My eldest daughter(Anna 13) uses my maching an ellure plus.
I have a soon to be 8 yr old (Eimly) that is interested in what Im doing. I waited till Anna was 12 before I let her sew, and it was on a Singer from the 70's.

My old Singer, has issues.
I have read on here about how some of you are letting your girls about Emilys age sew already and that they do well.
She wants to sew, and I am attaching her "quilt" that she taped together from my scraps.
My question is there a kid friendly machine that works well?
I have seen the Hello Kitty ones, but I worry that I am paying for the license on the character and not getting a quality machine.
Part of me is scared to death to let her quilt. What if she loses a finger! LOL I know, overbearing. But I don't want to miss this oppurtunity to catch her while she is really interested in this hobby.

I would go for an inexpensive brother I bought my granddaughter age 7 a Jamome Jem and she does so much better on the full size machine

The Hello Kitty is the same as the Janome Jem that is sold by Sears Kenmore. There isn't much difference in price, but the Sears machine is probably a little cheaper and of course will remain a "grownup"-looking machine forever! I would say make a note of the features on the Hello Kitty, maybe print out a picture of it, and take it to Sears to get the equivalent machine there. If you can't get the Sears Kenmore version, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the Hello Kitty version.

Have you checked the reviews on the Hello Kitty? They are uniformly good. Try Amazon and Overstock.com, or just Google "Hello Kitty" reviews.

For my boys, ages 7 & 9, I have a Brother HS 2000, which is actually fabulous for $200. Only caveat is that the needle is off- center when I starts, so they have to remember to set the right stitch for straight stitching with the patchwork foot. I bought a Kenmore Mini Ultra for $50 from Sears on the advice of others, but haven't tried it yet. I also let them use a featherweight. On the vertical bobbin machines, I load the bobbin for them to avoid problems. So far, no thread nests or hurt fingers, and these are wild and crazy BOYS, so I think a girl that age ought to be fine.

My 8 yr old DGD loved my Janome 3128. It is the right size and does not intimidate a child. if she wANTS TO SEW and sees you sewing your machine would be fine. Most here learned on mother or grandmothers machine. Like many things I came from a one machine household.
By the way Hancocks puts this machine on sale regularly for less then $100.00.

I have see some machines in Pawn shops, Of cource we live close to Fort Hood, a lot of families that move in and out of the area.

Yes, I definitely would let her sew. My almost 4 year old grandson sews on my lap and he has learned to pin and use scissors. I keep my rotary cutters and seam rippers on a skyhook, but he does enjoy playing with my older ruler. His favorite thing to do when he comes over is sew. I guide the fabric through the machine and he rests his little hands on top of mine. He loves fabric and sewing machines. I set him up with some fabric in a hoop and he practices hand sewing that I later take out and replace with another piece. Have fun and enjoy each others company and closeness.

Since she is 8, I would start her on a full-size machine. It won't be long and she'll out grow the little one. Since she is enthusiastic about it, she should catch on quickly.

I just bought a Janome Mini from Home Depot for $70.00 for my 5yo Granddaughter. It goes slow so I don't worry so much about her sewing a finger. The only problem I had with it was getting the tension right, lot of playing with tension and different threads but it works great, I have even used it myself a couple of times.

Some of the less expensive Brother's have a speed control. My daughter lets her sixth graders sew on this type and they are able to use it with little instruction. Every year her class makes donation quilts. I think an 8 yr old would be able to use this quite easily too.