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Goldelocs Bears Feb 28, 2009

Hi, Following the recent discussion on featherweights I have decided to buy one. I have only ever used a sewing machine when I was in high school so have little experince in using sewing machines. My mum has sewn all of her life so she will help me out on my steep learning curve 

I do have several questions and would love to hear some opinions and advise from those who use the featherweights. I have located both a 221k and a 222k in Australia that are in good condition but would love to know if one model is prefered over the other. I am aware that the 222k's have the free arm is this necessary for sewing bears?
What needles do you find are best to use on mohair ie. type, gauge etc...
And what cotton do you find works best. Because I have been hand sewing all of my bears I have been using magic thread for hand-sewing and is not suitable for use in sewing machines I had a look at the cottons in the craft shop yesterday and there are so many different types I though I would ask for some opinions before I bought any.

Any help and advise is greatly appreciated.

Ann-Marie

Plum Cottage Bears Cute Animal AmbassadorMar 1, 2009

I have a featherweight too.  I have never sewn with it but would like to start using it.  Where do I start?  I have, of course, used sewing machines before, like Singer and Janome.  But with all the talk of the wonders of the featherweight, I would like to give it a try.

Bubble-Up Bears Mar 1, 2009

Cathy Forcino would be a good person to ask. She sews all her bears on the Featherweights. I have bought 5 from her but I as of right now do not make teddy bears.  You might want to PM her for some advise.

Daphne Mar 1, 2009

The two featherweights I have are at the repair shop right now being serviced before I use them for the first time so I'd be interested to hear what needles are best. I use the 12/80 needle now for sewing mohair and am guessing it would be the same in a featherweight. Also, I use polyester thread in my machine as its stronger than cotton... I'm also guessing this is still best!

Cathy, are your ears burning?

Bubble-Up Bears Mar 1, 2009

I emailed Cathy with this post. I'm sure she will be helpful. She is a Featherweight expert owning over 80 machines!
Oh I hope I don't get that addicted!! 

clare14 Mar 1, 2009

Wowser over 80 machines...!!!      Must be like a little museum at Cathy's house, how lovely!!  Way back last year I was bitten by the Featherweight bug lol - thought this thread might be of interest to you..

http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=24585

I sew most of mine on my 221k, it sews everything with ease, I have used my 222k also to blow the cobwebs out (they're rarer here, are they there?) and think the arm would come in very handy if you were to sew small bear clothes etc. 

I love them, never use any of my other 6 machines now, they're collecting dust.

Have fun !!   :hug:

Cathy Forcino Mar 1, 2009

Hi All,

Someone alerted me to these questions and asked if I could help.  I'll see what I can do.  Thread - The best is cotton covered polyester.  The polyester is strong enough to hold and should even a little stitch show where you might be airbrushing or in some other way dying, the cotton will take the dye.  I made the mistake of grabbing a spool of all-cotton once and my entire bear popped open when I stuffed it.  ARgh!  Had to re-sew the whole thing after unstuffing.  No fun.

I have both 222 and 221.  I never found a use in teddy making for the smaller bed option on the 222, but if you were to be sewing little clothing it can come in handy for that.  Clare is right on that - taking the bigger bed off allows you fit smaller parts like sleeves in there.  It is a little awkward in that there isn't much room to work and maneuver.  There is a huge difference in price between the two models only because the 222 was introduced towards the end of the production of the Featherweights and there simply aren't a lot of them.  If there were more 222's than 221's, the reverse would be true, of course.

I shudder when I hear of Featherweights in for service.  I know there are good service shops out there, but I hear so many bad stories.  It's so very rare that there is a problem on a Featherweight difficult enough that anyone should need to take it in for service or repair.   If you or someone in your family is even a teensy bit mechanical minded, there isn't much you can't adjust yourself!  Copies of the actual adjustor's manual that service people used in those days are available.  The problem is today's repair shops work on new machines with computers and kaboomba and when most of them see a Featherweight, they ooh and aah but really don't have a clue.  I know of more than one machine that got a brand spanking new motor when all that was needed was a stuck thread to be removed!!!!!  Find the thread, pull it out with tweezers and viola!!!  And I don't even want to get into what unscrupulous repair shops will do.  Let's just say that original Featherweight parts such as motors, bobbin cases, foot pedals, etc can fetch a pretty price.  So, they get the fee for the repair PLUS a bonanza for the sale of the "broken" parts.    Talk to an old-time Singer man (and I say man, because only men repaired sewing machines in those days) and he'll tell you - these little beauties rarely break.  My Singer friend told me the only time in all his 50+ years in the business that he found a burned out motor was after a woman sewed those heavy braided rugs on hers for years.   And years.  And hours and hours.  In other words, she really used her Featherweight  :crackup:

Well, I didn't mean to take over this thread  :crackup:   Truly, anyone who has a question or a problem with your Featherweight, please feel free to contact me.  I'm always more than happy to help a fellow bear artist and if I can't answer your question, I'll find someone who can.   I truly have owned over 80 of these, although I have re-homed most of those.  My husband has a fondness for these Featherweights as well and he has a knack of finding them! 

Hugs to all!
CathyLynnForcino@aol.com

Cathy Forcino Mar 1, 2009

Hi Ann-Marie,

If you can purchase the 222 for about the same as the 221 you found, I would advise going that way.  If the smaller bed is not handy for you, you simply don't have to use it that way.  It would simply make a nicer investment because they are harder to find.  If it's a considerable amount more - some are 50 percent more and up- I would say don't go the extra money.  Unless you're a collector who wants one of each model, you don't need to spend that extra amount for the 222.

Good luck and let me know when you get it.  I'd love to hear how you like it. :dance:

Hugs,
Cathy

Cathy Forcino Mar 1, 2009

Oh yeah, one more thing.  Is my big font buggin you guys?  I never know when someone with weak peepers might appreciate it, so it's kind of a habit.   :redface:

Off The Paw Mar 1, 2009

Hello Cathy, When I first read about the featherweights i thought you were meaning your dog!   I thought it was funny, i also have a small dog, a yorkshire terrier

Daphne Mar 1, 2009

Thanks for all the info, Cathy.

There is a gentleman near me who services featherweights exclusively... his fee is much lower than what I pay to have my Viking serviced and I trust him more than I trust myself or my hubby! I can't imagine taking it to the local sewing/vacuum repair shop for service! Horrors!!! This old duffer came highly recommended by many people I talked to.... so there are a lot of us out there who'd rather not risk fixing our own mahines!!! :crackup:

As for your font size.... as most all of the post are in the normal preset size I think most people are used to it....and if they have a real problem seeing the lettering on their computer they've adjusted the resolution in their computer settings so everything on their monitor is always bigger!!! I love the colors though!

Goldelocs Bears Mar 1, 2009

Hi
Thankyou for all of the info and advice, I have to wait until mid to late in the week to get a price on the 222k model that I found localy, it has been reconditioned, the only thing he mentioned was replacing the electrical cord, but looks to be in great condition. It is at a local sewing machine shop that has been around probably longer than me  and they service and repair all types of sewing machines so I feel they wouldn't do anything uneccesary.
There is also a 221k photos show it to be in good outer appearance and they say it is in good working order. This one is $590 AUD do you think this is too expensive? This one has a scroll plate on the front so I imagine this is an earlier model???

Thanks again ladies 

clare14 Mar 2, 2009

Oooh Ann- Marie, mine are way older than me too, at least something makes me feel a bit young!!   :crackup:

You can date the machines by looking at the code on the bottom (or asking your shop for it) - if you take a look at the following link:
http://www.planetpatchwork.com/fweight.htm

and find the code in the list it should tell you the year.  I think there's another list in the other link I put up too, hopefully they come out at the same year for you.