Singer Featherweight Red 'S' Badge
The Red S Badged Featherweight
"I hear a lot about the Red 'S' Featherweight - what is it? and what does it look like?"
This is a question we receive once in awhile and it is a good one!
A Red 'S' Badge on a Singer Featherweight
A Red 'S' badged black Featherweight has become one more novelty for collectors and may add a little bit more value to a machine, assuming condition and inclusions are the same as a regular badged Featherweight. From 1959 to 1961, Singer changed the oval badges on the black Singer Featherweight from the classic shuttle and spool of thread to a bright bold, red 'S'. This was true for both the 221 model and the 222 Free-Arm model Featherweight. The brightness of the red color will vary slightly sometimes as you can see from the two photos below.
Early Featherweight Gold Badge - circa 1933-1950
Gold Badge with Black Decorative Rim, Still Featuring the Vibrating Shuttle, Needles and Thread Spool, circa 1952-1958
Singer continued using the Red S badge and logo and it became standard issue on the Tan and White Featherweights.
Tan Featherweight - Red S Badge was Standard Issue - circa 1961
Notice the rivets holding the metal badge secure to the machine.
White Featherweight - Red S Badge was Standard Issue - circa 1964-1969
You will see that the White Featherweight badge does not have the two rivets holding it in place. This is because the badge is a foil adhesive and can be quite fragile. (If yours is missing or torn, we do carry replacements in the Shop.)
Further clarification: In looking for the elusive Red 'S', some will presume that it is referencing the painted red 'S' on the back of the Featherweight motor (like the one you see below). However, this is not an indicator of a Red 'S' badged machine.
The red-painted 'S' on the motor above is not an indicator of a Red 'S' Featherweight.
Click Photo for Close-Up View of a Red 'S' Featherweight 221K.