I'd recommend a featherweight if all you need is a straight stitch. It's fun and light. The brother HS2000 with needle up/down and 70 stitches that I bought for my kids is also super light and only $200 or so. The Janomes mentioned above are great machines, but more expensive. That 3160 is a great main machine. The last time I looked at it, it was $630. I had bought a Sew Mini for my kids, but on mine (maybe it was a lemon-other folks like theirs) the stitch quality was awful and it was so loud that I didn't think it was safe for my kids' hearing. It was also so light as to scooch around. Sears recently had the Kenmore Mini Ultra for sale for $50! I haven't tried it out, but I was highly recommended.