1954 Singer 301 for sale
 

Craig's List has a Singer 301 listed in my home town for $125. The cabinet is worn and it has 1 bobbin and a PDF set of instructions. I looked on E Bay and the machines are all much more expensive. I'm new to vintage machines and I would appreciate any advice from those of you with more experience. I already have a Janome 6500 and a Janome 11000 but I would love to have a straight stitch machine for quilt piecing.

Buy it! I think they are only going to get more expensive as people realize what great machines they are. Smooth, fast, fantastic straight stitch and light to carry. Make sure it has its bobbin case though, a replacement can cost another $90!

Excellent buy!

I have two, one with all the accessories and book, but without a table/cabinet, and one with the cabinet. I paid $7.50 for each one in places far apart. The great price was because I was in the right place at the right time and was paying attention. Sometimes you pay far more running around trying to get the bargain than you would just paying the asking price. I love the way it sounds when I sew, the look of the stitching, the uncomplicated care of it, the fact that it can sew just about anything without a lot of fussing around. I have yet to try free motion quilting with it, but have read accounts on this board from people who do FMQ with their 301. I have a Singer Featherweight and it sits in it's case while my portable 301 gets taken to working get-togethers. For the last two years I have sewn baby gowns for our White Cross Mission charity on my 301 and love the way I can stitch those narrow little ties so close to the edges. When attempting to sew them on my electronic Pfaff, the narrow ties just don't feed well with the wider feed dogs and foot.
I would quiz the seller about the accessories for the machine and question the fact that it has only one bobbin. It sounds like you are going to get a 301, whether you buy this one or keep looking. If and when you do, don't buy those off the peg packages of bobbins made in China.

Thanks for your input. I definitely want a 301 and I called the man who has it for sale. He has an auto refurbishing business and he used it to do custom upholstery for the interior of automobiles. He is upgrading to a 500. I am going to go look at it on Monday morning. I was the only telephone call he received on his ad in Craig's list.

The 301 uses the same bobbin as the Featherweight. I had both for years before I knew that. They are available.

Sew-Classic.com has bobbins at a very good price. I would recommend the 301 over the 221 any day.

Go for it! They're great slant-shank machines! :)

I love my 301's and use them all of the time. I have 2 at the moment -- each with carrying case. I would question the owner about only 1 bobbin and no attachments. Slant attachments are not hard to find, but I certainly would have thought that doing upholstery, he would have had the need for a zipper foot to get close to piping. And the 301 bobbins don't hold a lot of thread, so only one bobbin for his kind of work would have been inconvenient.

301's do seem to be increasing in favor and price.

Another thing -- I use an older Singer slant walking foot with no problem, although I don't think the one I have was made for the narrow feed dogs.

The bobbins may not hold as much thread as...a long arm bobbin....but, you can wind a bobbin while sewing...I do it all the time...just have to think ahead to which color you need next or have an extra spool or cone of your neutral....usually have a couple of bobbins ready and waiting their turn.......this applies to a 301 only.....the Bernina 1630 cannot do this.

I have several and love the ease they sew with. Will be downsizing very soon and hope I can keep them.

I bought the Singer 301 yesterday and I am very pleased with my purchase. The cabinet has 3 nice size drawers for storage several bobbins and only 1 foot but I can order different feet if I need them. The stitch is perfect and I can't wait to use it. Thank you for all of your help.:thumbup:

Congratulations, Fabric Galore! I think you will not have any regrets. Enjoy your 301!

Looking for a black longbed Singer 301. I live in eastern Oregon and we do not have access to flea markets, etc. that yield anything of worth.

Good luck, the black long beds are few and far between and the most expensive when you do find them for sale.

Cari

Singer 301
 

I've owned 7 of these and it's an excellent machine. I'm keeping 2 for my granddaughters, plus 1 for me. I sold the other 4 after doing a rehab on them. They hadn't ever been cleaned, oiled or lubed. That's all that was wrong with them. One had sat in a damp garage for years. They were in great shape after I gave them some TLC. More than doubled my money on them. You'll like it.

Good grab! I am still kicking myself for passing on one on an online auction that went for $5.00 in a nice retro singer cabinet. It would have been a 100 mile drive, but when you live in the middle of nowhere everything is a long drive.

301
 

I bought 5 of the 301's at Goodwill online and 2 featherweights - a black and a white. The white had never been used and the case was like new, too. Paid about $100 for each. All they needed were cleaning and oiling and lube. It's easy to clean them, just a little elbow grease. You can learn that online too. I sold all of those for $300 or more. Spend time on the site because the people who "donate" them have no idea how good they are. And you don't have to travel to get them. Happy Hunting!

I have found two at estate sales in TN. Both came in nice cabinets and one had the bench seat full of accessories! I paid $50 for the first one, and $25 for the second, because I didn't really need it but it was the end of the sale and no one else had looked at it... and they wanted it gone. They are great machines, but I would never pay $300 or anything close to that, when you can find them much more reasonably if you are patient.

I have 3...one found at church flee market for 30.00, another for 50.00 in case with box of feet in a antique shop both black...Then online I found a tan in cabinet in excellent condition offered at 150 and finally got them down in price to 100 with another box of feet and zigzagger w/cams. I use them all and love them all.

By the way if you need feet or bobbins call Singer.com and the guy who works there will advise as to what bobbins/feet etc..work with any singer machine and they ship free.

You will find that they are aluminum bodied . Very nice to carry and to service. Oil everything that moves, or should move. Beware of the bobbin/bobbin cases. A tiny bit of thread in the wrong place can lock it up. Clean it regularly.

The 301’s are work horses - great machines and easy to maintain yourself.

I have a tan/cream one manufactured in 1956 (birth year machine) - it’s been loving used in its past life but remains a beautiful and useful machine!

I was able to order a DVD online that goes into great detail regarding the cleaning and care of both the Singer Featherweight (221) and it’s “big brother” the 301. I learned enough to help me confidently care for both machines myself (no adult supervision from the husband necessary)!

I recently got a 301 and it's a great machine. Cleaned and oiled it and she runs great. Love it.