TanyaL

I have my mother's singer 201, bought just after WW2 finished. It has never been in the shop for repairs, been serviced, oiled a few times. It still sews like new. It has made drapes, tailored men's suits, upholstered furniture, quilts, made evening dresses, etc. Goes forward, backwards and needs an attachment for everything else, but with an attachment does everything else beautifully.

barri1

I'm so glad you decided on an oldie. I'm using a Singer 66, and Singer 99 exclusively. They both only go foward. I wouldn't trade either of them.
Good Luck, and enjoy her.

Quiltngolfer

I love my Brother 1500 too. I have some other so called"better" machines but I nearly always use the Brother to sew and quilt.

Mitch's mom

You can't go wrong with a Singer straight stitch machine. When/if you get tired of treadling definitely look at a 15-91. A 201 will use the same bobbins as your 66 and is a very nice strong machine, but the 15-91 with its vertical bobbin will free motion quilt like nobody's business.

lovelyl

My 15-91 has become my main "go to" machine. The only time I use a modern machine is when I do machine applique. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a 15-91 or a 201. Both are workhorses.
Welcome to the board!

lclang

Go to several dealers and try out a bunch of machines. I'm not saying buy them. Try them, including used ones. When you find what you want look on e-bay, Craig's list, thrift stores and see if you can find one there. The best advice I can give you is to buy the BEST machine you can afford. I have had cheap machines that nearly cured me of sewing and now have great machines that make me forget laundry and cooking so I can play.

Aurora

I love my 301a, straight stitch all the way. For zigzag, I have a vintage New Home from Janome.

imnywoman

Welcome to the board! You are headed in the right direction. Check out the vintage & antique section here on the board, so many helpful and knowledgeable people there. I have sewn for years and have become increasingly frustrated with the computerized, plastic machines. My choices have always been Singer and Brother, with a Bernina thrown into the mix. I have, in the last year or so now purchased a Singer treadle 127, a Feather weight 221, and a Singer 237 Fashion Mate. All these machines have all metal gearing and sew like magic, straight and true. My family couldn't believe I was stepping back in time, especially after buying a rather expensive Brother 4000D sewin/embroidery machine that is so fussy about thread, that I have twice had it repaired at a cost of more than $300 and she needs another repair. Each of my vintage machines cost me $50 or less. I learned how to clean and restore each of them myself. Hope the machine your are going to look at turns out to be the one. If not, come back here and plug in again and keep looking. Also, www.shopgoodwill.com is a great place to search .Lots of luck!

solstice3

$100 for a treadle in good shape is a deal in my area. People here think they are made of gold and charge accordingly. I have a treadle, a featherweight and a Bernina QE that I bought in 2004. Love them all but do the majority of straight stitch sewing on the featherweight

sandyquilts

The older Pfaffs are wonderful. All metal guts and they sew over/through anything.
SandyQuilter (I am not sandyquilts--have contacted the admin., but no change as yet)