Singer Simple 3223 Sewing Machine, Pink/White

Product Information

Jane is the Editor of SewingFromHome.com and has over two decades of experience sewing, knitting and embroidering. She runs a small teaching business in her native Kansas and is passionate about helping her students learn a variety of crafting skills. The presser foot with a finger guard is a nice touch, as is the top loading bobbin system and two needle positions. There are enough features and options for your kid to learn and grow with the machine. You can find even more information about these sewing machine features in our What to Look for in a Sewing Machine section. This Singer ZigZag machine is probably the most popular sewing machine for kids on the market — although it’s truthfully more like an advanced sewing toy rather than a particularly utilitarian machine.

The Singer Start 1304 is technically more of a beginners’ sewing machine rather than one specifically for kids, but we think it’s a great fit for older children and responsible teenagers. Drop-in bobbin housing is located near the needle plate while a front-loading bobbin housing is found by removing the free arm extension and flipping down a cover. Drop-in bobbins can be easier for beginners as they don’t have a removable case that must be aligned properly like front-loading bobbins.

Quiet & precise sewing

We've loved using this machine over the past two months, and the variety of stitches available makes it fun to dream up new projects. We stand by our initial assessment that this machine is definitely geared toward more advanced sewists, as some of the functionalities may be too overwhelming for someone who has never used a sewing machine.

December, 2011 Inspiration Revisiting my John Lewis JL Mini sewing machine – a review for beginners This machine can handle both lighter cotton and higher-density weaves like denim. It’s easy to cycle through all of the 165 stitch options on the digital screen, which also suggests which compatible presser foot to use. In addition to your standard functional stitches, of which there are 110, the remaining 55 stitches are alphanumeric options so you can even try your hand at monogramming. However, there is only one font. We loved using this sewing machine with the wide table extension, which would make quilting and larger clothes projects easier to manage. This machine is also just over 10 pounds, which makes it one of the lightest options in our roundup, and it has a carrying handle and hard cover case. Carrying handles are not uncommon on machines, but we think this model would be a more portable option for trips to sewing classes or different work areas. Generally, the lower priced machines won’t have quite as many features as the higher priced machines, and you should expect to see a bump in price for well known brands like Singer and Janome.

Similarly, most sewing machines come with multiple presser feet, and these attachments allow you to complete different sewing tasks. Most machines have separate feet for general sewing, buttonholes, zippers, and blind hems. More advanced models may also come with specialty feet, such as options for darning, overstitching, and more. Our best for beginners machine, the Brother CS7000X Sewing and Quilting Machine, has 70 stitch options and comes with 10 presser feet. We found the array of stitches to be sufficient for sewists just diving into the craft, and there were more than enough presser feet to accomplish a variety of projects.

While we would not recommend this machine for the average user, an experienced and avid sewist could spend hours learning all of the features loaded onto the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9850 Embroidery and Sewing Machine. With 200 built-in stitches and a maximum sewing speed of 1,000 stitches per minute, you’ll be well on your way to creating some fabulous pieces. After testing this machine, we feel it's safe to say that every basic function is slightly elevated. There is also two speed control, so you can adjust the machine to your child’s ability and confidence level. We recommend keeping a close eye on the amount of thread you have on your bobbin and spool before starting a detailed embroidery design and be sure to also carefully watch the needle throughout the design process. As with many things in this life, higher cost doesn’t necessarily mean higher quality — although it may give at least some indication.

BERNINA 770 QE

Your best bet is to set your budget first, and then take a look at the absolute best you can buy within that budget. Keep your seams strong and prevent bunching on any type of fabric with adjustable stitch length and zigzag width. But the Singer Start 1304 is also incredibly easy to use, thanks to the automatic bobbin winding, pre-set stitch widths and lengths, and the dial with which to choose your stitches. Needle positions can be changed for individual projects including inserting zips, cording and topstitching.

Computerized machines will offer more innovative features like automatic buttonhole capabilities, thread-cutting buttons, and automatic tension settings, which help both experts and beginners. And even if you ignore the above, take one piece of advice from me – NEVER EVER EVER BUY A MODERN SINGER MACHINE. Vintage Singers are great, but modern ones are a total POS trading on the famous name. Awful.) It sports plenty more features that the other children’s sewing machines on this list, including 6 built-in stitches and a free arm facility. Of course, Singer, Janome and Brother all offer a number of great, kid friendly sewing machines, but there are a few other brands you should keep an open mind for, as well. While you may want your child to have plenty of creative freedom, we think it’s best to keep things simple and uncomplicated when they’re first starting out. Opt for sewing machines that have just a basic set of stitches, rather than hundreds, and make sure that there’s a good light on the workspace to ensure there’s no eye straining.We initially thought the sewing speed was a bit fast, but once we added the walking foot, we found it adjusted the speed to what we consider to be the perfect pace. Like other computerized sewing machines in our roundup, this Juki does have an automatic thread cutter button. However, we also learned that the foot pedal has a thread-cutting shortcut (the blue raised pad on the top of the pedal), which we accidentally pressed while in the middle of our stitching. This could certainly be a frustrating quirk while working on any project, so we suggest keeping your foot lower on the pedal. If you feel coordinated enough or are familiar with it, you can always switch out the foot pedal for the knee lever attachment—which functions the same as the foot pedal, except you raise and lower your knee to make the machine run. Overall, the basic design of this Juki sewing machine only further emphasizes how some of the frills of computerized machines aren’t always necessary, even for the most advanced sewists. Because of her personal experience with sewing machines, Phelps assisted our research and testing team by making product purchasing suggestions and reviewing the methodology for our lab test. Once our testing was complete, she made the product selections you see in this roundup based on their performance. This sewing machine has a number of advanced functions that we've loved using over the past few months. We love that the size of decorative stitches can be enlarged, so you may find it easier to cover larger squares and quilt patterns more efficiently. Additionally, the stitch selection keypad is very intuitive to control despite the overwhelming number of stitches. We don't think this machine is the best option for carrying to classes, as it is very heavy, so it's best left out in a dedicated space.