It has been quite a journey to get her. I answered an ad on CL and the gal was asking 45. SCORE! But I new it was too good to be true. Then she said someone wanted it for 60. I told her I could do that. Consider her sold. But the ad remained on CL. Hmmmm, Then I got an email that someone had offered 175 and she was in need of money so........well ya know. I had to have her so I said ok, fine.

I picked her up today and I am so happy. I think she is worth every penny. She is definitely a repaint, but I don't care. Not sure how that affects her value, but, mmmm, I don't care.

I told my husband she needed a name, and he thought I had lost it. But he loves to name things and has always been the "namer in chief" in our house. So he thought Esmeralda was fitting, since she is green and ya know, emerald--- Esmeralda.

The only thing I can see that I need right away is more bobbins, and some new shoes. Her little rubber things on the bottom are all wore away.

I did plug her in and ran her a little, and she purrs like a kitten. So quiet, I was surprised. But As you can tell, I am very excited. I can not wait to start using her.

Looks great! I love the green.

Aw, that is the prettiest machine! Perfect name too!

I forgot to take a picture of the case. It is green and tan and has a zipper. Looks kinda like a bowling bag, but different shape of course. The machine fits in perfectly and the foot and cord goes underneath. It is in very good condition. I doubt it is the original one that went with it, but it works.

Very pretty, indeed! You still got a great deal.

Very nice, I love the paint color. You got a super deal on the price too.

Beautiful!I believe the green ones are rare ?Don't quote me on that though. Lostn51 can help you with any ?'s you have.Enjoy her and happy sewing.

Congrats! She's a real beauty! May you enjoy many hours of stitching with her.

I am sure he will pop in here and give you all the details :thumbup:

And I am just "green" with envy :mrgreen:

Great name also , have fun :lol:

She is a beauty. What a perfect name. Great job.

She is very pretty :D:D:D I am glad that you finally got her!!!

so lovely.

Congratulations. I am glad you got her. I didn't offer her any more money but was willing to drive from CA at the original price. They did make green FWs. The name is wonderful.

Enjoy sewing with her.

Green, like this green? It would be so great if that was the original color. She is very old according to the number. It starts with AE or AF, kinda hard to read.

We had to have a little discussion this evening though. She ran but did not want to sew at all. Nothing, nada, just little holes. I downloaded a manual and learned how to thread her and tighten the belt and of course give her some oil. She is stitching just fine now. Still a little clinky, but she was pretty dry. I plan to pick up some more oil tomorrow and some singer lubricant.

And now back to reading more about her. There is lots on the net about these little jewels. So fun !

I love her!!!!
What a gorgeous color!
Kirsten

congratulations, Esmeralda is really beautiful...

Absolutely CUTE! The money was Great!

BUT why did the seller keep raising her price - she put it out there with a specific price and should have honored that. My thought - Was she scamming ya? Or just a Bad seller who should have done more research before posting...but then she probably would have asked $300+ :)

Glad you got the deal you got!

What a nice little machine. Still a good price for a featherweight. It great that you are so happy with her. They are great little machines to piece with. Congrats to you.

You are so lucky! I love this green one! Been looking for one myself. Did find one and got it for 65 but it was not the featherweight,,,it was made right before the fw but it runs awesome! Haven't made anything with it. It came with an cabinet too and all tools. Enjoy "Emeralda"!

I don't know why you paint her, she looks absolutely gorgeous in the original color. That's my favorite color FW. Good job!

WoW!!!!!!!

Beautiful color! :thumbup:

She is beautiful. I love the name Esmeralda-fits her perfectly!! Congratulations, there are places on the internet where you can get new feet and bobbins. featherweightcare.com is a good resource! Have fun.................

The repaints cost a fortune to have painted! I have 4 originals and would love to find a repainted one that I could afford. There are professionals online who will paint Featherweights any color you like, if you can pay the price. They also sell them already painted in pretty colors, very expensive.

I agree ... this one may not have been re-painted.

I found this one the web: In Great Britain a white Featherweight was sold, which was made in Scotland. Some "mint green" machines are also rumored to have been made, but opinions vary over whether this was really a green machine or merely a white one with a green tinge to the paint. Larry Oliver, a Featherweight collector on Compuserve, wrote to me: "I have seen a tan machine and a mint green machine (definitely NOT white). They were Great Britain models. ... Planetpatchwork.com

* AB 1926
* AC 1928
* AD 1934
* AE 1936
* AF 1938
* AG 1941
* AH 1948
* AI 1948
* AJ 1950
* AK 1951
* AL 1955
* AM 1956
... ages according to the PlanetPatchwork.com

I have an original mint green/white machine. The green is barely noticable. I've never seen an original two tone featherweight. I think it's a repaint and worth around a thousand dollars. Like I said , this was a great deal. I also notice that the face plate on this machine is the scrole model making it an early one. The original white/mint green machine came into production much later, maybe in the 1960s. The serial number can be checed on the Singer site to tell when it was made. My white/green was made in 1964.

Ask Lostn51. Or post this on the vintage machines blog. Billy will be able to tell you. I think it is original. I have seen other photos of like machines- the same color.

I had a friend (now deceased) who had a green original and it was barely green. Nothing like this. Yours is beautiful.

JEALOUS!!!!!!

wow, cool!

I'm 'green'' with envy. She's a beauty. Looks original to me, but what do I know.

This is more than likely a re-paint. You can tell because it is two-tone. Singer only made black, white and beige and the entire machine was one color. The white or green one is sometimes called "barely celery", or a white paint with just a hint of green. The serial number staring with either an AE or AF indicates that the machine was built anywhere from 1935 through 1941. Information taken from "The Featherweight 221" book by Nancy Johnson-Srebro. With all that said - the machine is beautiful and I would love to have a repaint.
Barb

Congratulations on your featherweight. I know you will have lots of pleasure sewing on her. Even though the last owner raised the price several times, you still got a great deal. I agree with the person who said that she is repainted. The green they were talking about in the book is considered a white machine, even though I think they added a little tinge of green. The discussion of the color of the machine has gotten to the point that many experts get exasperated, claiming that the machine was all white and no green added. (Whatever...I have my own opinion on the whole thing... :) )

I just wanted to added one thing about the belt. When you tighten it, make sure that you don't tighten it too much. You want it just barely tight enough to work.

The problem you had with it not sewing at first is one that I think all of us with featherweights run into. We forget that the thread goes into the needle from the right side. (I don't use my featherweight enough to remember so I always have to look at my manual as a reminder.)

:thumbup: Congratulations on your new member of you family and have fun!!!!!

Congratulations I know and feel your excitement! However I also know as time goes on Esmeralda will not be an only child! You've got the bug as so many of us have. I'm on my fifth! Each is different and all are so sweet! Enjoy Esmeralda - if she is your first she will always be special.

Wish I could find such a bargan

Congratulations on getting your featherweight. They are very special little machines. My Aunt gave my first one to me. My grandmother had given it to her when she got married in 1936. The second one I got, I paid 100.00 for it and got the table that you could buy extra way back in the day. I was so happy because I had not know about the table that the featherweights could sit on, actually sit down into and I have one. I was so happy that day.lol

There were "green" featherweights but not this green. The original "green" FW was really a "white" FW but the paint varied and looked "minty" or "celery-ish". This is definitely a repaint and I will not say more. Hee hee hee.

I was sure it was a repaint when I first saw her, but it really did not matter, I think she is beautiful. When we got her home and turned it over, you can see a few places where there is a little over spray. The gal I got it from said it was owned by a lady that was a friend of the family and had left all her stuff to this gals MIL. She said the lady that owned it was very old and had owned the machine forever, which is why she thought it was original. But whoever did the repaint did a great job, and I like the two tone color. The color is a little more sage-y then minty like in the picture.

I am sure the case is not original either, so that is something I will need to look for. All in good time.

My husband is so funny. At first he thought this was all just a girl thing, but the more he looks at them, the more he sees the potential. He was telling me this morning that he looked on line for a long time for FW's on Craigslist. I think I infected him and he did not even know it. He was saying how it would look so nice to have a shelf or area where you could display all the old machines, all cleaned up and pretty in a line. And not a regular line, but at an angle so you could fit more machines. Maybe even lined up by age. LOL

I can not wait to start a project on her, but I want to redo the lubricant in the motor, and oil her again. I was amazed how beautiful she does stitch. I was thinking that a stitch is a stitch, right? But this was so precise.

I am so excited for you!
I enjoy watching what happens next <g> <wave>