Little Things About Singer 66 Sewing Machine

My father picked up Singer 66 sewing machine at a local tag sale (2017) for a whopping $40. The machine came with a sewing machine table, chair, and some pretty fantastic vintage sewing accessories. After cleaning the sewing machine up and giving it a good oil, I’ve decided to note a few things. Singer 66 is a straight stitch sewing machine good for quilting or sewing other thick materials.

Love sewing thick materials? If money is tight and the space is small, get Singer 66.

Singer 66 has metal gears, nice weight, and a changeable motor. Metal gears make Singer 66 great for handling thick materials, while an external motor means you can easily upgrade. If you often work with thick materials, I’d suggest getting a brand new 1.5amp motor.

Otherwise the existing 0.6amp motor is fully capable of doing regular sewing projects.

Singer 66 sewing machine has excellent power in spite of the low 0.6amp label. The superior quality of vintage Singer 66 motors make them highly sought after, even in the present times.

Quilters love Singer Featherweight, but Singer 66 offers more options.

Singer Featherweight weights 11.4 pounds, while Singer 66 is whopping 30 pounds. While Singer Featherweight is far lighter, it’s the same length as Singer 66. (Do keep in mind Singer 66 doesn’t have a folding table).

Singer 66 offers more options because its:

• 66 Bobbins are easier to find
• harp space is much bigger (8 inches harp space as opposed to just 5 with Singer Featherweight)
• hand wheel can be swapped out with a spoked one more suitable for sewing thick fabrics.
• original motor is more powerful ( 0.6amps vs 0.4amps with Singer Featherweight)
• motor can be upgraded to a modern 1.5amp motor, while Singer Featherweight motors cannot be changed out with more powerful motors.

The only big advantage to Singer Featherweight over the Singer 66 is the bobbin system.

The bobbin case on Singer Featherweight prevents thread from bird nesting. Singer 66 doesn’t have that feature. The #1 complaint about Singer 66 sewing machine is its tendency to have bird nesting  on the thread. This is the only issue I’ve found with the sewing machine as everything else is rock solid. My most favorite part about Singer 66 is…

 Parts are super easy to find and there are many tutorials online about how to troubleshoot with this specific model.

Singer 66 is a very common (USA MADE) sewing machine where parts are easy to find. This makes Singer 66 ideal for any home owner who would like to sew vintage without going thru the hassle of finding parts or figuring out how to fix problems.

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