Best Choice Products Compact Sewing Machine, 42-Piece Beginners Kit, Multifunctional Portable 6V for Beginner w/ 12 Stitch Patterns, Light, Foot Pedal, Storage Drawer - Gray/White

not very strong

I love this little machine. Excellent for beginners! I’m not a beginner, but this is ideal for small items such as my crafts. Children could make doll dresses or any small item for their mother. I really like the stitch options, so easy to change your stitch. Great value for the price and is really quiet for a small machine. It is more than I expected. I have sewn for many years but didn’t want to get my big machine out each time I needed to use it for something small. If something should happen to this one, I will definitely get another one exactly like this one. This was like an early Christmas for me!

I was able to make half a project before it started to act funny. Bobbin wouldn't pull thread, tension was off even after fixing it etc. At first I thought it was user error so I signed up for a class to learn about my machine and beginner sewing -- she told me "I really don't want to hurt your feelings, but this machine is a toy. Everything is made of plastic, you cannot use more than one size of spools and there's nothing on your bobbin to grab thread." It was trashed and the foot and needles were spared. Thank you nice lady at the sewing place! I am now saving for a better machine.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well this machine works. I learned how to sew on one of the fancier Brother machines, so my expectations were low for this cheaper off brand machine. But I was looking for something for simple beginner projects at a much lower price point, and I’m very happy with this product. The thread colors that came in my kit are different from what’s pictured, but it’s not a huge deal. They did a good job including spools and bobbins with nearly matching colors. I LOVE the compact size and how portable it is. I’ve only used it on battery power and I finished an entire project with it. It even handled sewing through like 6 layers of cotton fabric. It wasn’t happy about it, but it got through it beautifully. Some quirks: The bobbin is a bit tricky to thread up through the machine, and the instructions neglect to tell you that you need to lower the foot. It’s shown in the image in the manual, but it’s not an obvious step. You’ll also likely need to spin the hand knob on the right side of the machine a few times to get the bobbin thread to come up through the machine (the manual makes it seem like it happens on the first turn). Additionally, the arrow is pointing the wrong way in the manual when it says “turn counterclockwise”. Turn it actually counterclockwise (towards you) to get it to work. Once I figured that out, I swap out thread and bobbins like a pro. Because the machine is compact, it is a bit tricky to thread the top spool down and through the needle - I have small fingers so I’m able to manage it, but for people with larger fingers or who aren’t as dexterous, a compact machine will likely lead to a lot of frustration. I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 because my top thread keeps coming unthreaded from the needle when I start a new stitch, and I don’t think it’s user error. I pretty much set it up the same time every time before I get started, and sometimes it sews no problem and sometimes I end up with the top thread waving around in my face because it came undone. I’ve also noticed sometimes when starting a stitch, the needle will halt and make a slight grinding sound, and it appears like the machine has jammed. To fix this, I turn the hand wheel on the side to do one or two manual stitched, and then it’s able to operate normally from there with the foot pedal. Not sure what causes that but I can work around it.

A very good product at a good price and very easy to use.

Just got this machine and did a very quick test. Pros: it’s surprisingly sturdy, has a terrific “gait” if that is what the movement can be called, and sews like a charm EXCEPT: it will not even stitch on stretch tee shirt material and that is v v disappointing. Ie, i did a few tests of each stitch on three fabrics, a cotton twill, a light single layer denim and the stretch tee shirt material (spandex/cotton) first two fabrics sewed easily, the machine could not handle the tee material it literally did not stitch at all. So i layered it up to four layers and at four layers, i got maybe two stitches then it just didn’t stitch at all on that material. **update if you deal w thread fraying or breaking: first try replacing the needle (this worked for me, im guessing the one shipped in it was bent or burred), second check if your needle is hitting the bobbin loop/hook, third feel your bobbin hook to see if it has a burr on it and give it a few rubs w an emory board. Hope that helps.

I have ordered it for my granddaughter and she loves it. It is like a real one, excellent quality!

It's a really cute little machine. Works as described. I got this as a Christmas gift and my daughter loves it.