Sewing machine for 9 years old

[Purpletoes]

I hope you can help. My 9 yo dd wants to start sewing. She does hand sew and yesterday attended a class to learn to machine sew.

She wants a sewing machine for Christmas. Any recommendations?

Thanks

If you have details for the instructor for the lesson she had, asking them could be a good idea.

Don't go with a cheap "kids" type of machine, as it will just frustrate her.

Aldi and Lidl often have machines in their special buys that I've heard are quite decent.

I have a Janome machine, entry level (bought 15 yes ago), and it's still running really well.

I've found Necchi and brother (brands I have for other machines) also very good brands.

https://www.sewingmachines.co.uk/

I've purchased from here before.

If you search your area for a sewing machine repai place, you might be able to pick up a second hand machine for a good price too

I don't actually know much about sewing machines but I noticed a Silvercrest one in Lidl yesterday for £89.99.

Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will be able to confirm if that's a good buy or not!

I used a basic Toyota machine for a long time which. I agree with pp who said don't get a children's machine.

I got my dd a great mini one from hobby craft. Basically just a small version of a big one. Think I paid £35/40
The ONLY downside she's found is she struggles to get thicker fabric through it. But as a beginner machine it's perfect for her.

I don't think a 9 year old needs a smaller machine.

We had similar to this some years ago and a nice lady demonstrated it in store. It’s still in use. But my word, they’ve increased in price since then!
https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-jl110-sewing-machine-soft-pink/p6368341

@GellerYeller wow, those have gone way up in price!!!

I have one from many years ago. It lives in a box waiting to be eBay-ed. It's ok, but won't grow with her if she moves into heavier fabric etc.

And for the price, you are not far off a proper machine.

John Lewis is worth looking at, they are Janome machines , but branded John Lewis.

I have a brothers which is nearly 20 years old now. My mum has a singer and it is likely to still be working if she's not stopped sewing.

Don't buy a kids one. Get a proper sewing machine. However, you need to supervise her using it. They can go very fast when you press the pedal down.

DC goes to a sewing club and they use manual ones with primary kids. Maybe you can find one like that second hand too.

Definitely a vote for entry level good brand rather than kids one. My kids have found my proper machines easier to use than the little one because they are heavier so don’t move around as much on the table.
If you are price sensitive go for second hand and make the present special by putting together a lovely sewing basket of equipment, fabric etc.

My 9yo has a full size Hobbycraft own brand machine that has a good range of features at a good price (cheap enough she was able to buy it herself having saved a little). It is the machine they use for their workshops, so that was an added bonus for us.
The workshops are really good too IME. DD did a 'get to know your machine' course, which was an hour for £5. It covered setting up the machine, switching between stitches/tensions etc, and how to sew around a square and curvy line. There can be a small group at those workshops, but there was just one other at DD's. She practiced what she'd learnt for a couple of months, then I booked her an hour's 1-2-1 for £15. You can use the session to learn a specific skill (eq quilting), but I just asked that she was guided in putting together using what she'd already learnt to make a useful item. She made the first few triangles of some bunting, and came home with the knowledge and confidence to be able to finish it off.

Hi OP - Depending on your price range - I’d recommend either the Brother LS14 (around £90) or Brother AE1700 (around £130). Both are widely available and those prices are at Argos currently. I got the AE1700 about 3-4 years ago - used weekly since for various different materials and my DN (13) has the LS14 (bought about 2 years ago) which she loves and it recently got through making a denim handbag so about 4 layers of denim which is good going. Both very simple machines with a good range of basic stitches needed to get through most projects - a few straight stitches, zig-zag, and a button hole and a handful of decorative. They both come with an accessory pack which includes extra bobbins, twin needles, and instruction dvd. They don’t have the nice to have fancy extras like auto needle threader or auto tension control but not a deal breaker for me/DN and learning to adjust tension manually is probably a good skill to have anyway. I personally wouldn’t go for a mini- sized machine simply because if she does get the sewing bug, then as she becomes more ambitious in her makes, it will struggle with different materials and you may find accessories such as different feet may not be compatible - a generic, non-branded walking foot from Amazon for example fits both these brother machines.

Thank you everyone will look at all the options. I don't mind spending a bit more on one as I might use it as well. Although I am more into knitting and crochet

Echoing Janome basic machine. It does everything you need to be able to do, no fancy stuff to go wrong easily, good, solid machine. As PP says the John Lewis machines are Janome brand and well priced.

I bought a Janome after using a Singer for over 50 years and really like it. Don’t buy a basic machine as once you get into sewing you will want to progress as will your daughter. Our local store offers lessons on how to use the machines as they have changed a lot over the years. I would suggest a variable speed option as that way your daughter won’t worry about it running away from her!

Thanks again everyone. I am heading to the knitting and stitching show in London tomorrow lots of sewing stalls so will have a look at tye models and types mentioned here 😀

About to say this, my 10 year old has an electric blue John Lewis machine and is very nifty with it!

I would recommend Janome for ease of use and quality.
Definitely go for a regular machine rather than a child sized machine.
Machines made for children will struggle to do much past the real basics, and the build quality will certainly not be as good as a regular machine.