Originally Posted by
indymta
Thanks for posting this. I have a Singer 301 (slant) and was told that the Schmetz needles wouldn't work because the length is different. Can those who own the 301 tell me what needles (and I guess bobbins) now that you use?
That's 100% wrong. That's like saying a Ford (or Chevy, or Honda, or whatever) car won't fit your purposes. Which Ford? Which Schmetz needles? Schmetz makes all sorts of needles for different applications.
The 301 uses the standard 130/705 15x1 needle. In other words, the same needles you will find everywhere - including Joanns, Walmart, all of the Sewing Shops, Quilting shops, etc.
The harder part to find is the bobbins. They're not the most commonly used bobbins, so you do have to go somewhere like a Sewing Machine place (preferably Singer, because they're most likely to stock them) or some reputable person online, like Sew Classic.
http://shop.sew-classic.com/Bobbins-...pack-45785.htm
The Singer 206 and 306 do use different needles. The 301 does not.