I am looking for a Singer featherweight sewing machine. If anyone has one they'd like to sell, please contact me. Thanks! Jane

-- Jane Gauch (sewbears4u@hotmail.com), September 18, 2000

Answers

Contact mmhienz@aol.com. They have a posting on the eBay Wanted Board they have one for sale.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 18, 2000.

Wish I could afford a featherweight! They sell on ebay for anywhere from $250 to $1,200. depending on the model!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), September 18, 2000.

p.s. a 'featherweight' doesn't need to say 'feather weight' on it! What it is, is a small, compact sewing machine most often but not always in a black box, that either tips open at the front, and the machine slides out-then you fold down the arm to use it, or it opens from the top, or the top of the case lifts off, anyway - they're portable and valuable!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), September 19, 2000.

If you are looking for a portable sewing machine try estate auctions. I see them on a regular basis and they generally sell for less than $20.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 20, 2000.

i'm going to hop right in on this. i am a sewingmachine repairwoman of many years experience. there is an e-list of featherweight lovers and users at fwfanatics@ttsw.com. just email and say you'd like to join. i've been on for years, and there are a lot of great folks on the list who are into the care and feeding of older Singer sewing machines. i don't currently have any for sale, but a very reliable source is Linda, her email is Feathrwate@aol.com she alway has a good selection of machines, FULLY GUARANTEED. if you don't know much about sewing machines don't buy one from ebay. same with yard sales, etc. unless you're a natural tinker. they are like guns,- a lot of precision parts moving in exact timing at close tolerances. i love them. i'm happy to answer any sewing machine question for the forum.

-- Juno redleaf (gofish@presys.com), September 22, 2000.

Thank you very much Juno! I appreciate your leads & will check them out. It's so nice to meet someone who really appreciates these little workhorses for more than their resale value! I did a little surfin' at work today & found a few places to check out later. There was a whole list, but unfortunately I only had time to jot down a few of the sites. I'm not networked to my work computer so saving them in favorties doesn't help me at home! I will make a list of the sites I find & post them here for everyone's use. I agree with you about buying without trying. It's hard to know exactly what you are getting, but I was willing to take that chance as long as I don't have to pay the ridiculous price that resellers often charge. I figured I could always take it to someone (like you) who knows how to fix it. My quilt guild has a repairman contact who knows these machines inside & out, in fact he collects them.......no he wouldn't sell any, lol! Give me some time to check out these sites & I'll get back to you with a list of them. Thanks again, Jane

-- Jane Gauch (sewbears4u@hotmail.com), September 22, 2000.

Hi! Back again Juno, the search engine Mamma.com had the biggest listing of sites that offer sales, service & info of any kind about the Singers. Just in case someone on the forum doesn't know.....type Mamma.com in the address box of the toolbar & click go, then type singer featherweight sewing machine in the search box & then click search. I picked out the sites that concerned sales & if anyone wants that list you can email me & I'll gladly send it. I tried dragging & dropping the addresses from 'my favorites' into this forum & it didn't work. Need to be enlightened on that please! Thanks, Jane

-- Jane Gauch (sewbears4u@hotmail.com), September 22, 2000.

Not sure exactly what you tried, Jane, but the only way I've been able to post a URL (other than just typing it out directly) is to actually open that website, then highlight the url at the top, click copy, then paste it wherever it is you want it to be. Hope that helps!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), September 23, 2000.

an addendum, in case anyone needs service on pre-1960 sewing machines (especially singers, and including treadles), i am in west central oregon, just inland from the coast, and i do make house calls and happily accept barter.

-- Juno redleaf (gofish@presys.com), September 24, 2000.

Would anyone care to help us in finding out what the approximate value of a old singer sewing machine we purchased at a yard sale? It is in a nice wood grain box that looks alot like the old metal lunchbox pails with the round top for the thermos bottle. It has a carrying handle on top and with the use of a key, the lid lifts straight up and off of it. Its very compact, the serial # is: AD221618 I checked it against the Singer dating website and apparently it was made in 1931 from what I can gather. Its in pretty nice shape and still works. Is this what you would call a featherweight? and what is it worth? I'm not an expert but from the looks of it I'd say its in pretty good condition. thanks

-- Tim & Joann (suzukicollector@hotmail.com), December 12, 2001.

from what I know, the featherweights all had a fold up extension for the bed of the machine. They also only weighed around 11 pounds. The old singers usually go for only a few 100 dollars. Take a look on Ebay if you want to check prices. I have one just like you described in working order but haven't looked at it lately or ever checked the serial number. Out of curiosity I found this nice site on featherrweights, you might want to check it out to determine better what you have.

http://planetpatchwork.com/fweight.htm

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 12, 2001.