SINGER SEWING MACHINES, VINTAGE

Singer is the name most synonymous with sewing machines, and they did sell many millions of incredible, well built sewing machines. However, industry management eventually realized that selling machines that last forever, prevented buyers from needing to buy a new machine, so they began to build in "obsolescence", weak parts that would break, requiring repairs or replacement, preferably from the original company, who would give a trade in allowance for your old machine. 

Trade in machines were often melted down, particularly in World War II, to prevent them from being available for resale, which would have cut into the company's modern day sales.  After World War II, it took a while for metal and other manufacturing materials to become easily available again, so Singer actually did refurbish old Singer sewing machines which had been traded in, during this time only. You will sometimes come across the refurbished models, they often were repainted with the Singer "WRINKLE" finish (that was the official name for it), which many collectors refer to as a Godzilla finish. Usually, it is older model 66, 127, 128, 99, models, which did not have reverse built in, yet. 

Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine with accessories is one of the MOST POPULAR COLLECTED vintage sewing machines in the world, with prices shooting up, once Ebay and the internet made more people aware of them, and the ease of internet purchase, and shipping anywhere in the world, became easier, and more affordable. 

Singer zigzagger on Singer Featherweight 221

Singer Pinking Attachment finishes edges quickly & beautifully, attaches to any low shank straight stitch Singer sewing machine, as well as many clones!

Singer Featherweight 222 Freearm Sewing Machine with zigzagger attachment & cams

Singer Featherweight 222 FREE ARM LIGHTWEIGHT Sewing Machine & Accessories IS USUALLY SOLD

 FOR TWICE THE PRICE OF A FEATHERWEIGHT 221!

Singer 15-88 15-89 Sewing Machine in working treadle table 

Singer 201 not cleaned yet, one of Singer's BEST OF THE BEST! Seriously, the 201 had the highest quality materials, and was discontinued, simply because it was too expensive to continue to produce, and buyers wanted zigzag models. The 201 is also highly collected by serious sewers, with the 201-3 being very sought after in the U.S.A., because it is treadle capable, as well as using the belted motor, if desired. The 201-3 was not manufactured or sold in the U.S.A., it was sold in the UK, and Canada, and overseas, so only specially imported 201-3 models are available used, in the U.S.A.  The 201-2 has a potted motor, and is direct steel gear driven, and is an EXCELLENT, high quality machine, just make sure you service the motor properly, to avoid burning it out, if it has never been serviced, and the carbon brushes changed.

Singer Featherweight 222 Free Arm with Singer Embroidery Attachment 35505, also known as the Singer Two Thread Embroidery Attachment with sample stitches.

Even when Singer's incredible mostly metal sewing machines came only in straight stitch versions, Singer developed dozens of attachments they referred to as "Singer Fashion Aids", which could do zig zag stitches, including several which had interchangeable cams, as well as blind hemmers, an incredible (& very valuable collectible today) Singercraft fagoter, which can be used to sew your very own lace designs out of pearl cotton threads, or other strings, threads & yarns. A Singercraft rugmaking guide allowed their owner to sew rugs on their sewing machine, thriftily made out of yarn, old sweaters, fabric scraps, rags, or other similar items. A ruffler that is adjustable to sew a huge variety of ruffles, as well as pleats & tucks, makes it possible to gather a ruffle, & sew it onto a skirt or blouse, all in one step! Other fashion aids include a bias tape making guide, an adjustable binder, a rolled hemmer, an adjustable hemmer, braiding feet & plates, shirring feet & plates, a buttonholer that can also do zig zag satin stitching in any design you choose, and later, buttonholers that included cams for sewing eyelets, keyhole buttonholes, as well as regular buttonholes! Then there is the hemstitcher, which requires a special needle plate specific to each model of sewing machine, as well as imitation hemstitchers which could imitate the hemstitcher's work, without requiring a special plate. 

A "Style-o-matic" presser foot developed right before the great depression, can sew an enormous variety of specialty sewing stitches, including tucks & pleats, fagoting, French seams, cording & braiding, & lace, including joining lace, sewing on ribbons & nearly any specialty you could imagine, but the timing was bad, with the Great Depression wiping out the public's ability to afford this luxury foot, so Singer replaced it with the "Edge Stitcher Foot", which can be used to sew pretty much everything the Style-o-matic can. Some of my favorite Sewing machine attachments are the "embroidery machines". I enjoyed the short opportunity to own & get to try out Singer's rare two thread embroidery attachment 35505, & have seen a couple of very rare one thread embroidery attachments as well. These often sell for hundreds of dollars, due to their rarity!

For those who sew mostly straight stitches, Singer's straight stitch only machines, including the 27, 28, 127, 128, 66, 99, 101, 201, 221, 222, 15-91, and various other models, would all be fantastic, & if you acquire the attachments, you can still sew beautiful buttonholes, blind hems, embroidery, ruffles, tucks, shirring, braiding, rolled hems of various sizes, with very little effort.  A straight stitch only machine usually does not have the problem of the needle hitting the throat plate, like zig zag machines sometimes do, and it can sew super fine, lightweight fabrics without having them get pushed down into the bobbin area, where they jam the machine. If you do want a zigzag machine, try to get one that has both a straight stitch needle plate & a zig zag needle plate. If you can, I recommend keeping both a straight stitch machine & a zig zag machine, if you can't find a good one that has both needle plates available.

I prefer the mostly metal vintage sewing machines, with a separate motor attached to the back of the machine, due to the simplicity of design, which makes it very easy to maintain & repair yourself, rather than machines with the motor inside the machine. The outer motor can cool itself easier, as well as being the simplest to repair or replace as necessary. 

Be aware that some machines are "gear driven", and if any of the gears are plastic or fiber, they are more likely to require replacement of those parts, & retiming, if the machine is abused, or used heavily. Most home machines use belts, or friction pulleys, and that these do need replaced when they wear out or break. I also confess to a fondness for Singer's direct metal gear driven (Potted Motor) 101, 201, 15, because they are very strong & sturdy, just use common sense, they are not intended for industrial leather & saddle sewing, even though they can handle some softer leather sewing, on a home sewing basis, or if sewing suede fabric. Use either a leather needle (has blades on needle sides & point to pierce leather more easily), or a size 18 needle, & sew SLOWLY, don't ruin an incredible machine, just because an Ebay seller claims it can sew heavy thick leather. Please...!

Singer 646 is a FABULOUS sewing machine, as shown, I sewed these stitch samples through 2 layers of denim, even though this particular model does have plastic gears, it still sews beautifully, but there is no way to know how long these gears will continue to work correctly, before breaking.

Singer Touch & Sew 603 usually does NOT have the metal gears, models after the 600 have nylon or plastic type gears, if you replace one, replace all 4 (or however many your model has) at one time, to save headaches, time & money, whether you replace them yourself, or pay someone else to do it. I love these machines & what they can do, but these are definitely the beginning of Singer making machines built to become obsolete. Their zigzag stitches, & chainstitch are a lot of fun, though! I also love their 301, 401, & 500A, they have the zigzag stitches, with steel gears!  Here's some pics of the 301 & 500A underneath, & fronts.

Singer Rocketeer underside with bottom removed, notice steel gears

Original Singer 500 Rocketeer advertisement

Singer 500A Rocketeer, a zigzag model, left, Singer 301, a straight stitch model, right. The 301 is WAY faster than the 500A, Singer sacrificed some speed, in the 500A, for more sophisticated zigzag stitches

Singer 301 straight stitch only, with reverse, super simple model, easy to maintain, and sew with. Often referred to as the BIG SISTER TO FEATHERWEIGHT 221, the 301 is full sized, and much faster, and stronger, than the Featherweight 221 and 222K. The 301 does take the same bobbins, and bobbin case, the only other Singer domestic machine to do so. Just the bobbin case runs $100, USED, because the original Singer / Simanco bobbin cases are higher quality, and have less problems, than the modern replacement bobbin cases. Sadly, if a Featherweight 221, 222K, or a 301 are left on display, especially in stores, the bobbin cases are often stolen, by dishonest creeps, who know their high dollar value.

Singer 500 Rocketeer zigzag machine steel gears takes cams for more stitch capability

Singer 500 Rocketeer compared to Singer 301 straight stitch only (this 301 is missing it's fold up bed plate), the 301 is the faster, stronger, of these 2 machines, but the 500 has more stitches to choose from

While today's plastic Singers may be great machines for beginning sewists, they are slower & break easier than these classic metal machines. I have tried one of Singer's computerized machines and was not impressed, the reverse quit working within an hour of taking it out of the box, so I don't recommend the new Singer's, but if you want a sturdy, high quality sewing machine, I can vouch for these FANTASTIC VINTAGE SINGER sewing machines!

You will find this article & more, on my Facebook page as well, & more of my Sewing Machine reviews & guides on Ebay, under Uptite1.

Singer 600E Touch & Sew steel gear driven zigzag model which takes cams. This is the last model that is known to have steel gears, there are a handful of models newer than the 600E, which owners have shown do have steel gears, but they are only a few, the majority of Singer machine model numbers above 600, have either white or black plastic gears, unless someone changed them out to steel gears, which has been done in many cases, by owners who love the sophistication of the newer stitches, and special features of the Touch and Sew Models, but it is not the norm. There are some models that were manufactured in Germany, however, which DO have the steel gears. The freearm steel gear Germany made versions are extremely sought after, but rare in the U.S.A.

600E Touch & Sew Steel Gear Driven machine, view of underside of machine, with bottom removed.