Has anyone used a Featherweight for SITD? Just curious because I love the way they stitch.

Diane

They are wonderful machines. You can buy a do it yourself repair book. It tells you all about the Singer featherweights. They even sew leather without any problems!

Yes, you can get a walking foot. You can also get a plate that covers up the feed dogs if you want to do a little free-motion (although the arm depth is very short).

I found I can use all the attachments from my Mom's regular-size Singer that she got during WWII. Ruffler, button-holer, feet that I can't even begin to describe their purpose :-)

TIP: I got my Featherweight off eBay at a bargain - $125. I simply figured out various misspellings of "Featherweight" and set those up as an auto-search. The person I got mine from (perfect condition, all the gold still intact, the case like new) spelled it "Featherwait". This proves that spelling really DOES count!

I have two, one black and one white. The quilt before last I set on machine to do a scant 1/4" and the other for a 1/4". I use a strip of mole skin to set my distance. After making the entire quilt I remember I had a 1/4" foot. Just finished another quilt with the black one. They are a joy to sew on. (I just bought a Janome 6600 and still used the FW to piece with) They are so easy to clean and oil. No fancy stuff to get in the way. DH found the white one at a garage sale, paid $75 bc they thought it was a kids machine. Paid $425 for the black one several years ago at a flea market. It was in pristine condition, made between 1935 -38.

I spoke to the guy who fixes machines at my local quilt shop today about Featherweights and he gave me quite a bit of insight into what to look for and how expensive the parts are for repair, so he said to pay only for a machine in great working condition, because repairs and parts can get very costly. He actually owns several that he purchased that needed repair, and he has not considered selling them, but wants to hang on to them. He said they never die, they just get misused by people.

One thing he was very adamant about was to find out where and how the machine was stored. He said a damp storage area can damage parts that you can't see.

Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for a good deal.

Diane

I have 2 FW's and you can purchase a generic walking foot for it.

An excellent resource for Featherweight's is Featherweight 221 The Perfect Portable and Its Stitches Across History By Nancy Johnson-Srebro and I also found a wonderful person in Florida. His name is Glenn Williams # is 813-988-1970. Email is [email protected]. Like I said he is wonderful. Please tell him Cindy from Oregon recommended him. He helped me replace a light on my white Featherweight and hardly charged me anything for the part and of course nothing for all his expertise knowledge that was shared!

I think they are so cute. Maybe someday I'll have one.

I fell in love with the sound they make. They sound like they are humming they are so happy to sew that beautiful little line for you.

Ditto all the above comments. I also love how the motor just purrs - you can hear the quality! I have my dear mother in law's FW that she bought brand new in the 30's or early 40's I dated it but the info fell out of my brain. Also have three other ancient Singers that I love equally as well - perfect stitches and the motors sing a soothing song.