Best Sewing Machines & Sewing Supplies For Kids, Teens & Adults!
Here at Cupcakes and Lace Sewing Studio in Loudoun County Virginia, we offer lots of private sewing lessons for kids and teens (and adults too!).
We often get asked which machines may be great for beginners (kids, teens and adults!) and intermediate young sewers. Below is a list of recommendations on machines and also supplies that we would recommend!
A few things to note:
- You do have to be careful when getting a machine just because it is “Singer” brand or recommends “best machine” does not mean it is good. There are TONS of terrible machines or “temperamental” machines out there and it can be very frustrating for a child’s learning (and a teen and adult!).
- In my experience the starter Singer machine and starter Brother machines are not really that great and you may end up wasting your money. The tension is terrible on those machines and the bobbin always acts up. They also do not sew well with knits, stretchy fabrics, and thick fabrics. We would NOT recommend these specific machines: Brother XM2701, Brother LX3817a, Singer Start 1304, Singer 3232, Singer 2277, Singer 1234, and the colored Janome New Homes.
- ALSO the tiny sewing machines on Amazon or other similar places (DO NOT BUY THESE AS THEY ARE TOYS and you will waste your money:) UFR-505, Cool Maker, NEX, Sew Crazy, Made by Me, MagicFly, Sew Cool, Sew Mighty are just toys and anything under $100 is really not good at all! You will waste your money and the machine will not be good for your child for learning purposes. The tension is terrible on these machines, has no speed setting making it more unsafe, and they just don’t sew through much of anything.
Our Favorite Sewing Machines: (In our preferred order!)
- Singer Stylist: these are the machines we primarily use at our studio! They are GREAT! I usually recommend these ones FIRST for kids and our adult students as well (but FYI the Patchwork model next on our list is almost identical because these Stylists are getting harder to find.) This is an amazing price for this machine. I love this for kids and teens because there is a speed setting which is rare in most machines and as they gets more experience they can turn up the speed etc. It also comes with a bunch of fun stitches. It also has a “drop in bobbin” which I find is a little easier to teach kids rather than the other type of bobbin case. We’ve had 6 of those for about 9 years with tons of kids and adults using them and none have ever broken or given any issues. This machine also has tons of decorative stitches, several types of buttonhole stitches and attachment and several presser feet for various uses. Currently they may be out of stock Amazon and on Singer website but the machine #2 on our list below is identical to these ones but a different accent color!
- Singer Patchwork 7285Q: Almost identical machine to the ones above! We also use these ones at the studio! Same description and features as the model above! Available on Walmart.com and Singer website. It literally is the the same exact machine but a different accent color and just called “patchwork” instead of “stylist”! Has the speed setting and the same “drop in” style bobbin.
- Singer Fashion Mate 5560: This one is similar to our two models we use primarily at the studio. But it has no speed setting and does not have a “drop in bobbin”.
- Janome 2212: This is a really good machine for this price! We have used these many times and they are pretty easy to learn on. Not to many stitches but enough to have some variety. Sews through many layers of different types of fabric and as far as we can tell also a little workhorse. Great value for the price! No speed setting and no “drop in” style bobbin.
- Janome 001 Lilac– Another nice machine! No speed setting and no “drop in” style bobbin. But a great under $200 option and the pretty color is a bonus. Also the nice thing with this one is it’s not as heavy as some of the other ones so a kiddo can help move it or you could possibly travel with it.
- Singer Heavy Duty: Another good machine we have used with many of our students (kids AND adults) many times. Sews through lots of different fabrics and layers! It does not have a speed setting and does not have the “drop in” style bobbin. It also comes in pretty colors like pink, and rainbow accents too! It is on the heavier side to lift. We would recommend this one more to teens and adults versus kiddos.
- These little awesome machines are an amazing price, maintain only one speed making it safer for little ones starting off, smaller foot pedal, have a light and they are very lightweight! We use these all the time for kids classes when we travel to LCPS schools (for 3rd-5th graders) for our after school enrichment classes or sometimes at the studio in private lessons for the younger sewers just starting off. Definitely a great kids option when you can’t spend that much money or don’t have a huge amount of space set up at home for sewing but still want a good machine.
Sewing Supplies:
- Fabric Scissors: We use Fiskars a lot….these ones are great. For ones who love color these ones are the same ones but in a pretty purple!. Leftie scissors here! Also little thread scissors are super handy for cutting all your threads and these are better for your hands over time when cutting tons of threads.
- Thread: coats and clarks is good, dual duty is good, gutterman is very high quality amazing thread but more expensive. Would not recommend cheap quality thread as it’s not great to sew with and messes with your machine tension.
- Hand Needles: for hand sewing!
- Pin cushions: magnetic pin cushions are great, or fun ones like a hedgehog are always cute!
- PINS or clips! long heart shaped pins! Long pins are ideal as they making pinning easier…they are great for kids and teens. The kids LOVE these heart pins we have at the studio…almost every kid that comes in comments how these are easier for them to pin with versus the small ball point pins! OR for kids you can get these fabric clips for at home use…less worry of picking up pins on the ground in your house. Also no chance of accidentally pinning your fingers! =)
- Magnetic Seam Guides: These are VERY helpful for kids when sewing! You use them on the machine (they are magnetic!) and it helps them guide the fabric and have straighter seams. Think of it like bumpers for bowling! We use this at the studio!
- Bobbin Storage: smaller bobbin storage, larger bobbin storage
- Great Iron! We use this Singer one at the studio. You can also get a small ironing board as its easier to store.
- Cutting Mat: great for at home use especially if you do not have a designated sewing table to cut on. This prevents your kitchen table from getting cut up.
- Rolling Sewing Machine Case
- Sewing Supply Caddy
- Tracing Paper: Great for when you want to duplicate or transfer sewing patterns to something more sturdy (than the tissue paper store bought patterns) or create your own
- Kids Sewing Books: Sewing School Book, Fun Dolls: Make Cute Stuff, Cute Doll’s: Let’s Make Cute Stuff, Aranzi Cute Stuff and Sewing School Book 2
- Teen & Adult Sewing Books: One Yard Wonder , Tilly & The Buttons, Make It Simple , Tilly & The Buttons Learn to Sew, Fun Accessories to Sew For Your Dog, and Project Teen
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn a small percentage on qualifying purchases via Amazon links in this post. However, please note that we would never recommend something we do not use ourselves, or something we don’t truly love! These are our honest recommendations and we hope this article helps you out.