New/Old thread injector....

[MikekiM]

Until now, my DIY projects have been severely handicapped by what is essentially, a child's toy sewing machine. My mother is a serious quilter and has a few Bernina machines. A few years ago she gave my young daughter a Sew Mini machine to see if my daughter had any interest in sewing. She didn't, and the little plastic machine sat unused until I got the bug to DIY a few things. It works, but almost not. The foot pedal delivers power either on or off, no speed modulation; tangles are pretty common; there are virtually no adjustments.

This weekend my mother shared with me a vintage Singer 221-1, aka the Lightweight. From what I can tell, it is circa 1940 and looks like it was just made. It's a piece of art. It needed no cleaning, but I did work through the manual and lubricated it as instructed. There is no zig zag, just straight stitches from 6 spi, to 30 spi. All adjustments are manual using levers and knobs.

Once setup and the thread tension was adjusted, I ran a few dozen feet of stitches. What a joy to use. It's quiet, easy to modulate, drives itself straight and true even on long runs and overall, I just love it.

I've always liked new things that look old, and old things made new again, so this 70 year old just tickles me pink.

I see many of them for sale on the auction sites for upwards of $400 and this one is in better, more complete condition than many available at auction.

Not sure what accessories I'll be able to find for it.

Yeah, no zig zag, no auto-park of the needle, load the bobbin needs to be watched as there is no auto shut-off the reach is only about six inches... but I am really looking forward to some projects..


A few pics to follow.


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[MikekiM]

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[Artful]

Darn nice machine - the old machines were generational (to be handed down) - the new ones seem to need replacing within your lifetime.
Wife picked up a newer machine at 2nd hand store the plastic gear underneath had broken - you could buy the gear but had to totally tear it
down to replace and who knows how long the other plastic gears would last. She then picked up an old Kenmore (singer?) the motor was fried
but the guts are all metal - took the motor from the bad newer machine and put in the old kenmore and rigged up mounting bracket and
Old Green is blazing away - or should I say chugging as it's not fast but it makes a very even stitch. Not bad for $20 ($10 per machine)

[Cabmanhang]

Definitely a work of art

[OlTrailDog]

Those Featherweights do command a premium buck in the auctions. I have a Pfaff 130 from the same era that has a stellar reputation as a tough can do machine, and a newer Pfaff 360 that I prefer to use over the wifey's new plastic Oh Brother!.

[Ospreydog]

Love those vintage machines.


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[sqidmark]

Way to go! Our "older" singer isn't older enough and is a pos. Nearly impossible to sew a straight line with it. The brother cs6000i has been chugging along just fine for the past year, but I can't help but wonder when some 2.5cent transistor is going to burn out and it becomes trash.