Originally Posted by Candace
Thanks for the very informative post! I wonder why the Singer didn't make the 401 and 500's with the ability to change stitch width??
You can change the stitch widths on the 401 and 500 when you are using a disk but not the needle setting. If you are using the cam stack the width lever determines the stitch setting in combination with the knobs on the 401 & 500.
The 403 and 503 can change widths since they only use the disks/cams but if you use a narrow setting you can put the stitches on the right, the center or the left. The 500 and the 401 do not have that option.
My sister and I were piecing some denim for some skirts we were making out of jeans using the decorative stitches. One of us had a 401 and the other had a 403. We both decided we liked the 403 better at that time. The 401 does have the advantage of not using disks if you are prone to losing things.