Originally Posted by
lovelyl
I use a 15-91 and is does a beautiful job. I would think your 201 has the ability to lower feed dogs and it seems I have heard others say they FMQ on 201's. Hopefully, someone on here can verify that.
I've free motioned on a lot of machines so have a good basis for comparison, and I strongly recommend against trying to fmq on the Singer 201. I've had a very frustrating time trying to do so, as have others I know. The 201 is great for piecing, handling heavier items, and straight-line quilting. Additionally, when thread gets tangled in that bobbin area of the 201, it can be a very difficult thing to clear out sometimes.
The Singer 221 Featherweight is not great for free motion quilting, either. The 221 and 201 both have horizontal bobbins, and vertical bobbins are best for fmq because of the way the thread comes off the bobbin (the thread path).
The Singer 301 is the all-time best machine I've ever used for fmq. The Singer 15-91 is not bad, in my experience. You want that vertical bobbin for fmq. (The only horizontal bobbin machines I've found that is good at fmq are some of the new Janomes.)