The Singer serial number lookup
How old is your Singer?
Type the number stamped into your machine’s bed. We match it to the block Singer allotted in its own ledgers and tell you the year, the factory, and where the record comes from.
Built on the records collectors trust:
- ISMACSSinger ledger transcriptions
- Singer’s dating tablefor summary year ranges
- sewalotpre-1900 numbers
- singersewinginfoBritish series
How it works
Three steps to your machine’s story
Most people can date and identify an old Singer in under five minutes, with nothing more than a torch.
Find the number
Look on the bed of the machine: front right on older machines, underneath on later ones. Ignore the number on the motor.
Look it up
We match your serial to the block Singer allotted in its ledger and show the year, the factory and the source.
Identify the model
Three questions about the bobbin, the size and the needle tell you which model you own. Then read its guide.
Finding the serial
Where is the serial number on a Singer?
Singer stamped the number into the cast bed. Its shape tells you roughly how old the machine is before you even look it up.
The number on the motor is the motor’s own serial number. It won’t date the machine.
Reading a result
What your lookup tells you
Every answer is a ledger entry you can check. Here is a real one, for serial AK123456.
allotment
ledger
- Prefix
- AK · used 1950–1952
- Factory
- Elizabethport, New Jersey
- Matched block
- AK57821 – AK705475
- Allotted
- 1951-01-03 to 1951-12-03
221 Featherweight15-91201 / 201-2 / 201K66 / Red Eye99 / 99K128 (and 28)301 / 301A
- The year
When Singer allotted the block of numbers your serial falls in. Machines usually followed within months.
- The factory and the evidence
Where the machine was built, and a seal showing how strong the record is: a ledger entry, a summary table or the prefix alone.
- The exact block
The first and last serial of the batch, and the dates it was allotted, so you can check the source yourself.
- What it could be
Models from our guides that were in production that year. The bobbin and needle tell you which one you have.
The factories
Every prefix tells you where it was made
Singer numbered its machines in lettered series, factory by factory. The letters weren’t issued in alphabetical order, so the prefix alone won’t give you the year, but it will give you the factory.
Elizabethport, New Jersey
USASinger’s flagship US factory and the source of most American domestic machines.
Kilbowie (Clydebank), Scotland
United KingdomSinger’s Scottish works, maker of the ‘K’ models such as the 66K, 201K and 222K.
St Johns, Quebec
CanadaSinger’s Canadian factory; home of the tan 221J Featherweight.
Anderson, South Carolina
USAPost-war US plant behind the 301A and the 400/500-series slant-needles.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
USARecorded on Singer’s slide chart for the W series.
Bonnières-sur-Seine
FranceFrench factory; ISMACS notes dating is approximate as no records are known to survive.
Wittenberge
GermanyGerman factory; the C series is linked to it only indirectly in the sources.
Grey bar: years the factory worked for Singer. Red bar: years its serial prefixes were in use. Factory dates from singersewinginfo, lrcrafts and Wikipedia; see sources.
A century in brief
From a Boston workshop to seven factories
The dates that explain the machine in front of you: when Singer began, where it built, and why some years are missing from the ledgers.
Singer redesigns a Boston machine
In 1850 Isaac Singer examined a Lerow & Blodgett sewing machine at Orson Phelps's workshop in Boston and, with Phelps and George B. Zieber, set about making a practical alternative.
Patent and I. M. Singer & Co.
Singer was granted US patent no. 8294 in August 1851, and the firm of I. M. Singer & Co. was founded in New York with the lawyer Edward C. Clark, who had advised Singer on the patent.
Hire-purchase plan introduced
Edward Clark introduced a hire-purchase scheme in 1856, letting families buy a machine with a small deposit and monthly instalments. It is widely described as the first American instalment plan.
Singer Manufacturing Company formed
The partnership was dissolved in July 1863 and replaced by The Singer Manufacturing Company, with Singer and Clark each receiving 2,075 of its 5,000 shares.
First Scottish factory, Glasgow
Singer opened a factory on John Street, Glasgow, in 1867. A larger works near Bridgeton Cross followed by 1873, by which time Singer employed over 2,000 people in Scotland.
Elizabethport works opens
Singer opened a large purpose-built factory at Elizabethport, New Jersey, in 1872 (some accounts give 1873). It became the centre of American production for more than a century.
Kilbowie factory and vibrating shuttle
The Kilbowie works at Clydebank, begun in 1882, was in production by 1884 and finished in 1885. In the same year Singer bought and popularised Robert Whitehill's vibrating shuttle design.
Wheeler & Wilson taken over
Singer took over its rival Wheeler & Wilson in 1905, acquiring the Bridgeport, Connecticut works, and kept selling the Wheeler & Wilson No. 9 under its own name until at least 1913.
Singer Tower opens in New York
The 41-storey Singer Tower (about 47 storeys high to the top of its dome) in Lower Manhattan opened to the public on 1 May 1908 and was the tallest building in the world until 1909. It was demolished between 1967 and 1969.
Featherweight 221 launched
The lightweight aluminium Model 221 Featherweight entered production in 1933 and was shown at the Chicago World's Fair (Wikipedia names the 1934 season). Production of the original version ended in 1961, though Canadian and Scottish output continued until about 1969; ISMACS gives a 1933–1971 span.
Monza and Bonnières factories open
Singer opened new European factories at Monza, Italy (opening ceremony 24 April 1935), and Bonnières-sur-Seine, France. Their machines carry 'M' and 'B' suffixes on the model number.
Wartime halt to domestic machines
Elizabethport stopped making domestic sewing machines from June 1942 to July 1945 and turned to munitions. Kilbowie kept making sewing machines in smaller numbers alongside war work.
Anderson plant begins production
A new plant at Anderson, South Carolina, built in 1950, began production in 1951. It made the slant-needle aluminium machines, including the 301, the 401/403 Slant-o-Matic series and the 500 series.
Clydebank closes
The Kilbowie factory at Clydebank closed in June 1980, ending more than a century of Singer sewing machine production in Scotland. The buildings were demolished in 1998.
Model timeline
A century of Singer models at a glance
Production years of the machines people most often inherit, restore and collect. Where sources disagree, we show both.
Model guides
The Singers people ask about most
Specifications, how to recognise each one, its versions and what to check before you buy, with every fact linked to its source.
Singer 221 Featherweight
The 11-pound portable that is still popular with quilters. Made in the USA, Scotland (221K) and Canada (221J).
- Size
- Portable, 3/4 size
- Bobbin
- Class 221
- Weight
- Just over 11 lb
- Body
- Cast aluminium
Singer 201
Often called the best domestic machine Singer made. Full rotary hook, straight stitch.
- Size
- Full size
- Bobbin
- Class 66 drop-in
- Stitch length
- 6–30 per inch
- Needle sizes
- 15x1, 9 to 21
Singer 66 (Red Eye)
The full-size drop-in bobbin machine behind the famous ‘Red Eye’ decals.
- Size
- Full size
- Bobbin
- Class 66 drop-in
- US launch
- October 1902
- Back-clamp feet
- 66-1 only
Singer 15-91
A full-size Class 15 with a gear-driven ‘potted’ motor on the back — no belt.
- Size
- Full size
- Bobbin
- Class 15
- Motor type
- PG potted, gear
- Bobbin case
- Simanco 125291
Singer 301 / 301A
Singer’s first slant-shank machine: aluminium, 16 lb, and shares the Featherweight bobbin.
- Size
- Full-size head, lightweight
- Bobbin
- Class 221
- Needle-bar slant
- 9 degrees
- Top speed
- Up to 1,600 spm
Singer 27 & 127 (Sphinx)
Full-size vibrating-shuttle machines with the long ‘bullet’ bobbin — home of the Sphinx decals.
- Size
- Full size
- Bobbin
- Long shuttle
- Weight
- About 27 lb
- Bed size
- 14-5/8 x 7 in
Model identifier
Not sure which model you have?
Singer rarely printed the model number on the machine. Slide open the plate beside the needle: the bobbin you find there is the best clue you have.
Looking after it
Six rules for an old Singer
Most vintage Singers were built to be repaired. These habits keep one sewing, and protect the finish that gives it its value.
Use only sewing machine oil
Proper sewing machine oil is a thin oil with no additives that leave varnish. Avoid 3-in-1, household, automotive and penetrating oils. WD-40 is a water-displacing product and does not lubricate for long.
Clear lint before oiling
Take off the needle plate and brush lint out of the feed dogs and bobbin area, sweeping it towards the front so it does not go into the gears. After oiling, stitch on a scrap of fabric to take up any excess oil.
Check whether the motor takes grease or oil
Some Singer motors have grease tubes with sprung felt wicks, and others have oil wicks. Never put oil in a grease-type motor, because it can seep in and contaminate the windings. Starving an oil-type motor causes overheating.
Be gentle with the finish and decals
The black finish is shellac over enamel with gold decals. Alcohol, ammonia, citrus or water-based cleaners and solvents can whiten the shellac or 'silver' the decals, and that damage cannot be undone. A soft cloth with sewing machine oil is the safest cleaner.
Set belts to the right tension
A belt should be just tight enough not to slip. Overtightening drags on the bearings, makes a treadle hard to work and wears the shafts. A new leather belt will stretch a little as it beds in.
Inspect old wiring before plugging in
Rubber insulation on old motors, lights and controllers often hardens and crumbles with age. Wiring in this state should be replaced before the machine is used, because it is a shock and fire risk.
Compiled from restorers’ guides and Singer manuals; see sources.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what people ask us most. Still stuck? Write to us.
Where is the serial number on a Singer sewing machine?
On machines made before the 1950s it is stamped on top of the bed at the front right corner. Later machines have it on a raised pad under the bed, near the edge. Treadle and hand-crank machines can show up to eight digits; older electrics usually show two letters and six digits. The number on the motor is the motor’s own serial; it won’t date the machine.
How accurate is the date from a Singer serial number?
From 1900 the date is when Singer allotted the block of numbers, which was usually shortly before the machines were built. Some blocks were reserved months or years ahead and some machines sat in stock, so treat the year as a close guide rather than a birth certificate.
Does the serial number tell me the model?
Not on its own. Singer’s ledger recorded which model a block was meant for, but the lookup gives you the year and factory, and lists the models from our guides that were in production then. Use the model identifier to narrow it down from the bobbin, size and needle.
What do the letters at the start mean?
The prefix identifies the numbering series, and with it the factory and period. AA–AN were Elizabethport, New Jersey (1924–1964); the E-series were Kilbowie, Scotland; JA–JE St Johns, Canada; NA–NC Anderson, South Carolina. See the full Singer serial number chart.
My serial number has no letters. Is that normal?
Yes, for machines made before about 1900. They sometimes carry two or three numbers; date the machine by the longer, higher number.
Why does my result say “prefix only”?
For some factories, including St Johns, Anderson and Bonnières, no allotment ledgers have been published, only the years each prefix was in use. You still get the factory and a date range.
Is my old Singer valuable?
Some are, many are modest; millions were made. Model, condition and completeness matter far more than age. Our value guide shows you how to check real sold prices for your model.
Is this service free?
Yes. The lookup runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us.
Have an old Singer? Start with the serial number.
It takes a few seconds, it’s free, and every answer links to its source.