Originally Posted by
J Miller
Jo Anne,
If you want a vintage Singer with a gear drive and a large arch you should look for a 201-2 or a 15-91. The 201 has the largest arch of them all, or so I have read. Mine sure looks like it too.
If a belt driven machine with a large arch will work, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Singer 66-16 or -18.
They are all great machines, but the 66s just won't quit sewing. I have 8 of them with the ages from 1913 to 1952 and they all sew great. Very well designed and trouble free. Easy to maintain and if the motor dies they are easy to replace. Or you can treadle it. They are excellent treadle machines too.
I don't know anything about Pfaffs so I can't comment there.
Nancy,
What is an "IDT" foot?
Joe
The IDT foot on a Pfaff is the Integrated Dual Transportation, or the built in walking foot! Pfaff had the patent on the built in walking foot until a few years ago. Pfaff use to be the only machines with a built in walking foot. I love that feature on the Pfaff!
JoAnne, one more note. If you are going to use the new machine for free motion quilting, then you should get a vintage Singer 15. The Singer 66 is a great straight stitch machine, but it does not drop its feed dogs for FM. The Singer 15, on the other hand, does drop its feed dogs! I have a Singer 15-88 treadle that I use for FM all the time.
Nancy