Originally Posted by leatheflea
Funny, I went into the sewing machine shop today to pick up my order and what do you think walked through the door? A lady struggling with sewing machine. The young clerk ran to her assistance. Heaved it up on the counter and said "they call it a featherweight but its really a heavy weight" I too was unsure what exactly a featherwieght was and looked like. So I asked and she showed me the markings and what to look for besides its small size and heavy load. It looked so dainty so light,so pretty but was like lifting a baby elephant. Dont think I would want one to pack back and forth to a sewing class.
Chances are she didn't show you a featherweight, they only weigh 11 lbs with out case and about 14 with. I do not know of anything lighter weight except the cheap plastic ones you see at Walmart, and they can't hold a candle to a FW even if they are new and the fw old. BTW they haven't been produced since the mid 1960's and are sill THE best piecing machine around. I sewed on my first one for over 50 years and it was still going strong when I sold it. Regretted it so much I bought another and now collect the little buggers! Go figure, you cant have too many featherweights! :D