sewfriendly

Forgive me for asking this as I know I have seen this question before but can't fine the thread.
Both of my dgd's want a sewing machine for Christmas. One is 9 and the other one is 5. I have looked at several machines and can't decide which ones would be good. Of course, they both want their own machine!! The older one has used mine and knows the very basics but the younger one wants to learn.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Fredda

Skyangel

My Bernina dealer ( I work there 1 day a week) has the Bernette Sew Pink machine on special. One woman has bought 2 of them and is taking the classes with her granddaughter, who is 8. The granddaughter does not know that she will receive one of them for Christmas. The 8 year old had been loving the classes, and they want to continue to come on for sewing classes after they finish the machine mastery classes. She is going to start with a t-shirt, then pajama pants. This girl loves the machine, and since it's not a toy, she can grow into it.

The other one I would recommend is find one (or 2) of the older (70s) Kenmore 3/4 size machines that come in a rose-embossed clamshell case. They would be model #s 158-1030/1040/1050/1060. I had one I sold to my former boss for her 11 year old daughter who was in 4H sewing. That is a great kids machine and well built.

Prism99

I don't know if it's still around, but the Janome Hello Kitty was recommended for a long time. It came in two sizes -- half and three-quarters. The half size got bad reviews but the three-quarters size got raves. Check Amazon.

sewfriendly

Thanks for the ideas. I'll check both out.

Fredda

Dolphyngyrl

Brother or janomes are popular. My baby is learning on my mechanical brother but I wouldn't hesitate to buy my computerized brother SQ-9050 from walmart again. That machine has been an absolute workhorse and I feel it would be a great beginner machine. I believe mine was replaced by the SQ-9185 at walmart but it gets rave reviews as well. I also know the janome magnolia's are very popular but I have never used a janome(always been a brother gal).

Stitchnripper

Here's one:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...r-t205287.html

Here's another:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...d-t260383.html

Feathers-N-Fur

If you care to brave the crowds on Black Friday, Walmart has the Brother LX3014 for $50 or the CE1100PRW for $100. I started out on a Brother machine similar to the $100 one. I used it almost daily for 4 years before upgrading to my Juki. I then used it as my travel machine for 2 more years until upgrading again to my Babylock for travel. It still runs flawlessly and has never been serviced. I gave it to my daughter when she moved out. These are lightweight machines and Walmart has some cute rolling cases for $40-50 that would be a nice add on.

tessagin

The Janome mini is what I bought for my niece. At the time it was on sale for $50. She still uses it to piece and make small items. Her school had a fundraiser "Crafts by Kids". The children had the fundraiser after school during latchkey. I gave her a bag of scraps and a few other larger pieces. They were able to take their tools to school and demo if they wanted. She made about $100.00. The children who participated paid for a trip to the state capital. She really likes her machine and borrows my 401 from time to time since it's level and in a desk cabinet. going on 2 years and she maintains her own machine. She refers to the manual often. She's 10 now. She also goes on You Tube to check out her next machine says right now it's a little overwhelming. Wants my 401.

Jcarpentier

So glad someone asked this question! I have a daughter who is 5 and she wants to learn as well. My mom has one of the Brother machines that Wal-Mart had on special during Black Friday a couple years back, and we were thinking of letting her have that one. Glad to see it is an option! Thanks again for asking this question!

Notwendy

This might seem off the wall but have you considered looking on craigslist or similar for an older machine in good working order (i.e. Won't need any real service and has been in recent use)? I found three heavy duty Kenmores from the 60s in cabinets with plenty of extras and haven't paid more than $80 (2 were under $50).

They often come in nice colors (I have green, lavender & blue) and they sew like tanks - sewing through denim, etc with ease.

While they aren't exactly portable, even out of the table, they have many advantages for new and/or young sewers. They are easy to maintain and troubleshoot, so won't discourage someone by being finicky or in need of expensive shop visits.
They sew through anything making experimenting with various fabrics fun.
Many have fun extras such as cams for decorative stitches and take standard feet and needles.
Being all or mostly metal, they withstand inexpert handling and many have heavy-duty motors that can't be matched by inexpensive, plastic models.

just my .02 as a fairly new sewer and quilter - plus the search is its own fun - they can each help find one they like, even if it means a bit later than Christmas.