I'm still in the process of gathering pictures
of my collection, so please bear with me!
You can't be a quilter for very long without hearing about the Singer Featherweight, and it's a very short time that passes after hearing about it that you decide that you want one. I bought my first one in the summer of 1998, and that was the start of my collecting (other than the treadle machine I had bought purely for decoration a few years earlier).
Click on any of the thumbnails below to expand the pictures.
Singer 401A
Mom let me take this machine with me to college (she had since bought another one since it was difficult for three of us to all use one machine when my sister and I started sewing in 4-H). She bought this machine complete with the cabinet. She originally sewed button holes by varying the width of a zig zag stitch; I vaguely remember when she bought the buttonhole attachment in the pink Jetson style case. I still have all the attachments for this machine, as well as the manual (although the manual is missing its cover).
Singer 27 Treadle
The cabinet for this machine had been refinished before I got it in about 1990. The dealer I bought it from had bought it from an estate sale in Kansas. (The machine was in the cabinet when I bought it.) The cabinet is made of oak, and has three drawers. The machine does not fold down into the cabinet; rather, the "coffin top" box just covers the machine. There is a locking mechanism for the top, but I don't have the key for it.The latest copyright on the machine throat plate is 1889. The machine still has its instruction book and the puzzlebox filled with attachments. The embellishment is in the Sphinx design. This was the first antique machine that I bought before I started collecting Featherweights, and I haven't cleaned it up at all. When I do, I will have a series of "before" and "after" pictures. The gold work on this one is worn, but it still shows off the intricate Memphis design.
Singer Featherweights
Nancy Johnson-Srebro speculates in her book, "Featherweight 221 - The Perfect Portable" that somewhere around 3 to 3.5 million Featherweights were produced by the Singer company, between the early 1930's to the mid 1960's. They're no longer manufactured, but they are in high demand today, particularly by quilters. I bought my first Featherweight to have as a portable machine to take along to quilting classes and friends' houses; it has also been known to accompany me to Sweet Adelines performances and competitions! The machine weighs only about 11 pounds, sews a beautiful stitch, and is perfect for piecing a quilt top. Another plus is that I can easily maintain it myself, and as long as I keep it cleaned, oiled, and lubricated, it will probably outlast me!My first Featherweight is also the oldest one in my collection. The serial number dates it to about 1936. When I first got this machine, it was incredibly dirty. Old oil was caked on it everywhere, all the metal parts were yellow with gunk. But, I took this as a good sign... The machine still sewed well, there were no problems with the motor. I imagine that the oil gunk was an indicator that the machine had sat for a long time, but when it had been in use, the previous owner had been conscientious about oiling and maintaining it.
So, I took it home, unscrewed every screw and removed every part that I could. I bathed all of the chrome and nickel parts in denatured alcohol and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush, to get the yellow stuff off. I wish I had had a digital camera and had taken pictures of this machine before I worked on it ..... it was filthy!
After I cleaned off the stripped machine and waxed the black surfaces, I managed to get all the pieces put back together and had no missing parts. After oiling and lubing the machine, this little baby just hums. I have had it for two years, I have pieced seven or eight large quilt tops, I have let my kids use it, and it hasn't missed a beat. My quilt group went on a retreat to my parents' house in rural Colorado... Everyone else brought their Berninas, I just brought this machine and my Featherweight card table!
The other ones I own are as follows:
I also have a Featherweight table. This particular table has been refinished.
I have a number of Featherweight attachments (buttonholers, zigzag attachments, blind stitch attachments, and the like) as well.
Singer 15-91, Centennial medallion
I got this machine at an estate sale in 1998. It came complete with the blonde Model 42 cabinet and bench. The foot pedal is missing its cover but otherwise the entire setup is intact, although it looks like the cabinet may have stood in about 1/2" of water at some point..... The machine even came with the elusive miniature Singer oil can! (This is the 1 1/3 oz. one that I see people buying for around $40 on some of the Internet auction sites...)
Singer 128K Handcrank
I acquired this machine in 1999. It is very similar to the treadle machine mentioned above; the sphinx design and the shape and carving of the wooden top are identical. The wood in the case is walnut instead of oak, however.
Singer 127 Treadle
The main reason that I bought this machine is because of the gorgeous drawing room cabinet, made of mahogany. (Most of the others I've seen are made of oak.) The entire cabinet closes up and just looks like a very nicely decorated piece of furniture. The cabinet opens with the touch of a button, the machine raises up, the center front top panels swing in to support the machine, and the lower panels in the back of the cabinet open out so that the seamstress has room for her feet to work the treadle. The treadle belt is accessible by opening the door on the right side of the cabinet. The machine has mother of pearl inlays, and it came with a nearly complete set of attachments (judging from the fact that I can find something to fit in almost every "well" in the felt tray that fits in one of the drawers). The machine has the "gingerbread" or "Tiffany" decals.
Singer 301's
The 301 is the "next generation" featherweight; a little bigger, a little heavier and sturdier. I have a shortbed black 301 and two 2-tone shortbed machines. I also have a 301 table (but it needs to be refinished).
Singer 66
This machine has the famous "red-eye" decal design. I have just acquired this machine and haven't cleaned it up much yet. I will post "before" and "after" pictures of this machine because I think this one in particular will really clean up nicely.
Singer 99K Portable Electric
This machine is tiny like the Featherweight 221 but it is much heavier. Its decals, paint and finish are in particularly nice shape. I did have to clean up and adjust the machine when I first got it.... many of the machines I get have an incredible amount of lint and dust in the bobbin area below the needle, and this one was one of the worst! Judging from the condition of the finish, I would speculate that this machine had been used some but never was cleaned. It sounded a little rough when I first plugged it in, so I cleaned and oiled it right away.
Singer 24-66 Portable Electric
This is a chain-stitch machine. It has a case that is identical to the black Featherweight case, but there are no trays in the case (I don't know if the case originally had a tray or not). The machine sews a very nice chain stitch, which the owner's manual says you can use for decorative stitching (in this case, you would sew with the right side of the fabric down, in order to have the chain part of the stitch show up on the right side). The gold decoration on this machine is intact except for one small spot where it has turned silver. There are several deep scratches in the bed. The machine was pretty clean when I got it and had just been adjusted, but I did wax the finish and it made a difference.... The larger scratches are still there but the small ones are pretty much gone! The stitch length adjustment is via a lever that is reached through the hole at the front of the machine below the bed. When this lever is moved up and down, the number that can be seen through the little square hole in the bed of the machine changes. The guide on the right part of the machine bed recommends needle sizes and stitch lengths for various types and weights of fabrics. The decals on this machine are little gold flowers.
Singer 24-?? Electric in Model 40 cabinet
This machine is similar to the portable machine above, but it has a smaller working surface and this particular model fits into a cabinet.
Singer 15K Handcrank
I was on the lookout for another handcrank machine and found this one. The K behind the model number indicates that it was manufactured in Scotland; it is dated at about 1945. The decals on this one are noteworthy... The decal on the center of the bed is referred to as the "floating bird" or "RAF" design.
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