I really liked that website about Featherweights. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. It was filled with so much information. I know I will be going back to learn more!

I have a Featherweight which I got last summer from a repair shop in England and I love it! It's far more precise than any of my other machines for piecing as it can't zig-zag.
Amongst my other machines (!)I also have a Janome Platinum Jem, which is a 3/4 size machine and that's what I mostly use. It's so easy to set up and the stop/ start button is very useful. I've even used it to quilt full-size quilts with no problem. The newer model has even more stitches so that's what I'm considering buying my daughter rather than passing on one of my basic older machines.

[url]forum/domestic-sewing-machines/230-need-featherweight-advice[/url]
Vicki,
Thanks for the site. You are right , it is full of wonderful information.
Your featherweight cases are beautiful. I've wanted to take the cover off of mine but as yet have not been brave enough to try. It still has the "fragrence" inside also.

I have a suggestion for all you featherweight people out there. I recently ran across a terrific website that has more information about those great machines than any website (or book) I have ever read.

http://www.thefeatherweight221factory.com

It's so amazing I printed out most of it and had it bound so I could study it.
The more I learn about the featherweight the more I am impressed.

Nancy Johnson-Srebro's book and David McCallum's books are wonderful as well, but there is a lot of information on http://www.thefeatherweight221factory.com

Thanks! (the best part is I don't have to take a machine)

You will absolutely LUV the SUPER SEMINAR! Have fun!!

This morning I changed the bobbin thread and the tension and it is working now. Thanks you for the
help that you have given me.
Its so nice to know that there is the Quilt Show that we can turn to for help. I am going
to the Ricky Tims show at the end of this month in Hyannis to see them.

Yes, that is done....

Do you have the flat side of the needle facing to the left so you would thread from right to left?

I have Singer Style 2045, Style 2020 so I don't know if they are ok. I did take the plate off and do have the
finger in the right place with the bobbin. That was a problem that took a few hours to figure out.


Just looked and the size is 90/14 and 11.

Is it possible that you are using the wrong kind of needle? They take a Singer 15x1 size needle.
And be sure that it is inserted as far up into the shaft as it will go.

Hi,
This is a sentence from my manual. In case the throat plate is removed for cleaning the stitch-forming mechanism,etc.make certain, when replacing the throat plate, that the position finger of the bobbin case enters the notch of the position plate attached to the underside of the throat plate. There is a diagram I can scan and e-mail if that is possible.

I am having a problem with my Featherweight. After spending all morning trying to fix I have almost everything fixed but one more problem. The top thread and the bottom thread don't get along. They do not join together. I do not have a manal so its very difficut to fix the problem. Ordered the manual,waiting for it to come in. I don't know what it could be that is causing this
problem.[Norina

I bought my Featherweight on eBay, and I also bought a couple others for friends on eBay. I really love my little workhorse. It keeps sewing, and sewing, and sewing. All you need to do is keep it cleaned and oiled. I have copied my little manual so that I have it in electronic format if something should happen to my original. There are alot of places to oil that you would not think about, and that manual shows where very clearly. Just oiling the bobbin case isn't enough. I go to quilt meetings frequently and taking my Featherweight keeps my other machines safe at home. The FW is easy to tote around and it has a consistent, nice stitch. It has been very reliable for me. I have several friends with Featherweights and my husband has held a maintenance workshop for the group to teach them how to keep their machine working smoothly.
I think that many Featherweights were forgotten for a long time, so being stored for an extended time in sometimes out of the way places can cause them to acquire a musty smell. I think they were rediscovered in the last few years and people are digging them out realizing they are worth something. If you want something lightweight that does fancier stitching, I challenge you to store it for 50 years and see if it can be brought back to life. Unless the machine has been badly abused, you can't buy a hardier little workhorse.
I think you can buy a Featherweight on eBay for around $300 or a little more... I actually got one for $150 for a friend and the only bad thing was her case wasn't in very good shape. You might not want to buy one from someone who has no history to look at.