Pls advise sewing machine for 14-year old beginner
 

Hello, Quilters. I have been sewing for 40 years, and two years ago I began to teach my niece the basics of making a quilt top. We finished a quilt for her bed two years ago, and today we completed the quilt top that will be part of the quilt my niece will give to her older sister when she goes away to college in two months.
My niece needs her own machine now, as she had borrowed an old one of mine. I would like to have suggestions from you experienced quilters on what would be a good machine to buy for a high school girl who is just starting to learn how to sew.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.:cool:

I would go to a dealer and look at different machines. Many times they will have a good refurbished machine at a lower cost. You want a machine that will work properly because nothing discourages a new sewer faster than a machine that is not easy to run. Sometimes you can get a nice one at a garage sale to and with a cleanning and tune up, it works great. There are also new, lower cost machines great for beginners available at a dealer too. Take her along and ask her what she wants in a machine. Kids will use their imaginations and get a lot of creative ideas from a basic machine.

What is your price range? That's always the first question I ask because it narrows down the options.

It all depends on what her sewing goals are. For my DD who is more interested in making quickie clothing projects and occasional mending, I got one of the basic Brother machines from Walmart for under $100. And that will do a whole lot more than she expects to need, but if she decides to do more, then it will still be good. I had one like it that I had used for several years then passed on to a friend since I was using my Featherweight more than that one.

cheapie brother will do. Its what I sewed on for 15 years before I got mt TOL models, and still use them for classes

I like the Janome Jem. I have two and use it for teaching kids sewing class. It's easy to use and can take a lot of abuse as what does this dial do while pushing or turning while asking. LOL

My kids and I both use my cheap Brother..I got it at Walmart for under $100, and have been using it and abusing it for about 7 years and it's still running great...I have been out of work on disability for the last 2 years, and use it many hours a week..I have made over 20 quilts in that time, plus other sewing..If this one ever dies, I would probably get another of the same...

I concur with the cheap Brothers. I have three different ones (one at home and one at each son's house) and they are all great. Not fussy with thread types or even if you keep them cleaned.

Whatever machine you decide on, just make sure it is one she wont have to struggle with. If that happens, she will give it up. Get the best you can afford. Costco and costco.com carries some. Easy returns if it doesn't work out. They have a nice Brother right now with an extension table for $169.99 + $10 shipping. Got this for my grown daughter and she loves it. She had a little problem with it and it was an easy return and got a new model that was in stock at that time. They even return shipping cost. Its at costco.com

I don't think you could go wrong with a walmart brother. I have the sq9000 and love it!