J Carol

Can someone give me some pointers on this machine??? My husband got me this little machine for Christmas and she hasn't arrived yet but I have named her "Angel" as I hope she will turn out to be.

KarenR

You received a very special gift.

Please enjoy her.

I'm still hoping for one.

mighty

I have 2 of these little cuties! You will just love her!!

tenngal

I've bought 3 and love them all, plus I've had 6 of the black ones, too.

vanginney

Wow. I have not seen one up close. Always stare at them on eBay! And think wishfully Congrats and white too! Enjoy.

Shelbie

The white ones were the last Featherweights made by Singer in the 1960's. My daughter's machine has the original sales bill for hers dated August 1963. By this time Featherweights were becoming expensive to manufacture and the company was trying to cut costs. There were no more chrome face plates, now they were just painted metal and part of the machine. The chrome stitch selector was replaced with a plastic one and the machine cords were directly wired into the machine making the foot pedal permanently attached. The flip up bed was shortened and the case became more square . It was now a two tone aqua, brown tan (mostly for tan models) or in Canada a vinyl grey or turquoise smallish looking suitcase with a buckle on a strap. I saw one of the last new white Featherweights sold in the Singer store that I worked in as a teenager in the fall of 1970. It had been an unsold machine at another store that was closing and my boss bought it in a job lot. The attachments for these machines were just packed in a small cardboard Singer box as there was no attachment tray in these stripped down plain cases. The belt on these machines is a brownish notched one instead of the more familiar looking smooth black ones that were used on the older models of Featherweights. I hope you enjoy your machine.

MimiBug123

Just remember that it threads from right to left! Works much better that way! Guess how I know that????

lovelyl

Best tip I ever received for my FW is: when you stop sewing, before you start again, use the hand wheel to make sure the needle is in the highest position. This eliminates the thread jam that is common with these machines. You will love her!!!!

Gerbie

J Carol, the best info I can give that has been a great source for me I have (2 black FW's and love them) is to check out Featherweight RX.com and order the booklet (it comes spiral bound) "The Featherweight 221 and I" by David McCallum. It is well written and has illustrations as well. Tells you just how and where to oil, your new baby and how to basicall repair it. I think I paid around $20.00 or so a few years back, and it has more than paid for itself. I took mine out of the spiral and put the pages in plastic sleeves and into a 3 ring binder. I keep it in my favorite color binder (purple) so I know just which one to look for when I run into a problem. I know there are instruction manuals that come with these darlings, but not nearly as helpful as this one by Dave. He does repairs and has tools and parts for featherweights, plus puts out a newsletter ever so ofte. I know there are experts in the field as well on this board, but I am not always on the board when I run into a snag. This book has been a lifesaver a couple of times. I would highly recommend checking into the purchase of one of these books if he still sells them.
Enjoy you new baby - what a great Christmas gift-- Give extra hugs to DH for being so thoughtful. You will enjoy your new toy!!! I have pieced several quilts on mine and love to use them.

vanginney

Looks like he has a DVD with a 5 min sample on his website. Looks informative and visual. Thanks for the tip.