Sewing machine help please

[Icouldabeenalawyer]

Hi all. I have a very creative DD who has asked for a sewing machine for her 8th birthday. She makes Barbie clothes and simple ‘outfits’ and loves designing etc. SIL is going to give her some ‘lessons’ when she gets it.

she did not get this creativity from me & I’ve no idea where to start with what sewing machine to buy. Can anyone help please? Budget of around £70
TIA

If I were you, and I will be doing this next year, I would talk to the technician who fixes the sewing machines locally. He might be someone recommended at the fabric shop. I would avoid any companies that you only talk to on the phone and they collect from shops.
You want a simple machine that is reliable. The technician will probably have several second hand ones that he has refurbished at a reasonable price.

This might be helpful: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/arts_and_crafts/4910600-sewing-machine-for-9-years-old

Just Google sewing machines for beginners. You won’t find anything brand new within your budget but you can look for similar models second had. Lots of people give up and sell machines in great condition.

Don’t get anything “mini” or for kids.

Easiest option if you can afford it is up budget to about £120 and get an entry level Brother, Singer of John Lewis or Hobbycraft own.

You could try an auction site for a refurbished second hand one.
Slightly over your budget
Buy Brother LS14s Manual Stitch Sewing Machine - White | Sewing machines | Argos

For that sort of money you can get a nice used machine if that works for you. I have a lovely 1970s Japanese made machine I bought a few years back, but you probably want to go for something newer. Brother and Janome are both great. Singer are worth a look too.

Almost any full-size sewing machine will do, agree on finding a local shop that do repairs or may have one traded in. The worst machines I've used were very cheap mystery brand ones or mini/kids machines.
You could also look on Facebook marketplace. For instance local to me are several of the popular Brother LS14 /Singer Promise and a few old faithful 1970-80 era ones. Sewing machines haven't changed much so an older machine in good order would be just as useful as a modern one.

It's a shame your budget won't stretch to the £135 John Lewis one it gets very good reviews.

Aldi/Lidl have a middle of the aisle one but don't know when.

Check local Facebook/Ebay for someone who has bought than never used!

My mum is a very keen patchworker (i was going to say sewer, then realised how the spelling works there 😆) and she really likes the one she got in Lidl a few years back as her portable machine.

I bought my daughter a sewing machine from Hobbycraft after she had an introductory lesson with them and loved it. It was approximately £85 and does all the basics required for beginners.

The lesson she had was brilliant, and I think it cost £20, she was the only one booked on it so had a great 1 to 1.

@Icouldabeenalawyer make sure you get a machine which has some weight to it otherwise it will just slide around the table.

I bought the John Lewis one for my daughter around the same age, it’s very good. This second hand one on eBay is in your budget?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296377331986?itmmeta=01HX0ABT2NQKBSPKFKKNATJ8NQ&hash=item4501773112:g:ls4AAOSwW51mItLh&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8MAJc0UrZhQw1DUtXgloOud%2FcGLV0HiTxQdpYA%2BeZHyVg7jMSqsj29sYKJ1Sj%2FBBN7e%2BNb7y0TQLS1HJ5LLCVy5udkzLDYOjX97MTRcFfhGT6b4WXRdXcYtNWFix%2F0PfxtmIK4VQTGPxNYD3Wboc8qnW0KjAOmBdO1bHsKp0thReG2iv2yHciDOMxoJR%2F3M1I92v5fPz9O5LVYynDn5FdAQLEZgxaxLRGidu1WuBKZCtK4r4Bjb2xU7SmsNnoTcAGBDcT2wyYFBPyzA9C4wj%2FUC9IVGZptKSiUF4Mr%2B77Xt7GrCrtSUU66Sd31NQTuyscQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMsqGviuhj

This is basically the same one in that's in the works for 35 - just got my 7 year old it and I thought ran really nice and smoothly for such a cheap machine

If you want a new machine so that you have some kind of warranty I can recommend this Brother machine https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4602576?clickSR=slp:term:sewing%20machine:1:14:1 I got it for my DS to do a textile GCSE as I didn't want to risk him doing anything to my more expensive machine. It was great for what he needed, and when my machine broke down I used it for a month whilst my machine was repaired. I made a dress, some cushion covers and did some repairs to DP's cycling gear on it. I could tell the difference between my machine and this, but as a starter machine it is more than adequate.

Lidl or Aldi often do a sewing event once or twice a year and you can get a singer for just under 100.

@MoreRainbowsPlease , already suggested.
I got a basic Janome from Argos years ago and it's been great. I didn't need anything fancy.

I’ve got the Brother LS14 linked to by other posters, has it for years and it’s been fab. Done loads of alterations to clothing and curtains etc. It took a while to get the tension settings sorted but once that was done it’s been great.

The John Lewis machines are rebadged Janome iirc.

At that age I was given a hand turn old black Singer. It is great as a learner's machine because it goes as fast as you want. It's still going strong-all of my dc used it at some point.

a hand turn old black Singer. I have one and got it for less than a tenner on ebay. Had to collected but it wasn't too far away.

Thanks everyone, this is really useful, have a lot to look into here 🙂 will look into used/refurbed also. Have also been looking into the hobbycraft course for her, think I’ll book her onto one of these too, she’d really enjoy it too x

I'm another apprentice of the Singer black hand-cranked machine. They're so solid and beautifully made. These days I can see the advantage of having both hands free. I used to crank it for my mum. I think that's how I learned, by watching her...

The old black electric singers are amazing too. I trained on one of those. It only does straight stitch but it does it really well and doesn't get tied in knots. Ideal for starting out with confidence.

Apologies for my typo earlier. The machine is fine, the box a bit 'pre-loved', and I had to collect it from the next county, which probably meant a 1-2 gallons of petrol.

The house where I collected it from was in an AONB I hadn't visited, and the views I saw were spectacular, and the lady who sold it was lovely, so it was worth it.
I would never have seen those views had I not gone there, and it all made for a good feeling about my purchase.

I also had a similar day out over a 99p ebay purchase (table to put machine on as it's heavy) 2 counties away. Went to see an AONB I'd been meaning to visit for about 15 years.

I've not really progressed beyond straight seams though.

The brother ls14 in Argos is fantastic for beginners and has zigzag stitches for sewing stretch fabrics, easy to use and not too expensive.

I'd also recommend a Brother LS14 /L14 - I gave my old one away to a similar aged child.

I would get a move on though as the next series of sewing bee is imminent and I've noticed in previous years that entry level sewing machines are always in demand / low stock around sewing bee time due to lots of people deciding to give it a try.