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| "Bette," my 1935 Singer Model 221 Featherweight |
Since my sewing machine review post on my Bernina 750QE has been so popular, I thought I'd do a similar post for my vintage Singer Model 221 Featherweight sewing machine.
I have owned two Featherweights, the 1935 issue pictured above and
another one made in 1951 pictured below that I eventually sold (my husband had been saying unhelpful things like "HOW many sewing machines do you NEED?!"). These vintage straight stitch machines are the perfect complement to my modern computerized Bernina machines.
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| "Judy," my (previous) 1951 Singer Model 221 Featherweight |
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The "Light as a Feather" Singer Model 221, Made from 1933-1957
Singer's portable Model 221 sewing machine debuted at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and 1.75 million of them were manufactured and sold around the world before production of this model ended in 1957. My review pertains only to these original used, vintage machines (not any of the newer reproduction Featherweight sewing machines currently on the market). For a thorough history of when different features, paint colors, etc. were introduced and which of these features impact the resale value of a particular machine, I recommend Nancy Johnson-Srebro's excellent book, Featherweight 221 - The Perfect Portable, available on Amazon here. (Please note that this post contains affiliate links).
