Tool Recommendation

[Todd Bradshaw]

I have an old Singer Featherweight like that one somewhere down in the basement. It's not particularly dependable. As far as I know all the old Featherweights have an oscillating lower hook system for the bobbin thread, where the hook that catches the upper thread to form the stitch goes back and forth, back and forth. Most good machines these days use a rotary hook system, where the hook goes around and around the bobbin case. As the needle starts its upward stroke, up and out of the fabric, the hook has to catch the top thread, right behind the needle's eye and insert the bobbin thread. If it misses, the machine skips that stitch. In situations where you are possibly testing the limits of the machine's ability to sew thickness or toughness of the cloth, the rotary hook systems are usually a lot less likely to skip stitches.

The Featherweight has a classic, antique look and heavy construction, but I'm not convinced that its cult status and reputation are actually based on its ability to perform in challenging situations. When you get down to actually doing the work with one, I'd personally take an awful lot of other, more modern home machines instead - Pfaff, Bernina, Viking, some Singers, some Brothers, etc.

Also, don't discount the value of being able to find the instruction manual for whatever machine you get. There are a lot of them on-line as free downloads and they can save you a lot of trouble and frustration at times.

[Stoff]

I have an old Singer Featherweight like that one somewhere down in the basement. It's not particularly dependable. As far as I know all the old Featherweights have an oscillating lower hook system for the bobbin thread, where the hook that catches the upper thread to form the stitch goes back and forth, back and forth. Most good machines these days use a rotary hook system, where the hook goes around and around the bobbin case. As the needle starts its upward stroke, up and out of the fabric, the hook has to catch the top thread, right behind the needle's eye and insert the bobbin thread. If it misses, the machine skips that stitch. In situations where you are possibly testing the limits of the machine's ability to sew thickness or toughness of the cloth, the rotary hook systems are usually a lot less likely to skip stitches.

The Featherweight has a classic, antique look and heavy construction, but I'm not convinced that its cult status and reputation are actually based on its ability to perform in challenging situations. When you get down to actually doing the work with one, I'd personally take an awful lot of other, more modern home machines instead - Pfaff, Bernina, Viking, some Singers, some Brothers, etc.

Also, don't discount the value of being able to find the instruction manual for whatever machine you get. There are a lot of them on-line as free downloads and they can save you a lot of trouble and frustration at times.

I don't know about the Featherweight, I have one but don't use it. My go to machine is my 1911 model 27 treadle machine. At this point I have not found anything that I haven't been able to make using it. One of the really great things about the treadle machine is the absolute control you have over your work.

My two cents worth.

Stoff