deplaylady

I love my FW, my 201 and 401 (and all the rest.) For my pretty machines, I have a 15 hand crank in a Gingerbread/Tiffany pattern and a 128 hand crank in the LaVencendora pattern. I think all my old machines are pretty and I love how they sew, but those two I got mostly because they are pretty. They are not in my sewing room, but on display with my White Rotary on the main level in my house. They also get used quick a bit there, too.

tenngal

I have (3) 301's, 5 FW's, and a 401 among others and sew with all of them. All are good machines.

Sunflowerzz

This part of what you said really stood out to me and is how I buy my machines. I love and create funky chic jewelry and love that in my machines also. Buy a Japanese clone that really appeals and intrigues you and just have fun because as you stated you do not really NEED another one. I have Necchi's but I bought this $5.00 machine, refurbished and cleaned it up and it really is my fav just because I love looking at it and sewing on it is just as fun.

amcatanzaro

The only thing you need to watch (especially with the fun colored machines) is that the needle doesn't left home. This is fairly common on the zig zag machines.
They don't tend to piece well.

cricket_iscute

With all due respect, as someone who quilts and uses both the Singer 301 and the Singer Featherweight 221, plus other machines, I cannot agree with this statement! Both of these machines give good stitches. Both are reliable machines. Both are well engineered. As a quilter, I know the 221 Featherweight gives me superior precision because of the feed system. When I need very precise piecing, that's my machine. But if I need good precision, good gear-driven punching power, outstanding free motion quilting, and very good straight-line quilting, the Singer 301 is my choice - and I have many machines from which to choose. The Featherweight is at the bottom of my list for free-motion quilting and I'm not all that impressed with it's straight-line quilting. It cannot handle the heavier quilts the 301 can, in my experience. The 221 is belt driven whereas the 301 is gear driven and thus more powerful. (I have two Featherweights and two 301s.) I've done quite a bit of research on the best machines for quilting and have made over 400 quilts on various machines, so I think I have a good basis for comparison. I have literally tested more than 100 machines.

I do have a Singer 401, which I love especially for sewing clothing, and a Singer 99. Neither are go-to machines for quilting, but the 99 is good for paper piecing. The Singer 401 does have an advantage of being able to straight-line quilt with decorative stitches and without a walking foot, and through heavier quilts.

So, in case you haven't guessed, I am recommending the machine that quilters have been flocking to for the past five years or more: The Singer 301.

Cricket

Rach L.

If you're wanting to look up serial numbers for Singers, you can always use the ISMACS website. They have a complete listing of Singer serial numbers which I find very helpful.

Here is the link for you (hopefully it works)
http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...-database.html

For other models, I think it can be more challenging. I would just try to google the make and model, or even try eBay and see if it pops up with a similar one for sale. Sometimes they have more info. Otherwise, there is always the chance that someone on here can help you out too. There are a ton of extremely knowledgeable people who are always willing to help you out.

Redsquirrel

for quilting i like my 15-88 and my 201. I also use a 99 handcrank at quilt guild meetings and its always fun. Just make sure to the get the quarter inch foot that is made for the old feed dog style. They work much better at keeping the fabric straight than a quarter inch foot for modern feed dog patterns. just my 2 cents.

miriam

There are SSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many really awesome vintage Japanese machines. Most of them work better than any plastic wonder. Just make sure it has machined innards - no plastic... As far as left needle setting - they don't all have left set needles and you might just get used to using it - I've seen some good sturdy machines - piece a jeans quilt on one. Go sew something just for fun.