I have considered buying a machine for my 8 yr old grandson who loves sewing at grandma's house! But I know he would never be content with anything less than my Baby Lock Elizabeth. LOL! He loves all the features and knows how to use them all! But I'm not ready to spend THAT much for him! Actually I have several other machines here that I didn't spend more than $20 on, but as I said he wouldn't be happy with a machine that didn't have all Elizabeth's features!

I myself would go looking for a good solid used machine of quality.

I would buy a used Pfaff with the IDT feature. Can't beat upper and lower feet dogs for precision piecing. I have one I intend to let my granddaughter use as soon as she's able and interested. It's what I used until I bought my Babylock Serenade, which also has upper and lower feed dogs (won't sew without them!)

You have some good recommendations here. The most important thing is to buy a machine that will not 'give her trouble with thread and tension issues'. I made my first wearable dress when I was 9 years old. Prior I had made pillows, little quilts, doll clothes, etc. Because I did not have bad experiences with machine issues I never looked back with sewing and have sewed something most every day since. Can't believe that it has been more than 70 years!

I agree with sandy about spending the $$$ to get the " best"..... If this were an adult. But, this is a 9 yr old, who may continue her love of sewing, or in a few years that love will be in many other directions, so, at this point, a lesser priced machine might be a better choice...jmho.......and lesser price does not always mean lesser quality....as attested in some of the above posts.....

Just get a basic REAL machine. Watch the sales and you can find a Singer, Brother or White for between $80 and $110. Also, many of the repair shops have refurbished machines. And, ask your friends, many have an older machine that they no longer use. She is 9, this will be a great learning machine. As she gets better, she will decide what features are important for her and an upgrade will be a great future gift. This is also a smaller investment in case she is not careful about care or decides to go on to different things (upcoming teenager stuff!) and take a break from sewing.

What a wonderful person you are.....thank you, for passing on the craft of sewing/quilting. Since she is an expert at sewing on your Designer SE, don't go for the "child" machines, look for the best buy you can for the $400. Don't buy at Walmart. You will not get service if needed. A gently used Janome, or a new one in your price range would be great. Look for quilting featuress, since she likes to quilt. Ken sewing has the Janome 8077, 30 stitches, plus bonus kit of Quilters package on sale for $349. They along have the Janome hd3000 for $399. Either case, no tax. Free shipping. Talk to Ken about which one he feels is best. Great folks, .....I do not work for them. Best wishes...let us know what you choose.

My Viking Sapphire (computerized) is touchy and sometimes refuses to sew till I spend time to research the instructions.
But my cheap Brother (mechanical) is nice and handy for quick sewing.
After not sewing for almost a year rather than spend the time relearning my Viking since it refused to sew, I pulled out my Brother and started sewing.
Sometimes simple is the best.

IMHO Brother is the way to go.

I wouldn't buy anyone a Singer that is newer than 1960's, especially the new versions sold today.(I used to sell them) A Viking 116 is a good machine. The older Pfaffs that have the IDT are another choice, I have a 1222e.
My granddaughter is 12 and she just got a Singer 185J, its straight stitch only, but all she needs for sewing quilts.