidated by it because it had an electric motor and she probably thought that she wouldn't be able to control it as easily as her big machine. It sat unused by anyone until March of 2020 when I gifted it to a friend of mine who sews handbags. All Judy needed to do was give it a bit of a spa treatment and oil it. It is one of her best performers. This is the 7th one she now has. If memory serves me correctly, she said the serial number dates it to 1948.

 

91243404_2962061217148090_4669452727263166464_n.jpg
 
I want one, but $$

I've been watching them on and off for a few years but as stated they are priced like they are gold.

I don't have any significant need for a sewing machine, but a Featherweight (the one that John has from our Aunt) was the first sewing machine I ever used so nostalgia in my case.

Being that they will last forever and they are small, I can see merit having one in the closet.
 
I just saw this lame commercial. check the 0:13 mark. Don't think I've ever seen a linens commercial that found it necessary to show us the (supposed) sewing machine their product was made on.

Obviously, a mass marketer isn't going to such an outdated machine.

Implying that they are is like using the worn out term "Hand made" or "Home made" LOL. After which, of course, we ask WHO's home said product has been made in and why is that relevant?

Never heard of this company before and am wondering if it was created just to hype these ridiculous sewing machines by default. lol

God the crap people try and sell these days. From crypto currency to NFT scams and now to cotton sheets made with "organic" threads that are "slow spun". LOL.

 
"I've been watching them on and off for a few years but as stated they are priced like they are gold."

Often what you see with Singer "featherweight" sewing machines is professional dealers and aficionados bidding up machines.

They buy machines, fix and clean them up, then mark up and sell them on. Because they are a business much of the costs including purchase prices can be deducted as an expense.

If one truly wants a Singer "featherweight" fleaPay or similar places may not be best place to go. Check estate sales, charity shops, private sellers, etc.. Sometimes you can find them going for very little money on CL, FB or places like that. Not everyone who has a Featherweight is seeking to get rich.

Best of course are those who don't know what they've got and will sell that "old sewing machine" for very little money.
 
My mother used to have her grandmother's singer treadle machine but she let a junk dealer have it back in the 80's. I told her I'd give anything to have it now because i do a majority of my sewing on a treadle. Currently have a Pfaff 130 in my treadle stand. The electric motor works fine but i took the belt off it and put a treadle belt on. Works like a dream and has zigzag. My favorite straight stitch machine is a Japanese class 15 clone. That thing is so well balanced it will keep turning on its own with just a light flick of the wrist.
 
What a genius idea Greg! I never would have thought to put an electric sewing machine into a treadle machine cabinet and disconnect the electric motor belt and connect the treadle belt!

Of course this will only work with electric sewing machines that have connecting brackets of the same size and width apart as the treadle cabinet. Most of the newer all plastic sewing machines would work for this set up. But most of the older all metal sewing machines will work with this work around.

Now you have the best of old and new, being able to use zig zag and reverse.

Eddie
 
Launderess

The sewing machine in that video is a Singer 201. Supposedly the finest sewing machine Singer ever made.

And about the Featherweight -- I was being given one, and they put it in their driveway about 15 minutes before I arrived. It was gone by the time I got there. Unbelievably, someone driving (or walking) by just saw it and took it.
 
Aside from portability and cute factor depending upon what one wants said sewing machine for there are better options than Featherweight.

For one thing the harp area for Featherweight machines isn't that great. Thus doing certain items and or if one has large hands it can be a challenge. This also because where light is mounted people can hit their hands against a somewhat hot bulb.

Thing that puts one off a Featherweight initially is bobbin being located underneath
machine. Am spoiled by my Pfaff, Bernina and Elna machines having either drop in bobbins or accessible from front. If bobbin thread runs out during a project with Featherweight (IIRC) one has to tip entire machine over to swap out bobbin.

Piercing power of Featherweights is good, but not strong as say 201 and other Singer machines. Maybe not a big deal depending upon what one routinely sews.
 
Featherweights

My mother bought one new in 1951 for a $100. She had to make payments of $6. a month, which strapped them, until it was paid off. she sewed and mended everything known to mankind, on that machine. We bought her another machine later on for doing zigzag and buttonholes, but she used her 'baby' for straight stitching. It did have a perfect stitch, and never faltered no matter what. It would also glide right over pins, unlike the Kenmore we bought her, which would hit the pins and break the needle almost every time.
Hugs,
David
 
There's a zig zag attachment (Part# 160990) <span style="font-size: 12pt;">that fits Featherwieght machines as well as and all other lower shank models (15, 66, 99, 101, 127, 185, 192, 201).</span>
 

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