Singer Featherweight machines
 

Where is the best place to find these Singer Featherweight machines? Is the model 221 the lightest in weight?

The absolute best place is a garage sale for $30. But, I don't think they are there anymore. The internet is everywhere and people seem to price the top price regardless of condition. I have been in the search for a while also. Nothing so far. I recommend decide on a price you want to pay and go from there. What I have noticed is on ebay they are astronomical prices. Machines that are on for around $400 or more seem to go on, disappear and reappear a few months later. The photos are the same. I think the best place, though it may take a while is simply to let others know you are looking and keep your eye out for one.

I bought mine on eBay for $202 - you CAN find reasonably priced machines, especially if you're willing to take one that is less than perfect looking. Mine is in excellent shape functionally but has some pretty good wear on the decals. I bought mine to use rather than to display so I'm extremely happy with it. I got a case in good shape with it, a manual, and a box of 20 bobbins too.

There's always an element of chance when buying online - I had no way to verify if the motor was in good shape, etc. but for $202 I risked it and got lucky - she sews like a dream and shows evidence of plenty of love and maintenance during her life, along with plenty of use.

Locally, I can almost always find a couple Featherweights at the larger antique malls. They're usually in really good cosmetic condition and have price tags around $380-425 and come with a nice case and a lot of accessories. They don't seem to sell, though - the same machines will be there for months on end.

There are a few people who restore and resell FW's at quilt shows and expos. There's one who comes to our local quilt show and he sells restored FW's as well as repainted ones. His restored classic machines usually have stickers in the high $300's (and up, for rare versions) and a repainted machine...I want to say he asks high 500's for those but not positive. I have no idea how quickly he sells them.

While I think $400 may be a bit high, if the machine is in prime condition like the one I got, it has been well worth it. Only issue I've had has been with something coming loose in the foot pedal a couple times - an easy fix

I had the opportunity to buy a white one from a dealer for around $200 over 15 years ago but I was dumb and said no. Now the white ones are the most valuable. Easy come, easy go.

Check your local paper for estate sales and auctions also. I see them a lot at estate sales but I've not had the money (300-450) and not the budget. I got my 401 Slant for $150.00 in a desk cabinet with accessories and manual, etc. But your best bet is to check estate sales and internet for people who host estate sales. Get on their mailing list. They usually let you know when the next one is coming up and often will have photos of most of the merchandise. Saw a gal try to walk out of an estate sale with one she didn't pay for. She was stopped by one of the hosts who happened to be a police officer. Yep took her to jail. You can Google estate sales in your area to see if anyone hosts them.

I have bought a few (and sold a few) and bought all but one from eBay. The other one was bought on shopGoodwill.com. I haven't paid more than $220 for any of mine, but I also don't want or need one that is pristine. I buy them to use them. It is a bit of a risk, not being able to try it out, but I've been lucky, I guess. My advice is to keep an eye on Craigslist, if there is one in your area, because I've sold a couple of mine there and always end up selling it for less than I paid for it. You can sometimes get lucky on the Goodwill site -- I bought one there for $101 that "didn't work" and it just had a thread jam that I cleared in three minutes. And there are occasional bargains on eBay. I just set up a search that has a price limit on it, sort it by "ending soonest" and keep an eye on the ones I might want with the watch list.
Oh -- make sure the machine you buy has its bobbin case, preferably an original (some of the reproductions don't fit quite right).
Good luck! They really are fun machines to sew with.
ila

Remember that those well used ones really are the best ones so buy one from some unsuspecting heir. The 221 is light weight but so are plastic wonders. I have an old domestic machine that weights in about the same as a FW except the box it is in weighs 50 lbs or so. I'm sure you can find something light weight. The 301 weighs a pound or two more than the 221. There is a little Kenmore machine that is fairly light weight, too.

My first one was purchased from ebay for $325. My other two were found at antique malls, $220 for a centennial and $275 for a 1936. Both were sitting on the floor, still in their little black boxes, almost hidden from view!?! So don't just look for a machine on display - look under tables, etc. now on the prowl for a white one...

I just "won" a 99K off goodwill.com for $50. The cosmetics of the machine looked perfect, but ad said it needed a little work to function. Hoping just a thread nest and some oil will do the trick. My 301A I paid $200 for and it was perfect.

...interesting..I tried two yrs ago to sell the one I have...no takers...maybe I'll try again this year......

I gave $200.00 for one 15 years ago and my brother found one in a antique/junk shop in March that I purchased for the amazing price of $24.95. The handle on the case is broken, but it is in fantastic shape. I went to look at one over an hours drive from me last week for $75.00 and I wouldn't have given $20.00 for it for parts. You just never know.

I bought mine from a dealer on Ebay and was very, very happy with the process. Including shipping my cost came to $225. The machine was in great shape mechanically as well as cosmetically as was it's box (although there was an odor which is common) six bobbins, manual, and many feet. The seller packed it for shipping with great care and I could not have been happier. This was two-three years ago. Love the Featherweight!! Her name is Laura Leigh and was 'born' in 1941.

Excellent statement. To me, my FW 221 is priceless, but on the market it would be seen as scratched, well used, and maybe just worth scrap iron and foolish for me to even think of selling. I saw one on ebay that appeared to have been run over by a Mac truck and they wanted $350. It need a lot of parts, paint and a lot of love.

There's an estate auction website that operates near me. I have seen about a dozen come and go and lately they have been under $150.

I bought my first FW from the owner of my LQS for $250.00. It is a 1948, definitely used, but not abused. I was thrilled with the price, as the machines I had seen from a dealer at a show were quite a bit more expensive. To be fair, the dealer's machines had been professionally serviced prior to sale. The machine I bought runs beautifully, but had not been serviced for many years.
About 2 months after I bought my first FW I almost literally tripped over a second FW at a yard sale where everything looked as if it came out of a tool shed, not a sewing room. Actually, there was quite a bit of sawdust in the case, maybe some misguided person was storing it in a tool shed! After checking for a bobbin case and plugging it in to see if it ran I quickly paid the $35 it was marked and got out of dodge before anyone thought better of it. I cleaned it up at home, it runs beautifully and now resides at my daughter's house.

If I were still looking for another FW I would be checking thrift shops, antique shops and Craigslist. Local is the key - I would want to look at the machine, make sure it runs, has a bobbin case, etc. I would avoid Ebay at all costs, as I would not necessarily trust the seller to pack it properly for safe shipping.

You will find your FW, perhaps when you least expect it.

Happy Searching!

I luck out on a white one two years ago at an estate sale for $30 and had an repairman clean/service it for $35 so I got a great deal...then sold it for $150....I know, I know it's worth way more but I'm not out for being overly excessive seller since I knew the person would use and enjoy it. The tan ones are worth more than black or white one but not as much as the 222's. Here where I live is hard to find one but early this year I managed to find one in a table!! It had the case also, not beautiful but works great and after a little bit of haggling, got it for $75 from the flea market. Did buy one a few years ago for 200 on eBay..that's my favorite as it was made the year I was born.

Some of these go for crazy money on ebay

here's one that sold for 3600

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-Wrink...p2047675.l2557


another that sold for 2300

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-222-K...p2047675.l2557



What makes these machines so expensive?

They are cute, lightweight, and they sew an absolutely lovely stitch. I love mine. I pick them up whenever I can find them for around $100. And, I do find them..... usually at estate sales. I've gotten 1 at auction and 2 on craigslist. I currently have 6..... no I'm not ready to sell. I have two for myself (one at the cabin), 2 for my sweet DGGDs when they get old enough for them, one white one that I haven't cleaned up yet, and 1 extra. You never know when something might happen and I'd need that extra one.

The crinkle finish FW is the rarest of the 221s, it always sells for much more than the others, though I think this is the highest I've ever seen one go for.

The 222 is the free arm version, while it's not rare there are certainly fewer of them than the 221s. And it had the Swiss zig zagger with it, which is also not a common item.

Cari

My DH found mine for me - he asked the local sewing/vacuum repair shop to be on the lookout for one - he knew of a lady wanting to sell her mother's Featherweight (WHY WHY WHY?????). Anyway, DH bought it for way too much money when we really did not have it and he said it bought it for me to "SHUT ME UP". - he was tired of me telling him how much I wanted one. We brought it home, took it out of the case, plugged it in and it was threaded top and bottom with a scrap of fabric under the presser foot and it just purred like a kitten. I almost cried.

I got mine last month at a second hand store for $25. It needed a tune-up, some bobbins and I bought a LED light bulb for it so total for a working 221-1 about $105.

I bought both of mine from craigslist. The first one was a niece that had inherited it from her aunt. It was listed for $95 but by the time I called, a dealer had offered her $150 over the phone. I offered to match that and started talking about being a quilter and wanting it to take to classes, and she agreed to sell it to me instead of the dealer as she wanted it to be used, not resold for a profit. It was a black one from 1950, good shape and complete.

The second one is a 1948 model that was repainted purple (my avatar). It had been from a gift from her Mother who had wanted to get her interested in quilting. She moved to Portland to live with her Dad and go to school, decided she wasn't going to quilt, and listed it for $140. I saw the ad late at night since I was going to Portlnad the next day. I replied to the ad and got a call the next morning that I was the first to respond. You better believe I went right up there to get it. I felt almost like I should convince her to keep it and I am sure her Mom was mad when she found out, but If I didn't buy it the next one in line would, so I took it home. Also complete and awesome condition (had a tag that it had been serviced 6 months prior). Even had a 1/4" foot in the case that I am still using on it.

So the deals are still out there if you are patient.

My son bought a white FW for me 2-3 years ago for $50 (from Good Will) locally; He also bought a Singer 403A for $41 from the local Good Will store. IMHO, the FW's are priced, for the most part, way TOO HIGH! Also, since my son worked 14 years as a sewing machine mechanic, the machines he purchased were thoroughly checked out before he purchased them!

Jeanette

Bought mine from my sewing machine repairman for 200.00. It was all reconditioned and looked and sewed like new..

Finding Featherweights must have a lot to do with the area. I am in Florida and have had one posted for about a month and had zero responses. It is not unreasonably priced and I continue to repost but not even an inquiry. I have resigned myself to the fact that this might not be the right time to sell.

Agree with all the previous comments. It is just persistence. Our craigslist isn't very active and very few sewing machines come across. Usually the new ones "still in the box". I looked at all the thrift shops around here over several years. I made regular stops at all of them. I looked in Atlanta when I was there. Then one day, years later, yes, years, I went into an antique flea market in Opelika and a man was stocking cookbooks and said did I want one. No, I said, I'm looking for a singer featherweight. Come with me, he says. There was one in a booth, no case, but, bobbin case and worked fine. I paid about $150 for it. Love it. Never had a thread jam, cute little thing. That was several years ago. About two months ago I went to a thrift store near me and on the floor in a case that I recognized (and my heart began to thump) was an index card that said "sewing machine -$40). I swooped that thing up and opened it and it had a cute featherweight, lots of attachments, and bobbin case. I couldn't test it, but figured it would work. it is nice and clean. The lady said "let me carry that for you". No thanks! I hugged it while I paid and then all the way to the car. So now I have 2. But it was a very long process of searching and patience. I didn't want to go the eBay route. I wanted to just come across one. Maybe I will come across a 222 or white one. Here's hoping.

The lady said "let me carry that for you". No thanks! I hugged it while I paid and then all the way to the car.

LOL - just about spit out my coffee when I read this. Sounds like something I did years ago when I bought a brand new king sized feather comforter at a garage sale for $3 - when I asked the man of the house how much was the "feather comforter" he said "What feather comforter??? - "$3" - I whipped out my $3 so fast and ran to the car before his wife came out.

too funny Nikki!!!

It may be time to check the Craigslist ad again for mistakes that sneaked in while it was being reposted or the email spam folder for Craigslist answers. For any other kind of machine I would shrug and accept the quiet. Not a Featherweight though.

Checked spam for responses and found none. Followed your advice and reposted in GENERAL FOR SALE and will see if that changes anything. Thanks for the suggestion.