should I buy my nieces just the basic lightweight sewing machines to keep it simple or do give them old ones that i have? the old ones may just might be not good .... ??

I was going to get the same model for both, like a singer or brother.......

Well I wouldn't give them one of the old ones that isn't good. that would cause more frustration than pleasure with sewing. You can find some simple ones for cheap.

Hmmmm. I have purchase in the past couple months, 7 old singers.
Love them, they go the right speed, slow! and they are easy to fix. The parts are easy to find.
We are going to fix them up and sell them. 5 treadles and 2 electric ones

I'm keeping one treadle and maybe both electric. they are mostly red eye's.

Enjoy.

thanks!! u read my mind! overstock.com has ones and i saw a singer at Kmart for 69 $ A great xmas gift !! so they will use my janomes and xmas will be their own if they keep the interest !! and sewing baskets with notions for now!

I don't know about the basic machines, depends a lot on what they may be doing. I would get them new machines, they may be more eager to learn with new machines.
I heard the Brothers are better than the new Singers.

I would definitely buy them older machines. On Craigslist, you should be able to get a 50's era machine in good condition in the $30-$45 range. They last forever, have no plastic parts and are forgiving of beginners. I bought my 15-91 in a cabinet for $50. It will sew through anything you can fit under the presser foot. I also have a 1959 Singer 301 that is fabulous. I had a 1963 Atlas that was PINK. and also sewed very well.

Make sure there's interest there, before you put in the $$!!!
Or you may be the disappointed one.

Not knowing the machines ... the $69 are they "good"? Sometimes low cost is great, sometimes a disaster!!

What about getting one now, and you sewing on it some to become familiar and know it's well worth it and will do what they need it to do. Then clean it up for Christmas, so it's just like new .... and purchase the 2nd one. (they'll never know the difference if you zip it ...... and you can give it to them knowing they are good to go, and you know the quirks about the machine!)

What a sweet Auntie you are! :)

well i do have plenty !! total of 19 sewing machines!! 2 of which are the toy ones!! hmmmmmmmmmmmmm they are like little stray puppies to me! lol

Brother CS6000i is a good cheap machine...do a search here for recommendations or read other reviews online. It's lightweight, not hard to use and has lots of features that would grow with the girls. You can check Walmart, Amazon, Overstock.com or other places to compare prices.

I would avoid the cheap new Singers, they are just frustrating. I'd pick a Brother before I did a Singer.

Don't overlook Sears Kenmore, which posters say are made by Janome and have many of the same features in a more affordable machine.