The New Singer Featherweight C240 Sewing Machine
 

Knowing absolutely nothing about vintage sewing machines, I found the Singer Featherweight sewing machines of the past to be quite interesting. I learned about them in one of the books from Carol Dean Jones' Quilting Cozy mystery series, and so I a bit of research; I can see why they were so popular. Much to my surprise, just a couple of months ago, I came across an advertisement for a new sewing machine by Singer. Capitalizing, I presume, on the famous "Featherweight" name, the new one is called the Featherweight C240. I is touted to be the "featherweight" with modern-day features; it weighs in a bit heavier than the original ones, but is still under or at 15 lbs with a compact design. It does appear to be, at least for me, the perfect machine for taking to my quilting group or to a class, and I guess I like the nostalgia involved. Alas, it is way too expensive! Amazon has it on sale for $499.00 -the original price being $799.00! I wouldn't pay this for a machine I would only use occasionally, but if the price doesn't turn people off too much, I think it will come down significantly in price over the next year or two.

Have any of you heard of, seen, or purchased the Featherweight C240? I am curious about any comments you might want to make.

Personally for that money or less, find a vintage Featherweight or a Singer 301 to use as a portable. Both of these machines have metal gears, are able to be completely maintained by the owner, a sew a beautiful stitch. IMO, modern Singers are not worth the name and trying to capitalize on the known traits of the original Featherweight is not a good thing.

This is the second time Singer has tried to revive the Featherweight, the first one was a bomb and from the reviews I've heard this one will be too.

Cari

Since ( real) featherweights run often $350-$450 I would find a vintage one long before I’d spend the money on a
( new-plastic-fake) one. I picked up a Singer as a gift for someone a few years ago, should have spent a third of that cost on a Brother from Walmart- the Brother is a much better machine.
Janome and Bernina both have small 3/4 machines great for classes. Others may have too.

I have to agree with everyone, I wouldn't spend the money on the new Featherweight, but would gladly on an vintage one.

I love my vintage featherweight. It is a 1951. I would like to trade it for a 1941 since that is my birth year. Probably won't but it is a thought. Lol

Pocoellie I'm with you. I wouldn't pay a dollar for that machine!
Speaking of our beloved vintage Featherweights -I've never paid more than 200 for one and I even scored a white one. Look around- they're out there.

Well, this is disappointing, but I guess I expected it. What I mean is, I was hoping that maybe this modern Singer Featherweight would be a quality machine. As you pointed out, "Singers are not worth the name." This was a shocking revelation to me when I set out a couple of years ago to buy a sewing machine. I just assumed I would buy a Singer (which I owned back in the 1960s/1970s) and learned that they are, basically, a piece of junk these days. My teacher retirement/social security checks don't allow me to afford the really high quality machines, and I don't have the skill level (yet!) to merit the expense. I purchased a Brother SQ9185 Computerized Sewing and Quilting machine and could not be happier; I absolutely love it! I have taken it to my quilting group, to free up one of the ones we have through donations (we are a church group), but I am recovering from back surgery and can't do this right now. The reason I don't want to buy a vintage featherweight is because, I am sorry to say, I can't sew a straight scant 1/4" seam no matter how hard I try; I use a 1/4" foot with guide and my seams are perfect every time. I doubt I could use one on a vintage machine. Anyway, thank you so much for your input !

Well, this is sad news, but as I stated to another quilter, not totally unexpected. What a shame to become so much less than what the brand used to be!

There ARE feet with the 1/4 inch guide for Featherweights! I would not be able to accurately use my FW without that foot!..

This is my thought. I haven't run across anyone with a modern Singer that didn't have a lot of trouble with it.

Check out the Eversewn Sparrow 30 machine. You will be glad you did. I have a FW. I can't get an accurate 1/4 seam without a seam guide until I had the foot pedal changed to electronic. Now I can go as slow as one stitch at a time. I bought it here, also the 1/4 inch foot for FW and other vintage Singers .
https://www.novamontgomery.com/modul...6&image=Search

I have a 1/4" foot for my 301 (from the Featherweight Shoppe - April carries 301 accessories, too), but I prefer the metal dam you screw to the bed of the machine. I travel with one when I sew other places because I can't sew a straight 1/4" without it. 17 pounds and easy to carry.

I have one but gotten mine way less than this quoted price! I love it and never had problem with it although I use my 1950 FW the most or the 301, I use the newer one for the stitches it provides or to take a break from the older ones

I'm going to very gingerly raise my hand and say... yes, there are people who have Singer machines which are NOT problematic... I'm one of them. I've owned Singers for years and only my Quantum L-500 was problematic and had to go back to the company for tweaking, but it works great now.

Personally, I'm intrigued by the new Featherweight. It has a lot of really nice features. I'm waiting for some reviews to be posted; right now, there isn't enough information to make the decision to buy, and I believe the price will come down at some point.

But please, let's not bash a machine that nobody has seen or used yet. :)

Have 2 old Featherweight machines that are fantastic and the FW C240 which is not great: hard to thread and does not sew a good stitch. I would look for an old Featherweight as they would run you the same or cheaper than the C240.

Brother makes a mechanical machine that is reasonably light weight for under $80. I have two - one for traveling and one for in my garage, where my LA is. I don't know if you have a 'wheelie' bag for your current machine, but you can get one of them very reasonably for about $50. The bag makes transport of any sewing machine much easier. If there is someone at home who can put the wheelie in your car, there is probably someone at your church group who would help you get it in and out at that end.

You could also use a carry-on bag with wheels to transport a machine.

Janome also makes a small machine, 5 pounds, that is easy to transport. I have one, but seldom use it because the one I have does not allow me to change the foot. However, I purchased it about 6 years ago, so maybe that feature has been changed. Other than that, it is a great little machine.

https://www.target.com/p/janome-comp...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Until yesterday I had not heard of this machine, but today I had to drop off a machine to be repaired at my dealer, she sells Pfaff, Babylock & Elna, so very surprised to see the new Singer Featherweight. She said it is made by Pfaff. It is quite nice looking, has some of the same features of the Pfaff Passport. I played with it for a well and was very impressed with the quality and the sound, very smooth, quiet. If I were in the market for another machine (I'm not) I would consider it.

Well I have one of the first Singer Quantum machines and it is wonderful. Never had any problems with it except I can't buy new bobbins for it now. The first Quantum bobbins are different then the later models. Bought it at HSN years ago. One of the best machines I have and I have a Bernina, Janome, and three Brother machines. I have sewn on the first modern Featherweight and it sewed fine but for the money I would buy the Eversewn Sparrow 25 or 30. Many in my guild have the Eversewn and not one complaint from any of them.

Thanks! I will definitely look at the Featherweights now!

I have a 1936 FW and love the great stitch I also bought a 1/4 foot for it and use quite often. My 27 year granddaughter loves vintage so she is getting this machine. I told her she could have it whenever she wants it. I do take it apart and clean/oil it at least once a year...depending on how much I use it. I also have my regular Kenmore machine in the sewing room and a 301 and a singer treadle.

I have a Singer Featherweight C240 which I purchased on Amazon Canada for $300.00 plus shipping. I am having trouble just getting it to sew with the foot control. I start using it then when I resume it won't work...I have to use the button to sew. I could be doing something wrong...just don't know what. I called Sew Mastery in US which have great tutorials on various machines...this one included but he said I needed to talk to a dealer and that it was a great machine.. So far I would like to put it in the driveway and run over it!!! I am very frustrated with this machine as I don't like sewing with the button.

Pfaff feet fit these machines so check them out. It's amazing when you do a search to find feet compatible with your machine.

Just checked Amazon and its less the $400 now, something like $385.

I have to disagree re: repro Featherweight...I bought the first anniversary one a few yrs ago the 160 black and I Love it. It's a work horse and I've never had any issues with it. Stitches great and straight, easy threading etc...I got it thru Amazon at that time for 249. Only complaint I do have it's got no needle down which is annoying when we're so use to that. You have to do that by hand wheel.
I also have several vintage singers I love...can't kill those...3-301's and a 1901 Red Head. I also recently bought one of their emb machines which was discounted and discontinued for 199 just as a bkup to my good machines and again can't complain.
Guess it's the luck of the draw like any other brand.
I love and would only buy Husq Viking machines and others only buy Bernina's etc......it's what you get use too.
But my advise is do your research as I do before I buy any machine...Read reviews online.

I have this same Brother, purchased from Walmart with all accessories for an incredibly low price. I sew every day and this little trooper never lets me down (more than 3 years so far).

One tip I learned from the Feather Weight Shop to eliminate birds nests is to Always hold the tails (top & bobbin thread ends) when beginning to sew a seam. It works like a charm - it eliminated the thread ends getting pulled down into the bobbin assembly. The Featherweight Shop also has other tips to eliminate skipped stitches and birds nests that I've found helpful.

https://singer-featherweight.com/blogs/schoolhouse/troubleshooting-stitch-problems

I’m surprised Singer doesn’t fire up the factory and resume making FWs in metal that look like the old version. I believe they would sell.

I see that there are a lot of opinions about the 'new' featherweight, some good some not so good. I first saw them at the Madison Quilt Extravaganza a couple of years ago and I was not impressed. The Singer company is not the same as 50 years ago and quality is no longer there. There are some Singers that work well but I have yet to find one that sounds as wonderfully quiet as a vintage FW.

I currently teach all kinds of classes to take care of FWs and I currently own 12 that I have purchased in various conditions and restored them all. One thing about the vintage FWs is that you can work on them yourself and there's no secrets because most anything you need to do can be seen in a video at the featherweight shop.

I just made a FW dust cover last week that had to have 1/4" seams (yes, there are 1/4" feet that work amazingly well), walking foot seams and free motion quilting. The FW 221 doesn't allow you to drop the feed dogs but you can find the sweet spot between forward and backward and cover the feed dog with some painters tape. It works great. Why would you want any other machine? Yes, I own a big Viking with all the bells and whistles but it's the FW that I sew on every day. Here's my dust cover, 100% done on my FW.

I found a singer 1748 that looks like it was used once maybe twice to put on sports badges. I found it at the second hand store, still in the box, with all the accessories for seventeen dollars. The mailing tag showed a man's name. So I am assuming that is why it was hardly used.

My sis has extra feet she is sharing with me. I wanted a little lightweight machine for those dog days of summer heat to use downstairs. I already had gotten a portable table, so I am hoping this is the solution. It has built in stitches and buttonhole functions. We will see. Kind of cute too since it is dark pink and white. For that price, why not try it?

This is for WDW69... I have the same machine and have not had a similar problem. Almost sounds like you have a bad connection between the plug and the foot pedal, or perhaps in the pedal itself. There's another dealer in the US named Prairie Quilt (https://prairiequilt.com/) that is a dealer for the machine. I didn't purchase mine there, but they were the first people I saw demonstrating the machine on YouTube. They seem like very nice people, maybe they could be of some help? It's worth a try anyway.

I have just purchased a Featherweight C240 and got it from Singer.com for $299.
I plan on using it for my quilting in Arizona at an RV resort. I like the integrated even feed system.
However, I don't like that regular Singer and Brother presser feet do not fit on it so I have to get all new feet just for this machine. I think it will be a workhorse for sewing everything from bags to quilts to jeans.

Have a white one in my personal collection of FW’s (6) but I don’t care for sewing with the white one. It is belt driven internally not gear driven like the black ones and I find it noisy and not as fun to sew with. But I do like looking at it.

I have Singer and Brother machines...both brands have cheap machines(you Will get what you pay for !), and higher priced models. I like both brands equally. Face it..no one makes machines like they used to...or anything else for that matter. I love my vintage featherweight and my 28K, but they have their limits compared to modern machines. What you use and like best will depend on how you sew.