Charming

My daughter loves having quilts but doesn't like making them but she wants to learn sewing, mainly clothing. God know I am not lacking machines but she wants a cute machine...sigh
So she asked me if I would buy her a Hello kitty machine (did I mention she is 17???) lol

I looked online and I came up with 3-4 Janome Hello kitty machines and she likes this one:

Janome 11706 3/4 Size Hello Kitty Sewing Machine

The rating is very good on Amazon but I would still like to get an opinion from my great fellow quilters. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and happy quilting

Prism99

The 3/4 Janome Hello Kitty is a very popular machine for taking to classes. Lots of quilters have purchased them (they are also sold in plain white). It's a fine machine for a 17yo, in my opinion.

JenniePenny

My process would be to offer the Hello Kitty machine as a reward for something like:
10 hours of lessons with you on one of your existing machines, or
Completion of a project

This way both of you determine her real interest and passion before spending the money. Give her a goal or a challenge and see if she rises to the occasion.

tessagin

I agree with JenniePenny! We helped my niece get her daughter a sewing machine. She's 8. She was really getting into sewing and it was a reward for different things. She made 3 preemie quilts. Hand tied a couple and SITD on the other. She hand-pieced some scraps of batting I had and also did a few things for me. I let her pick material from my stash and she also bought some with money earned. She is having a ball! We had wondered though if it was a phase she was going through because she hadn't done any thing for about a month or more. Turns out she was building her own stash getting material (old clothes) from the neighbors. She wanted to have her own and not borrow from anyone else.

Mitch's mom

I agree with the other ladies. If, at 17, her focus is more on the style of machine than what she will be making, I would hold tight to my purse strings until she has had a completed project or two under her needle. She will need to know the basics of a machine anyway and there is no better way to learn how a machine works than by using a very basic machine or a vintage machine.

abdconsultant

No, I would not invest in that machine, I like Janome machines, just not the smaller one used for children and quilt class. keep looking and vintage may be the best avenue for keeping her from becoming discouraged due to performance.

pocoellie

I think JenniePenny has the best advice for you. If she's more concerned with what the machine looks like rather than how well it sews, she'd have to complete several sewn items before I'd buy a "toy" machine.

Weezy Rider

Does she realize the size of the "Hello Kitty?' An older machine just might work better. I can sort of understand about her liking the cachet of the "Hello, Kitty" I'm not into brands, but there are just certain machines I simply do not like because of shape or color. I had a pink Riccar, good basic machine, but never liked the color. Did not like the Pfaffs between the 1400 series and the 2100 series. Same for Viking. I liked the 1+, but don't like the new ones. Wouldn't buy one of the decorated Berninas, either. I didn't care for the Brother PC6500, but liked the Babylock version which wasn't an awful green.

I'm surprised at "Hello Kitty" Usually it's Fashion Runway. I'd take her to see the machine if you can, and also a store where they sell older used machines. Let her play, then make a decision.

My daughter (around 8 at the time) learned to sew on my Pfaff 1475. She even matched stripes on a Tshirt. She wanted nothing to do with the 2144 later on. She hated the machine. She got the Ellure which she liked, even though the Ellure wasn't a top of the line.

cherrio

Bless her little heart! I have a 6 year old grandson who is begging me to teach him to sew. His military dad laughed and said if I promised not to buy him a pink sewing machine it would be all good. So, I am on the hunt also for a smaller machine for him. not sure if I can afford a janome but the search is on while he learns on mine.

mighty

I would probably have her get started on one of mine and if it goes well and she really wants to keep sewing she could pick a machine she wants.