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Old September 24th 17, 02:06 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
Brian Christiansen
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Posts: 113
Default The new Featherweight

The Singer company has apparently revived the featherweight:
http://www.singerco.com/products/285...-featherweight. Actually,
this machine appears to be a quite new model, introduced within the past
year as near as I can determine, but whether or not they revived the
name just recently, or if the name has been in continuous use use, even
after they stopped producing the 221 (1969, as best as I can determine).

I can't even determine if Singer ever actually "officially" called the
221 "featherweight," in the manual for mine, the actual word
"featherweight does not appear.

The c240 is a much more sophisticated machine. The 221 can have its
capabilities expanded with attachments such as the buttonholer, but all
the machine itself can do is sew a straight line either forward or
backwards(and I think the backwards sewing is a bit of a pain, at least
compared to just pushing a "reverse button" it in lengths from 30
stitches/inch (just under 1MM) to 5 stitches/inch (~5MM).

The c240 is a computerized machine and is quite sophisticated. The
price of a c240 is $499, and most 221's on ebay seemed to be between 200
and 400 dollars, though I did see a model with "1920's Red Eye
decoration" that was ~$3200. The 222 (freearm featherwieght) was
generally around $1000.

The c240 probably costs a lot more to fix than the 221. In reading
about the 221, much of the time any problems can be solved just by
cleaning and oiling it and perhaps replacing the needle. I don't really
know what is involved in repairing a computerized machine like the c240,
but it is probably much more involved, much more expensive, and even for
the simplest problem more than changing the needle, probably requires a
sewing machine mechanic.

I looked at some "video reviews" of the c240 on Youtube, and they seem
to be quite positive, and it looks like a quite nice "entry level"
computerized machine. I have to wonder, though, if it as well made as
the 221. There is a reason that 221's have been around for 70, 80, and
even in some cases close to 90 years, but I cannot imagine anything made
today lasting 30 (let alone 70) years.


--
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Brian Christiansen
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