To all who PM'd and posted me with suggestions, thank you all.

I did receive a DVD of the manual with the machine which I then printed off so I could follow more closely the steps. I've done all that you great folks have suggested, the needle is in the holder correctly and the thread is correct in the machine.

The machine appears as if it's sewing but, when I take the material out, all I have are long strings of thread, no stitches. What makes it even more frustrating is I took my Janome in for service Saturday because I thought I'd have my nice little Featherweight to sew on. Now I'm going to get at least two weeks behind in trying to make my Christmas gifts plus I know I'll have a real headache dealing with this selller. His listing on EBay said he's a "master technician" and this machine "works perfectly. He had sewn a few rows on paper towels instead of material. I wonder if that's the standard way to sew for a technician?

Again, thank you all for the great advice and links.

Try adjusting the bottom tension.

Upper tension too lose or bottom is too strong.
See pictures
http://www.sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine...n_Settings.htm

Another suggestion is to use 2 different color threads so you can see stitches better.

Another suggestion - is there a small felt circle under your upper thread spool?
http://singerfeatherweight221.blogsp...herweight.html

I got a 1938 Featherweight off Ebay in April and was very happy with it until I cleaned it. Then it would not sew. My problem was the bobbin case had been moved. There is only one way for the bobbin thread to feed correctly. Check your manual and make sure it is properly placed. I hope this solves your problem.

I have a featherweight that is doing the same as yours was, did you ever figure out what was wrong with it? Im sure I have it threaded right , bobbin in right,played with the tension...HEEEEEELLLLPPPPPPPPP!
Thanxs, Val
I have no book yet either

did you thread the needle from RIGHT to left? it makes a big difference ;-)