my newest brother jammed up on me for some reason or other but here i took out my FW and it went straight to sewing beautifully and straight w/o missing stitches or breaking threads! It just doesn't ziz-zag but nonethless, is pretty light and a workhorse....

I picked up a treadle this week, in a beautiful cabinet (7 drawers). Research tells me it was born in 1911 in Bridgeport CN. Thought that was rather odd, because most of the Singers of that vintage are from RI. More research gave me the reason. Singer bought the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Co. which was in Bridgeport. This machine is a almost a W&W, but with a Singer name. It runs just needs a new belt. My reason for getting it -- simply for quilting. & when we lose power, I'll still be able to sew!

an older sewing machine has more durable (metal) parts, and they sew very well. i purchased a treadle sewing machine a few months ago-cleaned it up and replaced the belt and it sews great-and with costs of everything going up and outta sight, i can still machine sew without electricity! i still use my serger, and i still love my computerized innov-is 1000, but i also like the idea of not spending any more money than i have to.

Are you sure you mean Featherweights? A true featherweight (FW) only weighs 11 pounds and is easily lifted with one hand. They are very portable. I love mine. It not only has all its parts it came with a lot of accessories. I can do any kind of sewing with it. I also have collected other vintage machines. Just their history, duribility, etc. is enough to appreciate. I use mine but also have several hand cranks and treadles for display mostly. I plan to hand them all down as pieces of history. :-D

Oh, forgot to mention the hum of the old machines. Very cool.

I love my 2004 Bernina Artista and my 1975 Bernina 830 but the old gals are dreams to sew with also. Thanks for asking!

My older machine is a singer treadle the 12k family dated back to the 1800's and in working order!!!! The reason I am thrillle dthat its in working order is...you never know when something might happen to where you are without power. And as we all know the treadles don't require electricity! So...if need be, I could continue on with my quilting. I might have to light up a oil lamp,but power outage wouldn't slow me down.

Old machines, they are wonderful!! I have 4 featherweights-1941 black with crome hand wheel, 1950 black, 1961 black red s, 1964 white, 1956 99k, 1959 black 301, and a 1919 red eye treadle. I purchased another 1964 white featherweight for for may granddaughers 14th birthday and she loves it. I purchased them all over time in ebay.

I still have my Singer Feather weight 221 that I recieved as a gift when in high school. It is a work horse and easily serviced by owner or at the shop. It sews like a charm and of course mine has soooooo many wonderful memories. I will never give it up. I also have a new Viking....love it....need my manual by my side when I use it because it is so complicated. I also have a White treadle. I love them all....my fav is the Singer. After retiring, I am finally able to get back into sewing. What a joy.

The reasons I'm collecting them is that the cases are fairly uniform in size and shape. Therefore, they are easy to shelve and store until time to set up a class. I load a trailer with bins of fabric, patterns, mats, cutters, scissors, thread, etc., and and assorted size and weight machines. I take my show on the road to teach 4-H kids how to sew.

When you need to lift 20 - 30 sewing machines, some of those units get pretty heavy. The kids unload and reload the trailer at the class site - but I load at the start, and unload when I get back home. I'm not young, or healthy, so it's a chore for me. Even the healthy kids have trouble with the heavy machines.

Having all the same style machine will also make it easier to teach a large class. The Featherweights are durable, and pretty much kid proof. I would like to have a total of 30 of them. (I have a long way to go.) As I get a featherweight, I can donate one of the older flea-market odd balls to one of the kids who really has promise in sewing.

These are easy to take to classes. My big machine has a motherboard in it, so you need to take care with it. Old machines are easy to use (not so over the top as the new ones). I remember about 1963 being with my Greatgrandmother in her little apt and watching her sew on her Treadle machine. I was the only one in the family she would sit and sew with. My Greataunt dumped the machine ("THAT OLD THING"), after her mother passed away. That machine gave me a love of sewing. So now when I use my Treadle I think of my GG and it makes me feel all warm inside. I have newer machines, but they do not have the same feel. I now sew for my granddaughter and the feeling is different with each machine. But it is still the best with my old "Iron Queen".

Of the five machines in my house, guess which one isn't used? The only one not considered vintage. It is a piece of whatever impolite word you choose. Give me all steel any time. My 1974 Elna is my go to machine, but the Singer 301 is a better quilting machine. Straight, strong, easy to use - it does have a crummy thread cutter, but it's pluses outweigh that one minus.

All smaller machines are not FWs. My Singer 128 is a 3/4 size machine, but it weighs 29 pounds. If it should ever give up sewing, its next job in life would be a great boat anchor.