I've been reading how some of you have found Singer featherweights and love them...My question is "do you really use them or are they just for display".
I've been researching them because you all made me curious and find that if I were to buy one it would be a 301A. But why would I buy one, would I really use it when I have the modern sewing machines...

The featherweight only weighs about 11 lbs. It is perfect for taking to classes, retreats, etc (as long as you only need a straight stitch). It sews a beautiful stitch and they are just plain ADORABLE!!! :)

BOTH. Ours is actually one my DH parents bought him when he left home in 1978. It is 221model 40's but I don't remember exact yr right now. We use it, she's pretty, and purrs like a kitten!!!

Thanks for asking this question! I've been wondering this myself.

I am blessed to have my mother-in-law's Featherweight and I use it at home and at our sewing ministry's weekly meetings. It is especially nice to sew patchwork because the seam is so straight. The needle doesn't waver. I guess it's the simple things in life that bring us the most pleasure sometimes.

Not everyone. I guess there's already my DH's GM's treadle sitting here.
He's the only one who can use it. I never got the hang of treadles so it
will probably remain unused as I took over the sewing jobs. I use my
Janome or my Kenmore or just mend by hand if I have to. Yes, I do
mending. <sigh> LOL

Nothing can beat piecing on a FW!(for me)...pab

they will outlast anything on the market today

Sure will.....

they just don't make them like they used to.

I got a brand new Singer for $400 for Christmas 2010. It died just shy of it being a year old.

The oldies just don't stop. Give them a lil oil, a lil TLC and they'll last forever

The old Singers have metal parts, they don't break, they are easy to maintain, they sew beautiful stitches, and they run forever! I own a newer Singer, but it has gone to live at my sister's house so she can do mending with it. I only use my machines that were built before 1960.

[quote=Lyncat]The old Singers have metal parts, they don't break, they are easy to maintain, they sew beautiful stitches, and they run forever!

I have the Singer Feather Weight, 201-2, 301, 401, 500, 66 handcrank, 99K, 15-91 and I love and use them all. Can't beat those old Singers for the most perfect stitch.

I like mechanical machines that don't "think" for me. I like to sew very slowly when I'm piecing, so a treadle is about perfect for me.

I have old and new.
Singer: 66, 201, 301, Featherweight
New: Bernina

Love them all!
I now have my big eyes on a Singer 15.
I'm also trying to find an embroidery only machine for not a ton of money.
I need help lol

I love my older ones. I just got my 403a that I purchased this weekend back from the sewing machine repair guy. He gave her a good tune up and she sews like a dream. I also have a 15-91 that I use to sew dh's jeans, cover alls, coats and other heavy things. I haven't got to use my 66-16 yet because dh is rewiring it but I love the looks of it. The older machines are great machines. They will last. I now they are going to out last my Decor Computer Janome.

I have several TOL modern machines, but none sew through multiple layers like my vintage Singer industrial, 201s or 301s.

The modern machines are great for all their neat features, but the oldies still can't be beat for certain functions.

I have a 1952 featherweight I'm using now. They are great little machines. I just love mine. I would love to have a 301 too.

I just love anything vintage, I think deep down I don't want to give up the past. The older you get the more time flys, my Mom always said, and you know what... She was right..

I use mine---not a featherweight but a full size model---because unlike my newer machines, I can sew all day with it and not have to stop to fix weird things....like clumps of thread on the back and that kind of annoyance! Mine is a 1941 that was a gift from a neighbor couple that was moving back in 1981 or so and didn't want to take this heavy "portable" with them. I had the footpedal and motor replaced a few years ago, and she doesn't make bobbins any more (I bought one of the little bobbin makers...) but I can binge sew with absolutely no problems.

After the death of my beloved Viking 6430, I purchased a new Singer (it sits in a box, I really hate that thing), then I purchased a 301a, which goes to guild and UFO's 5 times a month. It sews a consistently beautiful stitch and never complains about being overworked. It has not replaced my 6430, but it sure runs a close second. I have an aversion to plastic and my little pretty is metal and weighs in at about 14 lbs. and sports a handle for easy transport.

Cause they're just so darn beautiful! I would love to have a Featherwieght. Just waiting...waiting....waiting.

Sew on one, you'll find out real quick!

I am just sentimental about old Singers. They remind me of my grandmother, and I miss her dearly. It feels like I have kept a piece of her alive when I use antique machines. The newest Singer I own right now is a 1974. The others are from 1949, 1950, and 1950.

[quote=KatFish]Wow...you have them all....you all are convincing me....

I love to sew on them-they are very sturdy & they don't talk back to me like my computerized ones! I have way too many, but I like to find them & fix them. They just purr along oh, and their parts are all metal, you can get to their insides. Manuals even have oiling instructions.

I lve my FW and use her all the time. I like using her for paper piecing, and for taking to classes.

I own 11 machines and I sew on my featherweight and my quilt machine which happens to be a Singer/Gambill

A lot of quilters buy the featherweights made in their birth year. You can tell when the machine was made by the serial number.

I have the light minty green f/w and i just love her. She's just the sweetest looking thing and sews really well.
Got her from e-bay.

I purchased my Singer 301A fifty years ago this summer. It has sewn clothing for my daughter and myself, curtains, slipcovers for furniture, and pieced at least 45 quilts. I took it in last month for a checkup and cleaning. It has been a wonderful sewing machine and I'm still using it as my main sewing machine.

No machine makes a straighter, tighter, prettier stitch than an old singer. The are the ultimate for piecing, are workhorses and run forever if cared for.

I love your avatar, do you have the pattern, could you share it?

I love your avatar, what pattern is it and would you share it :?:

I've been sewing and quilting for many years, and just recently bought a 1934 Singer 15-91. I do FMQ on it because it has a large throat, it's powerful, makes beautiful stitches and it's very forgiving.
And it's also a gorgeous machine.

I bo't a Singer 66 red eye just because it is just so beautiful. It weighs a ton. Sews a perfect stitch even tho the needle must have come with the machine in 1916 from the looks of it. LOL I also have a Jones 1904 just because I love looking at it. NEVER give up my Berninas.

They sew a great seam and they are light for taking to class.

I love my new computerized machines, and they are what I use for most sewing. But when I look at my old Singer I feel warm and fuzzy inside, like when I would stand at my Mom's elbow while she sewed and she would reach around and hug me. Or I would wake up in the night with a bad dream and hear the old Singer humming and know all was right with the world.

Because it is there....because it is cute.....because it was a good buy....because it brings good memories back to us...well, just because.

Take and give classes, my little FW is my companion as she is only 12 lbs. The older machines have their own sweet hum as they run and very little ever goes wrong with them.
Brenda

When I started sewing many years ago Singers were THE machine company. I'd really never seen any others when I was in school. I started sewing when I was 11 and then we moved selling the machine my Mom had. It wasn't until I was about 13 that my Dad brought home a used 403 that my sisters and I sewed our school clothes on. I have that machine after my sister that got it from my Mom wanted to throw it in the dump!! My youngest sister saved it and gave it to me. I cleaned it up (sister is a smoker) and I fixed the bobbin tension (reason why sister thought it was no good anymore) and it's in my sewing room now. I also have the 626 I bought in '65 when I graduated and got my first job at the phone company. Made many dresses for work on that in my apartment and still have that one. Then about 6 years ago fell in love with Featherweights and found one in a fabric shop and bought it for my birthday. I also have newer computerized machines (Viking, Bernina 440QE, Phaff 1171 and 2 sergers) but can't give up any of them--old or new!! The 403 I'm thinking of giving to my niece after she gets out of college and on her own since it was her mother that saved the 403. She doesn't sew but thought she might want it for mending if nothing else. It's in the original cabinet and maybe she can use it as a lamp table until she needs to sew.