Zigzaggers

Singer Featherweight Model 221-1

by Katie, a graduate student in Irvine, California, who keeps a personal blog here

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it! It's so small and pretty and uncomplicated.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mom bought it somewhere in early 2005.

When was it manufactured? Not sure, but the latest copyright date on the instruction manual is 1950. However, the instruction manual didn't actually come with the machine, so the date could be off.

Where did you buy it? My mom bought it at an antique shop somewhere in San Diego.

How much did you pay for it? I think she paid about $600. Not sure if that includes the tune up she got after she bought it.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Probably around 30-ish. I'm not a real big sewer, plus I'm in graduate school.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Mostly patchwork and quilting, and a few simple sewing projects. I've put together a lot of quilt tops, and have actually quilted a bunch of placemats. Also, I've made some simple bags and clothing items, including a denim skirt. Apparently, Featherweights are highly prized within the quilting community because they are portable and thus ideal for communal quilting. My mom is a quilter, which is why she picked up the machine when she found it.

What do you like and what do you hate about it?

Like:
-- It's small and light and portable and comes with a carrying case. It requires very little setup: Just plug it in and thread the needle.
-- It comes with a bunch of crazy looking attachments for hems and edgings, as well as a gatherer and a ruffler. I've only used one of them, ever, to make a narrow hem, but it's nice to know they're all there.
-- Since Featherweights are so popular among quilters, you can find additional parts for them and lots of information about them on the internet. One of my local quilt stores has a whole section of stuff for Featherweights, and I was able to get a foot for it to do a quarter inch seam (standard in quilting).

Dislike:
-- **It only does a straight stitch** This is absolutely NOT the machine for you if you need to do a lot else.  You can control the length of the stitch and go forward or backward, but that's it. It's not a problem for me since I mostly only quilt, but I have had to drag out my mom's old Pfaff to do a zigzag stitch on bindings.   However, I put the Pfaff back after that because I really enjoy the simplicity of my tiny Singer.
-- There's a light on the machine, but it gets hot really quickly and it's located near where my hand is when I'm sewing, so I can't even use it.
-- The motor is old and gets tired after a lot of sewing, so you can't go really fast for a long time.
-- The sewing space is sort of small, which makes it hard to sew in the middle of something large (though it's not really that much smaller than on a normal sized machine).

All told, this is a great machine for simple sewing.  Probably good for learners, too, because it doesn't have anything you could accidentally press to screw everything up. 

New sewing machines

My original intent with this site was to post reviews of vintage machines so that beginners could read about some of the old stuff that's available in the used market. I figured I'd basically cover any machine that's been around long enough that a few might be showing up on eBay or Craigslist -- in other words, my criteria were not strict.

And while most of the sewing machines that are included here fit easily into that category, I've run a few reviews of machines that seem a little too modern (too plasticky white! not that there's anything wrong with that), but which I thought would, indeed, be good for used-machine shoppers to know about.

Because I want the main body of the blog to stay focused on old sewing machines, in all their candy-colored, quirkily designed, mechanical glory, I've decided to create a separate blog for reviews of machines that are ten or fewer years old. These are some great machines, and their owners really love them -- I think they're all good candidates for used purchases... they're just not vintage, so I'm separating them.

As I add more of these types of reviews (and please get in touch with me if you'd like to review a machine in either the vintage or new category!), I'll update this post, so anybody checking the categories here at Zigzaggers will be led to the new sewing machines over on their other site, New Zigzaggers.

The newest of the new sewing machine reviews comes from Lisa Lam, a really fun handbag designer with a funny, interesting, helpful blog. She uses a 6-year-old computerized Janome 3500 (pictured above with Lisa's cutest shoes) that sounds like a great, dependable modern machine.

Here's a list of the reviews that can be found on New Zigzaggers:

Janome 3500
Brother LS-1217
Singer 8280

Find them all at this link: New Zigzaggers

Singer Style-O-Matic, model 328

by Cheryl DeWolfe, a Victoria, B.C., crafter who blogs a crafty blog here and sells her crafty stuff (including really cute coffee-cup-cozies) on Etsy here

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Overall, I love it. It had to grow on me though -- I pretty much hated it at first. A big part of my dislike came from the fact that it seemed so "pared down" from the Husqvarna I had grown up using. It seemed too basic, it was heavy, and it looked downright Soviet. Now that I have worked with it, though, I don't think I could go back to the plastic 70s machine I had used previously.

When did you buy this sewing machine? It was a gift from my father about 6 years ago. He had bought it at a thrift store locally, cleaned it up, then decided I needed it more than he did. My old Husqvarna machine, handed down from my Mother, was no longer holding tension and repairs would have cost as much as a new machine.

When was it manufactured? According to the serial number, 1961 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, Canada.

Where did you buy it? It was purchased at a Salvation Army thrift store in Victoria, B.C.
 
How much did you pay for it? My father thinks he paid around $40.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Dozens! Everything I have sewn in the past 6 years...which is quite a lot, though many were small items such as finger puppets and pincushions.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Mostly, I use it to sew my crafts -- plush creatures, finger puppets, gift bags, and so on. I have also used it to mend clothing -- hems and patching -- and to sew soft furnishings, three Halloween costumes, and even a beautiful ring pillow for a friend's wedding. This machine can sew almost anything. I've sewn every kind of fabric from denim to satin and it does surprisingly well with stretchy fabrics, too.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? As I mentioned, the machine grew on me. I hated threading it, at first. It's not that it is difficult, but there's definitely a trick to getting it through the tension mechanism just right. Every now and then, I still screw that up and all of a sudden my thread will snap mid-stitch. I was also not a fan of the position of the light -- I'm still not; it's a little too focused just at the needle -- but now I compensate with another desk lamp. The foot control was the other thing that took a lot of getting used to -- rather than an accelerator-style pedal, there appear to be two buttons, but only one is the trigger; the other is molded as part of the pedal. For the life of me, I  still can't figure out why it is designed this way, but I have learned to use it.

There are also things I haven't tested; I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of a batch of accessories I bought online including several feet and 8 fashion discs, which are used to create specialty stitching. I'd also like to test how it works with two needles -- it can accommodate them as-is, but I would need to replace the missing post to hold the second spool of thread. Getting back to what I love about it, the bobbin-winding is one of the most even and easy to use I have encountered, and the stitch adjustments allow for detailed control over stitch length and width. I also love that it came with its original manual, and I love that I can open it up and do most of the maintenance myself.

Overall, I'd recommend it for other crafters or beginners; this machine is sturdy, forgiving, and surprisingly versatile.

Singer treadle

by sarai, who blogs at Mumbling Monkey about her life, crafts, academic endeavors, and Nova Scotia

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it. It's old, it's wooden (and metal and leather), and it still works.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mom gave it to me, probably four years ago.

When was it manufactured? 1923, I believe. I looked it up on the Singer website once.

Where did you buy it? I think my mom bought it locally from a private owner.

How much did you pay for it? No idea how much it cost.

How many projects have you done on this machine? One or two, and various repairs and details on other projects.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I've sewed in zippers, done a little machine quilting, made a skirt, that sort of thing.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? The only regret I have about this machine is that it's so big and heavy. I don't have it right now - it's in storage across the country. I miss it.

What I like:
- it doesn't use electricity. I appreciate hand- and foot-powered tools, and independence from mainstream energy sources.
- it has lasted so long, and is going strong. I put a new belt on it when I got it; belts, needles, and bobbins for machines of this age are still available!
- What it does, it does very well. This machine will only do straight stitch, which would be a disadvantage for some. But, it does the best and neatest straight stitch I could ask, and will sew through denim no problem. A sailor friend of mine told me that Singer treadles are reputed to be so amazing that they can even handle sailcloth.
- The machine folds down into the wooden housing. If I am not going to use it for a while, it's nice to protect it, and be able to use the top of the housing as a little table.
- The housing has a hinged extension at one end, so I can spread out a lot of fabric.