The classic Singer Featherweight sewing machine is very popular today with quilters and collectors. Find out why.
From its introduction at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 until production ended in the mid-1960s, thousand of Singer Featherweight 221 sewing machines were produced. Made of cast aluminum, the majority were lacquered black and decorated with Singer’s signature golden decals. These durable little machines and their cases remain as popular today as they were 50 years ago.
Singer Sewing Machine Company Built it Small but Tough
As the name suggests, Featherweights are small and lightweight, tipping the scales at just slightly over eleven pounds. This lightweight portability contributes to their popularity, but it is the craftsmanship that has allowed the machine to endure over time, and develop a devoted following. The Featherweight is a simple, straight-stitch machine requiring only simple do-it-yourself maintenance. The owner's manual, now available online, shows how to oil key wear points on the machine’s all-metal construction. Other than replacing a drive belt once in a great while, and storing the machine in a reasonably dry place, nothing else is needed to keep it sewing for decades.
Featherweight Books
It is rare to find a home appliance that has had two books written about it. Nancy Johnson-Srebro’s widely available book, Featherweight 221, The Perfect Portable, chronicles the sewing public’s love affair with Featherweights, and includes troubleshooting tips as well as portions of the original owner’s manual.
David McCallum of FeatherWeight Rx, has written a must-have book for the die-hard Featherweight fan titled, The Featherweight and I. This spiral-bound manual is a compendium of everything anyone could ever want to know about maintaining a Featherweight. There are chapters on restoring the electrical, mechanical and cosmetic features of the machine, including how to repaint it so it will look factory fresh once again. The book contains dozens of precise, well-labeled illustrations that make the easy-to-follow directions even clearer.
Featherweight Web Sites
Several websites are devoted to the restoration, maintenance and use of Featherweights. A few offer restored or “as is” machines for sale, and some sell replacement parts such as drive belts, bobbins and bobbin cases, presser feet, decals and more. Dan Utich at 221Part.Com has an easy to use online catalog of Featherweight parts. Glenn Williams maintains a spartan one-page web site that lists 55 Featherweight replacement parts and their cost, but he advises restorers to contact him since he can supply any part needed for a Featherweight.
Featherweight Machines on Ebay
At any given time there are usually a dozen or more Featherweights for sale on eBay. Though the machines originally sold for around $100, they now routinely go for three to four-hundred dollars, with rarer machines bringing a $1000 or more.
Based on the popularity of this machine, and the high quality of its construction, Featherweights will likely be humming along for another 50 years or more.
