Posted 13 years ago
ryandealer
(1 item)
Hi All
I picked up this old singer from my mom and I'm trying to figure out what it is and if it has worth. I put together a short video to show the condition of the singer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRfJ5j6_xes
Please let me know if you have any information on the sewing Machine. My email is ryandealer@gmail.com
What you have there is a Singer sowing machine. It is in very good condition but unfortunatly it is might not be complete. When these were sold back in the 20s they were sold inside of a table. The wheel on the back of the machine attached to a foot pedal by a belt going threw the table. I see yours is already attached so that tells me it is not as old and my not of had a table with it. I have seen older Singers go for $1200 with table.
William, thank you for your help. I'm pretty sure this singer was never attached to a wooden table. The design is intended to make it portable with a foot pad that can be placed under any table. I read up on it and from all that I can see, the Featherweight 221 was a portable Sewing Machine. Any ideas?
What you have is a Featherweight Singer . It never was a treadle machine it was made to have an electric motor and it came in a carrying case or a table , not a cabinet . These are highly sought after by Singer collectors and those who quilt because they are small and are easy to carry to quilting class or sewing bees . This machine was not made until sometime in the thirties . I would need to know the serial number before I could tell you what year it was made . Ones in good condtion sell for around $250 - $ 300.00 ! Your machine looks to be in good condtion as far as the paint and decals .
Thank you Nancy,
The Serial Number is: AE055966
I put a short video up on youtube to show the condition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRfJ5j6_xes
Your machine was made Septmber 23 , 1935 . As to your video . It is a nice machine except for one thing . The needle does not seem to move . If you tighten the little silver wheel inside of the handwheel that the belt goes on that should make the needle move . If not , then there would be something wrong that needs fixing .
EXCELLENT! Thank you Nancy, that worked perfect. The needle is moving smoothly now. How did you know the exact date of the manufacturing?
Thank you,
Ryan
Ryan : I thought that would fix the problem . I got the date of your machine off the Singer web site . It has most of them listed there .
Your welcome : Nancy
The dates on the Singer website are commission dates for the batches - the machines were made over a period of time from that date, not all on one day. The batches are often of 20,000 to 50,000 - that's a lot of machines!!
I own 5 Singer Featherweights and love each and every one of them. I have a very nice Janome 6600 that I do my heavyduty sewing on, but my Featherweights go to all my guild workshops and retreats. I can tell you they sew with a great deal of power and zip to be such a small machine. I have 3 black 221 FWs (1947, 1949, and 1951), a black 222 FW (1961), and a white Featherweight (1964). I just love the little beauties!!
You can get all the attachments easily too because there were literally hundreds of thousands of them made. Just google Featherweight and you'll find many reputable dealers who sell accessories and supplies for the FW. Also, if you find a list of the original attachments, you can buy those on ebay, like I have.
I watch ebay regularly to see what they are selling for and the price has dropped somewhat; I expect due to the economy. They were selling for over $300 a few years ago, but now you can pick one up for around $175 and up. The 222 freearms were originally selling for almost $2000 on ebay, but they have dropped as well to the $500 and up range.
One of the things you must know is that they must be oiled, lubricated and maintained regularly. Be sure to download a manual if yours does not have one. Their needles go in a specific way and they are threaded differently than the machines of today.
Some are very fortunate in finding the little jewels at garage sales and estate sales for as little as $20!
There is also a table for the Featherweights that looks like a card table with an inset that comes out to set the Featherweight down into the table. I bought mine for $75 on ebay.
Good luck with your machine! If you sew or someone in your family sews, they will love using it!