About Singer Featherweight Sewing Machines,
Their Value, and Selling Yours
If you have a Singer 221
or 222 Featherweight sewing machine to sell here are some points to
consider:
How old is my Featherweight?
To date your machine look on the bottom to find the serial number.
Every machine has a unique serial number which will begin with two letters
followed by six numbers. Singer kept good records for their production
runs and you can go to their website to find out when your Featherweight
was made by matching up the serial number on your machine with the corresponding
year on their chart. Click here to go to their site:
Singer
Featherweight Dating Chart
What's my Featherweight worth?
The 3 most important factors in determining the value of a vintage
or antique Singer 221 Featherweight sewing machine are:
1) Condition
2) Condition
and
3) Condition
How
your Singer 221 sewing machine looks cosmetically is far more important
to its resale value than anything else. Nearly all 221 Featherweights
sew well or, with minor "tune ups", can be adjusted to sew well.
Singer 221 Featherweights are very reliable and very straightforward to
maintain. They are not computerized or complicated. They
were made to last several lifetimes.
The real indicator of value isn't whether your sewing machine "still
sews". That it sews is almost a given. The important
question is how good does it look. The phrase "It looks good given
its age" doesn't cut it when it comes to Singer Featherweight 221 sewing
machines. To command top value / price a Singer 221 or 222 sewing
machine needs to look great "in spite of" its age. And those are
the ones I buy, sell, and deal in.
What is the difference
between
a Model 221 and a Model 222 Featherweight?
Singer Featherweight Model 222 sewing machines, also
known as "Freearm" or "Convertible" Singer Featherweights, had a feature
that was not found on the Featherweight Model 221 machines. The
Freearm Featherweights were designed with a tubular bed feature that
allows a portion of the flat bedplate to be removed so you could sew
around sleeve cuffs or pant legs. The Model 222 Featherweight
machines also have a feature where you can drop the feed dogs to enable
machine darning and embroidery. There were relatively few Model
222 Featherweights produced compared to Featherweight Model 221 machines,
so the Singer 222's generally command considerably higher prices.
What do you look for in evaluating
a 221 / 222 Featherweight?
If you have a Singer Featherweight 221 or 222 you would like to sell
I'm going to ask you specific questions about its cosmetic condition,
and I will ask you to look at the machine objectively to describe these
details. Look at the amount of wear or thinning to the gold decoration,
particularly on the front edge at the "fabric path". Try to assess
the degree of shine or dullness to the black paint, and the amount of
scratches or "pin marks" on the surface. Look closely to see whether
the clearcoat finish is pealing, uneven or blotchy. Look carefully
at the condition of the electric cord and the footpedal. Open
the lid and tell me honestly whether the case has a musty smell.
All of those factors play into the value.
The most typical "problem" you will see in a Singer Featherweight
is loss to the gold decal decoration that runs around the perimeter
of the flat table portion, particularly in front of and to the left
and right of the needlebar area. This is known as "fabric path"
wear and is a result of the fabric running past the front edge of the
sewing machine over and over again as it moves along through the needle.
Another common cause of this wear to the gold decoration is from the
seamstress repeatedly placing his / her hands in one position on the
edge of the machine, year after year, garment after garment.
Do these cosmetic issues affect the use of the machine? Not
necessarily, but they do affect the value to the extent that they may
indirectly point to more or less prior use of the machine. But
more importantly they detract from the "collector value", and many Featherweight
fanatics buy Singer 221's and 222's as much for their "display" and
collector value as for their "user" value.
Most people's first impulse is to say their Singer 221 machine "is
in great condition" but what you think is "great" might be what I think
is only "fair". It's like the bad driver analogy---I have never
heard anyone describe themselves as a bad driver, but let's face it,
there are lots of bad drivers around. Well there are likewise lots of
just so-so looking Singer Featherweights around. There were
over 2 million of them made, and a lot of them got used, and used
and used, so you need to look at yours
with a critical eye when describing it to me. With Featherweights
(as with all antiques) it's the little details of condition that make
the big differences in value.
Here's the view
of your Featherweight I need to see if you are sending me pictures:
Click the small pic to see the size and detail i am looking for.
I need to be able to clearly see that
gold decal that runs around the base of your machine to assess its condition.
We Actively
Buy and Sell
White, Tan, and Black Singer Featherweight Model 221 and 222 Portable
Electric Sewing Machines.
If you have
a Featherweight you would like to sell please
contact me.
To view the Singer Featherweights
we are currently offering for sale, please see our
Featherweight Sales Page.
To view examples of vintage
Singer Featherweight 221 and 222 sewing machines we have previously
sold and are always interested in buying be sure to visit our Antique
Sewing Machine
Past Sales Archive Pages
**** We Sell Antiques!
****
We want
to Help you Sell Your quality Antiques
If you have a single antique, or a collection of antiques to sell
please contact us at LCM@patented-antiques.com
giving us your PHONE NUMBER
and other contact info
and we will get back to you ASAP.
To view examples of the types of antiques and collectibles we have previously
sold and are always interested in helping you sell please visit our
Past
Sales Archive Pages at our sister website
www.AntiqBuyer.com.
Please see our
FAQ page, the
Appraisal / Selling Page and the
Selling Your Collection Pages
for further info.
Thanks!!
Larry & Carole
