"EZ" mini sewing machine that looks like a FW

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01-15-2015, 10:30 PM

#21

4dogs

Senior Member

Join Date: Dec 2009

Location: Fletcher NC(cool, green mountains)

Posts: 646

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumegirl

I went to a seminar, last year, given by a FW collector - Using FWs in his collection, he gave lots of excellent info on their development, showed the subtle design changes throughout the years of production and some of the different accessories, promotional ads and tables. It was a great seminar and I learned a lot!

He did have one of these EZ machines and showed how it compared to the Singer FWs. He pointed out some of the flaws and showed how the quality of the stitch did not compare to the Singers. He strongly stated that he thought it was, overall, inferior to the FWs and didn't recommend them.

...he had a few GE Standard Sewhandy machines & I quickly added it to my "must have" list

Could you tell me, if its even a possible question/answer thing............which model of the FW is the best one to buy? and is any year better than another? I just need some education about them if possible, before I get really serious about buying one..........are there things I need to know, to make the best choices? like special things to look for, to avoid and etc? Any help is apprieciated here.....I do love these old IRON LADIES that I have gotten so far.

01-16-2015, 12:39 AM

#22

manicmike

Super Member

Join Date: Mar 2013

Location: Brisbane, Australia

Posts: 1,850

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4dogs

There are only two models Judy, 221 and the 222k, which is the more desirable. The 222k has a free arm and the feed dog drops. Not that many of these in the U.S. though, so they usually fetch big money. Neither of them are iron: Both are aluminium.

01-16-2015, 08:40 AM

#23

ArchaicArcane

Super Member

Join Date: Jul 2012

Location: Not Here

Posts: 3,817

There are also several colors of the 221 - Black being the most common, White and Tan. Then you have various other decals - A Singer Centennial, A Texas Centennial, Chicago World Fair, etc which are more collectible. http://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/featherweight/221k/ - Take this link with a pinch of salt though. For instance, the 222Ks we have in Canada don't have the different plug, even though all of the 222Ks were made in the UK.
This link offers a bigger listing of "special" badges: http://singer-featherweight.class221...-rating-scale/

A lot of people say they like the Black featherweight better than the belt driven white machines but others say the belt driven is quieter. This is a matter of preference. http://www.featherweight221.com/fwrx...58204483780159

01-16-2015, 10:51 AM

#24

costumegirl

Super Member

Join Date: May 2010

Location: Ontario, Canada

Posts: 1,779

When I first became interested in the Singer 221 and while I was on the hunt for my"special" little machine I read the book "Featherweight 221 - The Perfect Portable" by Nancy Johnson-Srebo. I highly recommend it for a overall history of this machine and it also has good info and tips on the different attachments and troubleshooting any problem that you may run into. It really helped me decide which one (year and model/colour) that I wanted to find.

Here are 2 editions on Amazon - The first link allows you to take a peek at the table of contents - gives you an idea on what the book is about and how comprehensive it is.

http://www.amazon.com/Featherweight-221-Portable-Nancy-Johnson-Srebro/dp/1607052636/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421433592&sr=1-1&keywords=singer+featherweights

http://www.amazon.com/Featherweight-...featherweights

Last edited by costumegirl; 01-16-2015 at 10:54 AM.