Janome Janome Portable Easy-to-Use 5-Pound Mechanical Sewing Machine

I am an experienced sewer and quilter. While my most recent sewing machine is a Bernina the one before this was a Janome that I loved. I bought this machine for my 8 year old grand-daughter who has shown interest by 'quilting' a few table runners on my machine. She made her first patchy pillow today and had a ball. The machine sews quite nicely at a medium speed on full foot pressure so was perfect for her. Next time she wants to try out the fancy stitches. (I tried a few without her to see how they sew and they also were nice.)

After reading the instructions, this machine is very easy to operate. I bought it for my 7 year old daughter who loves to sew. With supervision she is able to operate it very easily.

I purchased this sewing machine for my 8 year old niece. Was looking for a good starter that wasn't too expensive. This one went on sale and I purchased the purple. She loved the color. It is nice and bright. The good features are the needle guard that make it hard to get your finger under there. I was worried someone would get hurt. It has only the one speed which is good for the beginner. I do wish it had a light in the sewing area. It is hard for me to get used to that having a regular sewing machine with a light. She doesn't miss it because she has never had one. The other thing I wish it had was an automatic needle threader. She has to get that little threader out and insert into the needle. Makes it hard without a light! But she has good eyes so it is easy for her, it is harder for me to thread it since I am used to the automatic one. I am happy with the purchase. She has gotten good use out of it. It appears sturdy.

I would give this machine a 5 star rating except for two issues I have with it. There is no light on the machine. This to me should be a given on all sewing machines, no questions, just expect it to be there. I did find a bendable light I can use directed at the needle for threading etc. The other issue I had is that the foot pedal is rather small. I have big feet so that doubled that problem however, this is one thing that will be easy to adjust to. This is a very, very basic machine and that's all that is expected from a machine at this low of a price. It is a Janome and that to me meant quality no matter how basic. I'm very happy with this machine.

I have only had this machine for a couple of days, but so far I love it. No problems with tension, not overly loud, and sews through layers of flannel flawlessly. There are some good YouTube videos if you are having trouble getting it set up. Only reason I am giving it 4 instead of 5 stars is that I wish it had a light. I picked up one of those bendable lights in the sewing section at Walmart and attached it to the side which works great. Fantastic machine to tote around or use for projects when you don't want to get your good machine out. (I like to keep mine in one room and sometimes like to work on projects in other rooms, problem solved!)