If you learned on a rock solid sewing machine and ever since have lamented the plastic creations that pass for sewing machines nowadays, you will understand why I needed this gadget so badly. A Singer Featherweight, reputed for solid forward and backstitch, can even outlive its owner. All this one needed was a new belt, some oil, a needle, and voila, a stalwart sewing machine for decades to come.

The extra bonus on this model, the 222k, is that the main work table of the machine slides off to reveal an arm that allows one to stitch edges on sleeves and other tubes of fabric. This machine is basic, but it’s the machine I’ve been yearning for since learning on a Singer Featherweight when I was a little girl.