Check the Janomes. I got my niece a Janome 123. My niece was 8 almost 9. I walked her through it along with her grandma. We made her go through the manual from start to finish. This will be her second Christmas and she maintains along with her mother's boyfriend's help. She does a lot of things with it. She gets on You Tube for apparel sewing. She is looking for a used embroidery but not in a hurry unless she can get a good deal. We paid $50.00 on sale price at Hancock's. She and some of her latchkey friends had a fundraiser.