Good machine for a child?

[~mama jewel~]

My 10 yo dd has been asking for a sewing machine and I think she's ready for one. What would you recommend? I've seen some Singers on sale at Joanne's and there's a Brother at Costco. I have an old Bernina that I love, but I've had it for over 20 years & still use it, so I'm keepin' it I would love to find an affordable, good quality one that she'll enjoy for quite a few years.

[orangefoot]

Any machine you would be happy to use yourself would be good for your dd. My dd is almost 6 and has her own straight stitch vintage singer with a hand crank that she creates on. I didn't want her to have an electric one run away with her.

My own machine isone which no-one else must touch on pain of death but I also have an inexpensive Frister and Rossmann electric machine which has straight and zig zag stitches along with invisible hemming stitch, overcasting and edging stitches and some triple stitches too. I take it to our home ed group every once in a while and several children of about your dd's age have made really good things on it.

It is simple to use with just a stitch width slider, a dial to select stitches and a reverse lever. They like the overedge/hem stitches as decoration for the edges of whatever they have made which is cool because I never used them when it was my main machine!

[junipervt]

I still use the singer that my mom bought me when I was 7. I'd look for a simple used machine. Old metal singers are great if you can find one.

[Treasuremapper]

I would go with a machine that will use the same feet and accessories as your machine if possible.

[naturalthinker]

I got one of those children's singer LOCK-STICH machines (after wasting money on the chain-stitch ones (no bobbin!) at a discount store) for my 6 yr old, and after setting it up for her to use, was ready to take her over to let her use my high-end one. I do not advise getting one of the little plastic things!!! Once threaded it works okay, but just barely and is more frustrating than fun - and i have high tolerance for that kind of thing.

Though i don't own one, i've been impressed with the ~$99 ones (sometimes less, even) i've seen at Costco - they have a kazillion stitches, feed-dogs go down, etc. If it turns out my daughter takes to sewing, i might look into getting her one of those...

[Malama]

I think she could sew on any decent machine- one cool feature my newer machine has that my old metal machine does NOT have is a speed control. When little ones sew on my new machine I can put the machine to sew at a tortoise, where I sew at the hare. It's easy for them to be careful and go slowly that way

[AutumnSunshine]

This is my first post in this forum but I just wanted to second the suggestion of the newer machines with the speed control. I bought a Brother CS6000-i (they have many similar machines under different model #s) which has a speed control. I have been letting even my youngest sew on it at the lowest speed- no matter how hard or unevenly you push on the pedal, it won't go faster than about 1 stitch per second. The Brother models also come with tons of cool embroidery stitches which the girls enjoy.

HTH!

[lightheart]

A hand up for the older straight stitch only singers. A model 66 or 99, it has the drop in bobbin instead of a bobbin case. A model 15, has drop down feed dogs, but a bobbin case, which isn't difficult to learn but something extra to learn.

If your concerned about speed, the handcrank that the PP mentioned is just great! You can pull the motor off and set it aside until she/you get comforable using the machine, although you guys may decide never to put the motor back on...

If the machine is a 15 with a potted motor, it is a geared motor, not one that runs off a belt, you can't convert it to a handcrank.

http://www.treadleon.net/sewingmachineshop/index.html this page has links on handcrank conversion.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

I got my machine (Singer Genie) for my ninth birthday. It was my mother's that she recieved for HER ninth birthday brand new

I love it and still prefer it to anything else to this day.

[wbd221]

I bought a bunch of these Brother XL2600I machines for middle and high school sewing students and have no complaints! http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewi...3/product.html

For a lightweight machine that isn't too expensive, it has proved quite durable and versatile.

Another option would be check out yard sales and thrift stores for older, basic machines at a bargain price. That way, if either your child loses interest or wants to upgrade to another machine later, you're not out of a lot of money. I've had especially good luck finding excellent older machines at estate sales.

One caution on older machines: I've found some of them to have surprisingly powerful motors (faster sewing speeds), which can be intimidating for folks new to sewing.

[sewchris2642]

Whatever machine you get her, take her with you to test drive it. She has to be comfortable using it. And I would recommend a dealer over Joanne's, or Costco for the operating lessons and the after sale services a good dealer will provide. Unless, of course, you are comfortable in providing those for her. As for the machine itself, I recommend one that has a buttonhole stitch, blind hem, and one stretch stitch as well as a straight stitch and zigzag stitch.

Chris