Singer 201K-3

by RL Schaefer
(Chardon, OH)

I have to share my experience with a "new" addition to my sewing family. Sometimes getting back to the basics is the best option.

I have just purchased a Singer 201K-3 sewing machine (I believe the 3 denotes the motor is belt driven and the K is for the city in Scotland where she was built in 1953).

It's easy to find out where the Singers were made by looking up the serial number on Singer's website, plus having the original sales receipt, was also helpful.

I purchased her from the daughter of the original owner who took great care of her, as she is in pristine shape.

The Singer 201K machine is built like a tank, unlike today's plastic, computerized models. And while she is limited to straight stitching, she does that with the greatest of ease and very uniformed stitches through all different types of fabric.

I tested her out on 6 layers of denim and then also on some batiste fabric- fabulous stitches with no skipping of stitches or dragging of motor.

Included with her were several attachments that range from a ruffler, rolled edger, hemmer, and a few others I am learning about with the original manual that came with her.

And much to my husband's delight, maintaining the Singer 201K is quite easy. And due to their popularity and longevity, I'm finding if I do want to add to the attachments, there seems to be no shortage of finding original items online through many sources,

What a nice change from my former machine that I did try to do some free motion quilting recently on just a simple denim flannel backed quilt. A total nightmare. And that was not a low end machine either.

This baby has restored my passion to sew again, as I don't have to fear what is going to go wrong next. Granted she is a straight stitch-but honestly- with all the added stitches I had on my previous machine, I didn't have much use for them as I basically stick to to quilting, heirloom and general garments, which can be easily accomplished with this one fine unit!

For a fraction of what I paid for my previous main machine, I believe I have found a true keeper to make me very happy. Just hearing her quiet motor humming along makes me very content.