I ordered one of these little machines for my 6-year old granddaughter. It is not a toy. It is a real machine (not very sophisticated, but real) and I am hoping to find a needle guard to put on it before I give it to her to take home. Does anyone know where I could get a guard. The machine is made by Janome. I've done quite a few searches online and haven't found anything. Any ideas would be most appreciated.

I've never heard of a needle guard for a sewing machine. What is it like?

I've never seen a needle guard either. I gave this same sewing machine to my GD for her 5th birthday. It is a wonderful first machine. She has been using it for three years with great success. Me made a rule that she had to have an adult with her when she used it for the first year and we practiced safety skills with her. There has never been a problem.

It is a lot like my DGD Sew Mini. They sew fairly slow. Her first sewing machine had a guard but I can't find one for this machine.

Thank you for your responses. I have a guard on my Viking, which I purchased a few years ago for my older granddaughter. (I don't have it on all of the time, of course -- just when they sew). It is a clear plastic shield that fits on the shaft that holds the foot and it pivots toward the side/back of the machine to expose the needle so it can be threaded and then swings back in front of the needle so one won't sew their finger. It was $25. I was hoping to find one a little cheaper. I sewed my finger when I was 8 on my grandmother's treadle machine, so I am paranoid about my granddaughters.

my dd is almost 3 and I got one of those toy machines from joanns and I only got it because it had a finger guard on it. she is a little scared of how noisy it is right now but she loves playing on it. I wouldn't worry about her getting her finger caught as long as she has adult supervision till you guys are comfortable with her using it on her own. Unless she is really clutzy like me, (I would check her eyes and inner ear if she is) then I would maybe buy a really large clear plastic tube that you cut a slice into to get it around the needle and foot and try to gerry rig something for her. Maybe find a local fixet guy to do the tinkering for you. I don't think that they make them for real machine now a days. You could always call Janome and see what they have to say. I always like to call customer service when I have a question about products. good luck and let us know what you find.

Well , that sounds like a great thing to have for all of us!!! But I haven't seen anything like that for this machine.

Oh Shiloh, I did the same thing. My DGD said I must have said a million times, go slower, move your fingers away, and she is just fine and never got so much as a nick.......I wish I had known there was such a thing as a guard.....

Clotildes (sp) sells them online :D:D:D

I'm pretty sure this is a low-shank machine. You can check to make sure at this website:
http://www.clotilde.com/pages/which_foot.html

Someone recently posted a link to a finger guard on this board, but I didn't bookmark the thread. Maybe someone else did.

Meanwhile, I did find this resource for finger guards:
http://www.universalsewing.com/tek9....criteria=520.1

I think you can order through your janome dealer. <http://content.janome.com/index.cfm/.../Finger_Guards>. It won't fit the blue hello kitty machine, but it should fit the green one.

check this site out.
http://www.thecolorfulworldofsewing....ger-guard.aspx

My GD has a Singer sewing machine & it has the fingerguard on it already....it may be a toy but it really sews!

DGD had a Janome Gem but wanted the Hello Kitty sewing machine. It is a great machine to be so cute. One thing to know before buying it, there are two versions. One is a 1/2 size Hello Kitty and is a toy machine. Don't buy that expecting it to be a good machine. The real machine is 3/4 size and more expensive then the toy one. Several guild members have them to bring to classes. It's super lightweight.

This information is great! Thank you all. I did get the 3/4 Hello Kitty green machine and went to the Janome site. I hope the finger guard they show will fit and I can get it at a local shop. I will call tomorrow. I'll let you know. Gerry