I have signed up at my LQS for "The Cleaning and Care of Your Singer Featherweight Class." It is a 4 hour class that is hands on. The FW will be disassembled, cleaned, oiled lubricated. Emphasis will be on the bobbin area showing where threads collect and the importance of cleaning the needle plate area on a regular basis. They will also teach how to give my FW a protective finish and clean up a case that has an odor. It is $55. What do you think? I bought it about 6 weeks ago and have not had it "tuned up."

I think I have attached a picture of my "Penny" named after the friend who sold it to me.

I would take the class, it will be a good refresher on general machine maintanance. You will take better care of all of your machines, and each will he happier!

Penny is beautiful. I would love to get a Featherweight.
I think that is a wonderful idea for a class. Good luck!

Keep us informed. I have 2 vintage Singers now, possibly getting another tomorrow. None are featherweights though.

Penny definitely had an owner that loved her! :) :)

Great idea. You would pay close to that to have someone else tune it up and you learn how to do it yourself in the process.

I would love to have this class offered in my area. If you baby your baby it will love you forever! I have a 221 featherweight and LOVE IT!

What a great class. I love your sweet little Penny. She is a beauty.

Thanks for your responses, now I am really looking forward to the class! I will send an update on what I learned. The class is April 24th!

Please, Please tell us what you learned. I just bought a 221 FW after it was advertised on Craigslist. A friend is helping to clean it, but I am a little intimidated by the machine at this point.

Taking the class hands on would be great. Click on this and scroll down to the DVD that Dave made to help fellow featherweight owners. I got these and they are great, explains everything and is so handy when a question comes up.

I guess you need to copy and paste to get this.
Featherweight221.com

Go for it. Why pay for something you can do yourself?
It will cost you that much for a tech to just look at your machine. Go for it.

Enjoy your class! I would take it, but $$ is tight right now. I'm not far from you, west to 2Paws. Are you in the Log Cabin Quilters?

To be able to maintain your own FW would definitly be worth the money. My FW case got some minor water damage when my basement flooded. The case is fine, FW is also, but there is now a slight musty smell in the case. If you find out how to clean the case of odor, I would love knowing how. I would love any info you could pass on.

I also have a Singer Featherweight 221 and bought it on Ebay about 4 years ago......I bid on it, and have purchased 3 of these aver the past 7 years....I moved a lot during this period and sold one each time....mad about 150 $ profit, as I was living in Hawaii each time and they don't have them there. BUT...I amNOT selling this one. One of your replies waas someone recommending DAVE the featherweight shop owner having a DVD on maintenance. I am looking it up next. His machines are beautiful, but cost about $700 or more..course, they are re-furbished.....but I loved the bidding and WINNING THE BID!!!! Gosh, I ALMOST BECAME ADDICTED :?

If you go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagesingers/
they have a lot of information on Featherweights and other vintage Singers.

I missed the 1916 Singer treadle FOR FREE by one phone call. I am so disappointed as I love the old machines. They have a perfect straight stitch and are great for piecing.

Can't wait to hear about the class. Even if you didn't have a Featherweight, you would learn a lot.

i saw a video on featherweights on you tube.com a nice older man sell,s his video,s and walks through each step of cleaning and how to fix them wonderful video saw it and like it very much when i ever get one i,ll buy his video for sure

Not in the Log Cabin Quilters. I work full time and am not sure I would be able to keep up. Not sure I am ready for a group. The class is at Quilts Plus.

Clem if you put some bars of scented soap in your case that may help get rid of the odor. I have done that with dresser and desk drawers that had a musty odor and it worked to get rid of it completely after a while. However, it won't work overnight and I'm not sure if it will work with the type of lining that's in your case.

I just purchased a featherweight and would love to have a class like that in my area. I would go in a heartbeat. I named mine Prissilla as she looks do prissy. I anso excited as I am getting my grandmothers and it is the one I learned to sew on. It is a centinial model.

Thank you , I'll give that a try. NOthing to lose anyway! LOL It isn't bad, just "there" . I almost cried when I saw that case sitting in water, I moved real fast to get everything out and dried or drying. That was my first sewing machine, and it sure made many a thing for me, from baby clothes to leather car seat covers. No damage dome thank goodness!

I was given a FW and it had a terrible smell. I changed the felt pad inside that absorbs any oil drips. That helped the machine smell alot. I set the box out in 100 degree sunshine for a few days, but it was still bad. I put some deodorant soap in it recently and sealed it in a big garbage bag, that seams to have worked. I haven't brought it into the house yet, so I'm not sure, it is definately better.

My DH is going to take the same kind of class at Eddie's Quilting Bee for $65.00 so he can keep my Sally Sue and KC in humming good condition. I think it is a great idea.

Grinster,
I think that would be a terrific class to take. I wish we had a LQS that would offer that. I only wish I had a LQS. The nearest is 100 miles away and they sell Janome. I don't think they would offer such, as they don't repair their own machines, have someone out of town do them. I say go for it. It would be worth the bucks just to know how to do it. I am in the process of trying to locate a FW. I have a Singer golden touch, a Bernina and a craft machine I bought to take to quilt classes because of the light weight, from Nancy's Notions a year or so ago, I also have my Mother's old machine a really heavy duty Singer, made who knows when, as she got it used in 1941. I learned to sew on that machine, has the bullet bobbin. But I still end up taking my Bernina to our quilting group..

My featherweight case had a very musty odor. I solved the problem by putting an Odor Eaters shoe insert in the case with the machine. This particular Odor Eaters had charcoal in it, which I think helps. Anyway, it fits well in the case and even offers a little additional padding for the machine, so I've never bothered to remove it even though the smell is gone.

I figure the $20 annual dues are worth the 10% discount you get at Quilts Plus, Viking and Fields! Sometimes they have a national speaker come to the meetings. Those can be very stimulating. But I know what you mean when working full time. I rarely attended meetings in the winter.

Prism, thanks for that INfo . I'm going to get Odor Eaters today and see if it will do the job for my case. I have no plans to sell mine, but have wondered jusdt how important appearance really is to buyers. My machine looks very good to me, but there are pin scratches on the bed. The case isn'T torn or anything, but it doesn"t look new anymore either. I have the manual, and another paper that came with it. That got wet in the flooding, but dried out okay, enough to be readable without difficulty , but you can tell the paper had been wet. I have all the original attachments, plus a buttonhole attachment and a decorative stitch attachment, and bobbins. I know these are "wanted "machines, and I'Ve been offered $150 sight unseen by a shop owner. I thought that was reasonable since I only paid $200 when I bought it in 1960, then I saw that comment about the $700 the man on Ebay was selling them for. NOw that is a big difference!! Any feedback on this?

I should think about joining. I know the memberships are renewed in the Spring. I am going to the International Quilt Show with the Bernina folks. I am sure it will really get me motivated. Thanks for your response!

I had to think you and I have the same "fun". I have bought 6 featherweights from ebay and sold all but 1. I do not do this to make a profit-bought for sister and friends. I do not go to casino-but I sure liked the thrill of winning (and hunting) for the little machines.
Enjoy your day, Janie in KS

I believe that is a wonderful opportunity to take the class for your Featherweight. I would take it if they had something like that where I live. I have a Singer Featherweight Centennial and it is so cute! My husband bought it for me in the Fall and I hope to use it more soon - it is a beauty!

Oh, you are getting a deal at the $55. It's that much just to have someone clean our machines here and extra for any replacement parts or adjustments made. It's wonderful to educate yourself on how to do things yourself. Truly keeps your machines working much longer and your beauty deserves a good working order.

Grinster,
I love the Golden, she is sure pretty. We had one but lost her at age four, I don't think their is a nice dog.
Now regarding Feather weights. They are so easy to clean and I think it would be a wonderful class. I will be interested in know what they recommend to keep the finishes. My mother in law was manage of a Sewing shop and they used car wax on the older sewing machines to keep them looking good.

Clem,
Most featherweights starting price is about $250 up. Depends on if the gold trim is in good shape and the machine is original. Once they have been painted or pieces changed out, they lose their value. A good machine will probably sell for about $400 in TX. Different prices by location. A person maybe able to find a good machine cheaper if the person selling doesn't know the price.

The class sounds like a good one. I got my FW in 1966 from my mom to take to college. She had it serviced at that time. I have sewn clothes; boat covers; curtains and now am using it for class at a mystery meeting once a month. Have never had it serviced since then. Just clean out the dust, etc. It is a true workhorse.

Looks beautiful. A class for maintence would be good. I had a chance year ago to buy a book on machine maintence, didn't buy it and wish I would have.

I hope you can share what you learn in the class with us. I own 4 Featherweights and think about selling them. I have never done ANYTHING with them, and wish that I could clean and maintain them. That might encourage me to USE at least one of them.

I'm interested in knowing where to oil, what to oil, which KIND of oil to use, etc... and about 1,000 other questions.

I use Schmetz needles in my other machines, but am guessing only Singer needles in the Featherweight?

Brenda in Iowa

Every time I think about the Singer Treadle Machine my Mom put out for the garbage when I was a teen, I want to cry. It had a beautifully carved wooden cabinet also.

My Brother XR52 just broke down. I have a timing problem and won't get it back for a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I decided to borrow my daughter's machine which had belonged to my MIL. I didn't remember what it looked like and assumed it was an old Pfaff like his aunt had. I just found out from him that it is a SINGER FEATHERWEIGHT!!!!! I may end up trying to trade machines with her! She does very little sewing. Only a project once in a blue moon for the kids for school. All her mending etc. she gives to me because she doesn't have time she says.

Oh Boy! Am I ever excited now!

I would love to have a featherweight. I carry a Juki 98Q or a Baby Lock Ellegante to a sit and stitch on Wednesdays and because of the name thought a featherweight would be lighter and easier for me carry, but a friend told me they are just as heavy or heavier than most machines because they are all metal. Is this true? Does anyone know how much a Featherweight weighs?

I think Featherweights are someplace between 9 and 11 pounds.

Yes, they are all metal, but they are small and don't have all the computers and extra stuff that today's machines have.

Featherweights are VERY popular among quilters and ladies who take machines to classes, etc, because of their light weight.

I used to have a 95 year old aunt who carried her Featherweight to sewing classes and monthly sewing meetings.

My feather weight weighs 25 lbs.

Wickn34

My feather weight weighs 25 lbs.

Wickn34

You're KIDDING!!

Do you have one of the portable Featherweights?

I have 4 Featherweights and they are about 9 pounds each.