Stitchnripper

I spent a long time on a quest for one. I wanted to come upon it, not order it from someplace and I didn’t want to pay a fortune . After literally years of looking I found one with a bobbin case but no case or attachments in a flea market mall. I paid $160. I oiled it and it works fine. Then about 2 years later I came upon one in a thrift store for $40! I got it too and it has a case and a few attachments. It works fine too. I was a regular at the thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales where I lived. But the first one I found when I stopped at that flea market mall on the way back from Atlanta. So one never knows.

Nanny's dollface

Unbelievable finds you guys have found. I was planning on no more than $1200 for a Magenta one similar to the one Bonnie Hunter had before it got destroyed at an airport. I need to follow several you guys around. Lol

Cari-in-Oly

IMO prices for FWs are getting out of control again. If people wouldn't pay the outrageous asking prices, then sellers wouldn't be asking outrageous prices. There are bargains still to be found if you can be patient and be in the right place at the right time. And sometimes a person just gets lucky. I'm less than $100 into my FW and the cabinet for it, got lucky twice. Two years to find the machine and six for the cabinet.

Cari

Treadle&Gears

I don't get the appeal of these at all. I tried one a friend had several years ago and was completely unimpressed. Ok, it's small. And cute. What else does it do that makes it a big $$$ machine?

K

sewbizgirl

The demand. These are so hyped that people become willing to pay anything for them. I have two... one I bought for $20 at a garage sale and another I paid around $85 for, from an auction house. My 301's are much better machines and not much bigger or heavier.

carolynjo

I will say that a good featherweight has a lovely stitch that is flat and even. The machine is lightweight and easy to take to quilting classes. I carry mine in a square shopping cart. She goes in the bottom and my notions, etc, fit around her. When I get there, I set up and hang my supplies on the sides of my cart. Works for me.

momsbusy

Search for Nova Montgomery. She has tons of information about featherweights and their maintenance. I own two. They are dependable straight stitch machines. At the Road to California show, Lloyd Askew sells beautifully restored and original but clean featherweights. He teaches maintenance classes and also restores them.

Aurora

Bought my Featherweight from a friend at an auction -- he had purchased it at a yard sale. He offered it to me for the same price he paid, $100, and, I could pay him $25 a week. However, I prefer to use my 301A, I purchased for $75 in 2004.

RotaryQueen

I'm trying to imagine where you live in so. Cal that has no big interest in featherweights? I watch craigslist obsessively in San Diego and nearby areas. There are almost always several FW listed. The ones priced $250 or less seem to sell quickly, but many hang around for a few weeks priced $350-$400. Orange county listings of vintage sewing machines have lower prices on average than SD county. So I would suggest checking CL if you are willing to drive a little. From the sounds of it, quilt show prices are greatly inflated to allow for the much greater exposure to prospective buyers.
In the past 3 months, my sister has picked up 4 FW off shopgoodwill or ebay for less than $270 each (yes, it's an addiction;-) The one from eBay was packed horribly and suffered damage that she was able to repair. Those prices are still inflated over what I saw a couple years ago, but that seems to be the trend. If you don't want to deal with the travel and interactions of CL, that would be another way to go.

cashs_mom

I agree. Mine has a beautiful stitch and is so easy to carry to classes and bees. My sewing room is upstairs and getting the Bernina up and down is something of a chore. With the Featherweight I can carry it up and down, load it in the car and get it out without a problem. I can even put it in my Tutto in the case and have plenty of room for fabric and supplies. It's an amazing little machine.