Examples of Vintage Singer 301 Quilting
 

Here are just a couple of the many quilts I make on one of my 4, 301's. I used to own 6, 301's but have parted with a couple. I use both of the types of slant 301, free motion feet for the free motion quilting.

I do most of my charity quilts on my vintage machines and have about 30 that I rotate. But, I use the 301's almost exclusively for the FMQing. Most of my charity quilts are scrap quilts and these are made out of flannel scraps.

Oddly, two of my 301's prefer one type of FMQing foot over the other and I have no idea why. I finished up these two last week and haven't dealt with stray threads yet... but as you can see they're a great choice for FMQing.

I have a vintage 301 card table that the machine sets in and it makes it very easy to quilt.

I love your flannel quilt tops, they look so cuddly. Such pretty scraps and so generous of you.

Thanks! I hope others post their pics of 301 quilting and FMQing.

I have been wanting to dosome free motion quilting on my 301 but don't know what foot to use. Would you mind postion a picture of the foot you use so I can look to see if I have one. Your quilting is beautiful and so is the quilt.
Dixie

I use this one the most http://shop.SEW-CLASSIC.COM/Singer-S...oot-384037.htm

But I have two machines that prefer this one http://shop.SEW-CLASSIC.COM/Singer-S...KED-P60417.htm

I ,personally, prefer the first foot I linked to.

Thank you for this information. Have a 301 but haven't tried it for FMQ. To be honest haven't tried any FMQ on any machine but I may have to give it a try now.

Beautiful !!!! I have a 301 will have to give it a try!

I have a small collection of 301's and love using them for fmq, also.

Thanks for sharing your pics, Candace, and I would love to see more pictures of FMQ that people have done using their 301's. I'll have to give it a try particularly because I was just watching a You tube video of an HQ Sweet 16 and the price is way out of my range :shock:

I have quite a few machines, but the Singer 301 is always my go to machine for fmq. Since I repair machines, I also get to test them, and have tested over a hundred for fmq. The Singer 301 is the best, hands down. (Second would either be a Pfaff 130 or a new Janome I just bought.) The fact that the 301 takes any thread (beware of YLI, however) and has a vertical bobbin put it in the number one spot.

You did a great job on the quilting. I love the big flowers.

What FMQing foot did you use for your 130? I have quite a large collection of various darning and embroidery feet and all of them put too much pressure on the fabric. Even lowering the foot pressure all the way... I've found the Pfaff 360 is a great FMQing machine. However, the card table for the 301 makes it the easiest and smoothest to use for FMQing.

Thanks for showing this. I've been afraid to try my 301 for FMQ.

Wow!!! You FMQ on the quilts is wonderful! I have a 301A that I had serviced a year ago. I need to get it out and try to FMQ with it. Any tips to a beginner using a 301? Mine is a short bed, if that makes a difference.

Just go for it. The long bed does not offer any advantage to FMQing better. I have both the short and long beds. The flat surface, like a table to set the machine into, is what makes it easier. Get out a practice project and run with it!

Lovely, simply lovely work!

I love your free motion work. I just do meandering mainly. Time for me to branch out some. I have 2 301's and haven't FM with either yet. I usually use my singer 15 to FM.

I have a singer 401. You can Quilt with it to? I picked it up at a tag sale. With all the attachments. I downloaded the book, now JUST learn how to use it. WOW is it Heavy. No plastic part's. I'm going to use the walking foot to Quilt. I hope that's right. Help, Any idea's?

IMO the 401 and that series(along with the 500) are only good for straight quilting with a walking foot. They are my absolute least favorite machines for FMQing. They have too many negatives and the stitch quality is poor for that. I love them for piecing and straight quilting but NOT for FMQing. Sorry:<

I agree with Candace. I have a 401, 404, and a 500 and they aren't good for FMQing.

I have 4- 301s. Two always have quilts on them in FMQ progress. I use an all metal foot, I did not like the plastic end ones. I think the visibility and manuverability is better. I just love the quilting on them. The 401 has to raise the needle plate for quilting, and I find it hard to sew with that. I use the 401 for piecing or zigzag. The 301 is easily portable for workshops. I use Isacord thread for quilting- thin and strong.
Linda

I have the original foot that Pfaff made for the machine. It's all metal, of course. I have all the original feet. However, being short shank, many feet will work on the Pfaff 130.

I would not fmq with the Singer 401. Straight line quilting is fine, though, and I've discovered I don't even need a walking foot; just the regular zig zag foot is fine. I never have any slippage.

The 401 is a good machine and worth having. Oh! There is a curved stitch on it, I think #10, which is great for straight-line quilting, especially over seams. You can get part of the design on each side of the seam, strengthening the seam, and it looks good.

The Singer 15s work well for fmq, also. Both the Singer 301 and Singer 15s have vertical bobbins, and that makes a huge difference.

1. Make sure you have a good surface to the left and behind the machine that is the same level as the bed of the machine so the quilt is supported.
2. Oil the machine. I oil mine with every 8 hours of sewing, but maybe more often with fmq. Make sure the bobbin area is clean.
3. Drop the feed dogs. It's the screw under the bed to the back.
4. Set the stitch on zero (the line between forward and back).
5. Bring up your bobbin thread before you start. Loosen top tension a bit.
6. Use gloves for traction.
7. Practice on small quilt sandwiches.
8. Enjoy!

Hmmm. I've not had your experience. I've tried many short shank darning feet and the machine doesn't like them. I also have a couple vintage Pfaff darning feet and those still keep the fabric to immobile. I'll stick to my other machines for FMQing! The 130 doesn't do as nice of a job IMHO.

Candace,
You've done a beautiful job of the quilting on your quilts. :)
I've had five 301s through the years and have never been able to successfully do FMQ. The darning foot just doesn't seem to work properly. I use them for piecework and a Singer 15-90 or 237 treadle for FMQ.
Sharon

If you have the feet I linked to, I don't understand why it wouldn't work? Did you try removing the last thread guide on the machine? I usually don't even do that. Are you getting skipped stitches or??

Iswan, I have a 301 and want to try fmq on it. What is the all metal foot that you use, and where can I look for one. Thanks.