My Little 301

I had mentioned to my friend Coral that I was considering a Singer Featherweight because I was tired of lugging my heavy Bernina to getaways. She asked if I'd ever tried one and I replied, no. She made me sit down right there and try hers out. I quickly realized why it has such a cult following. A beautiful stitch, steady feed, and despite being such a tiny thing it just feels solid and doesn't vibrate or move as you sew.

At our guild's quilt show one of our vendors was Bob Harrison, who sells and services vintage Singers. Coral and I flocked to him. He has a great selection and is very knowledgeable. On day one of the show I chose one of his Featherweights to take home. Coral decided to try a Singer 301, which is like the big-sister of a Featherweight, and she ended up going home with it.

On day two of the show Bob brought in another Singer 301 and table. I tried it out. It's only a few pounds heavier than a Featherweight. However different from a Featherweight, it has retractable feed-dogs so you can do free motion quilting on it. It also has a slightly longer arm, slant needle, and is gear driven. After playing with it for a few minutes I was hooked. So I bought that and the table too. I really like the table because the machine sits down flush in it, but it has the insert piece to cover the hole so that you can use it as a card table too. Even though the legs fold up, it's still a very sturdy table.

Once home I checked them out fully and started playing with them. I quickly realized that though the Featherweight is the darling of the vintage sewing machine market, my heart went to the 301. This thing sews so fast - it whips down a seam in no time with no puckering or shifting. I find myself going up to my sewing room every day just to look at it, yeah it's love.

References:
A Fine Line Quilt Studio
Bob Harrison - Bob's Featherweights
Learn more about the Singer 301
Sew-Classic Blog - Vintage Singer Parts & Info