Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Targets Misleading Kids Sewing Machine

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So my almost 5 year old put in a request for this Lexibook Barbie sewing machine. It was in a sale catalog and I have been trying to find in the Target store in Australia; but unable as it was SOLD out. Finally I managed to log in to the Target.com.au website (it has been down most of the time since the sale start due to overload) and view the sewing machine. (as you can see I was already disgruntled just trying to FIND the product)

Basically it shows the machine sewing on the packaging, yet in fine print on the website (remember I have not seen the actual product packaging) it says *This is an imitation toy product and does not have any real functions. 

So why does it show it with a sewn piece of fabric? I am wondering how many people bought this thinking it would SEW 2 pieces of fabric together? Surely most 6 year old’s want it to DO something?

I think it is very misleading and thought “Barbie” branded stuff wouldn’t be so misleading. I guess it’s a bit like the Barbie car Santa brought to our house last year, no one except a skilled adult can actually get Barbie and Ken in and out of their car seat and seat belt.

So now I am on the hunt for a REAL sewing machine to suit my almost 5 year old. I have considered one of those travel machines but it’s not PINK enough 🙂

Please leave a comment if you can suggest a great kids friendly sewing machine.

 

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Comments

  1. Hi there!

    I got this Janome mini sewing machine from Home Depot last year and it has gotten a lot of good reviews. It’s not pink but it sews really well for such a small machine. I used it just recently to make some pillow cases and it worked very nicely. See the link for details.

  2. Not nice :/ luckly you didnt buy it, it would have been even worst to see your kid’s face of disappointment when she realizes she cant actually use it…
    I found this links, nicely pink sewing machines, one is Hello Kitty and the other one is Singer. Even tho they sew, there are a lot of negative comments about not well done stitches, hard to make something with it, crappy tension, settings and lot more… But i have never seen a toy sewing machine that will work as properly as the real thing, more like just the “feeling” that they are using fabric and thread and something happens.

    Link1

    Link 2

  3. Maybe still get the travel machine and put some girlie pink foil stickers on it eg flowers, hello kitty etc

  4. A friend of mine asked me to turn a travel sewing machine into a child friendly machine…it was also not pink enough. I solved that by making a pink sewing machine cover for the travel machine and added some solid stickers (small and artisticall place – where she could see them) of horses (anything is possible). That combined with a small sewing bag (also in pink – the same material as the cover bag) that had the basics and some pink material (the rest of the material from the two bags and two other tones). She loves it.

  7. Hi, I can’t really recommend a good sewing machine but I do know that with the janomes, you have to spend I think it’s 500, to get one that has the metal parts inside and not the plastic.
    I have a janome mc4900 on laybe that I got for 1500 Aussie dollar, when they had the sale, my old teacher has had that model for years and she never had a problem. Plus it comes with all the feet, so you don’t have to spent an extra 150-200 Aussie dollar on them. Hopes ths helps!

    Oh you can also get a basic singer model in big w for200 I think and target has bother but think they were closer to 400,

  8. How about buying the machine that wasn’t pink enought and decorating it yourself. I saw the best machine at Houston last year where the woman had bejeweled the machine within an inch of it’s life. I bet you could decorate a common machine to suit your little girl.

  9. I have one called Sew Cute made by White. Can be used with batteries or power. Comes in Pink, yellow and green. The company is located in Cleveland Ohio in the USA. Model SC-20. Perfect for a child with guidance. Wish this would let me take a pic of it. It is cute. Good luck.

  10. Singer Lockstich sewing machine. It’s not pink but you can let her go to town with stickers to brighten it up’

  11. Elna Opal Mini is a great little machine. My daughter has one and loves it (though it’s not pink).

  14. This is not TARGET’s misleading item, it is Mattel’s. Craft Gossip has a far and long reach– please use your power carefully. This is NOT a Target product, it is a Mattel product.

    Also, I’ve bought my kids cheap travel machines before (2 different ones), and I am now convinced that they’re better off just learning on a real sewing machine like I did. I bought them a white machine from a thrift store and it’s perfect. They have a pink sewing kit and everything they sew is pink. They like the machine because it’s not for kids, it’s “just like” mommy’s.

  16. Hello Kitty makes a real sewing machine produced by Janome. Its on my 5 yr olds wish list! They have a pink and white version and a mint green one too. Hope that helps.

  17. I have to agree with some of the above posters — I just taught my granddaughter on my machine. All her “sewing things” are pink. She was six and we still just ‘sew together’ (she’s 8 now).

    The reason I choose this route is because those toy machines just cause frustration after frustration and there is nothing worse than having equipment that doesn’t work. I wanted her to “love sewing” and not hate it because she was using a toy machine that didn’t work!

  19. I bought my daughter a Singer “Tiny Tailor” machine some years ago when she wanted a sewing machine. She quickly outgrew it and inherited my Janome machine. The Tiny Tailor was a good choice and even her friends did some sewing on it. Now, I have adapted that machine, to do needle felting, so it continues to serve. Shame on Mattel for marketing a “Sewing Machine”, that does not sew….really look at the photo, what 5 year old would know, it does not really sew?
    Deb

  21. I also got my granddaughter the Janome sewing machine. It is a perfect machine for sewing for a new sewer. I got mine at Hancock Fabrics during a sale. For making it pink, you might be able to use alchol inks to color ot. I recently took corsage pins and colored them with alchol inks and it worked beautiful. Maybe some ink on a tissue rubbed on the plastic would work. The ink dried fast and I let the pins sit over night and they were beautiful.

  22. The key word here is TOY meaning just that. Toys are to be played with and “pretend” to sew. My girls had their doll appliances and sewing machine for dolls and loved playing with them. Keeping in mind it is something to play with and not actually use to sew productively. When I felt they were ready for the next step to a real machine I knew there are just straight stitch machines out there that would be useful with supervision to teach sewing on. We got ours at WalMart quite a few years back. It was about $40.00 and the perfect thing for my girls. I’m sure the cost is higher if they still carry one. There is no way I would try to teach a child how to sew on my expensive machine as they do not have the proper knowledge to use it. They need to learn the basics first on a machine more suited to their level. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Target for the company that makes the “toy”. Like any other store they just have it on their shelves because their purchase agent decided it would be something a child would want to play with. Don’t get me wrong as I understand your frustration and feel this is an unfortunate misunderstanding about a “toy”. And toys are not meant to take the place of the real thing. So I would suggest you do a research for a beginners sewing machine and if you find one you like have fun teaching your daughter to sew. I think she will appreciate that much better than the pretend thing. And before you know it she will be ready for the next step. Good luck and Best Wishes for finding the “right” product.

  23. Hello Kitty all the way! We ordered ours through Target. It sews beautfly and takes a beating. My daughter has had hers for years. She is a costume designer and takes it on set. I made couch slipcovers with it. And who doesn’t love Hello Kitty?!

  24. Do not buy Singer ANYTHING unless you are buying an antique- those are the only Singers worth buying anymore! They are mass produced in China with subpar standards now, and I couldn’t figure out why mine (multiple sewing machines and a serger) were so crappy until I walked into a Singer dealer and he told me all about how the originals were awesome, and then it was sold to someone in China who didn’t care about the name and started using plastic parts, etc., etc., and that as a dealer- he wasn’t even going to sell them anymore!!!! So I switched to Janome (who have multiple for every budget) and it has been heavenly! I even bought my daughter a mint free Hello Kitty Janome and it works great!!! I’m so happy with it!

  26. I had just the opposite problem – my SON wanted a sewing machine when he was about 5 and I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t pink or too girly looking! I ended up buying him a small Janome (I think it’s a Sew Mini) that was basic white and decorated it with stickers and his name. As he got older, we just removed the stickers so it wasn’t so little kid looking anymore. It’s a good little machine, so it’s very functional for both of us. And yes, my son is almost 14 and still sews with mom sometimes!

  27. I bought my granddaughter a Janome Petite for about 55 USD. It’s not pink. But it will only go so fast, even if she ‘floors’ it. It has four stitches as I recall but only one foot. A bit noisy but that’s to be expected at that price point. When she gets older (and bigger) she can use one of my Featherweights or my 1953 Bernina 125.

  29. Having clicked on the Target link, their description is muddy at best – it does *look* as though you can sew with it, and the included accessories indicate it’s a functioning product. :/

    I’m sure I’ve read good things about the IKEA sewing machine – it’s not actually sold as a child’s toy, but as an entry level machine. It’s not pink, but I’ve seen some beautiful customised sewing machines using sharpie pens. Or team a white sewing machine with a pink sewing basket with pink ribbons, fabrics and threads.

    Good luck with the hunt!

  32. We bought my daughter a sewing machine from Walmart and its hard to use and it can sew even if u don’t push the presser foot down. its a pain in the butt. i need to take it back but haven’t yet. I’d rather just let her learn on my Babylock and teach her to take care of it… or not. haha

  33. I teach little girls to sew. The Janome Mini is THE way to go. It is ALL abut foot petal speed for young sew-ers. This machine is a little tank.

  34. Am I the only one who thinks giving a sewing machine to a 4 year-old is a terrible idea? You know, quickly moving sharp needle right where your child’s hands are? And the battery powered one I used to own was so strong it broke the thread quite frequently. Maybe wait a while?

  35. I can see how you’d be disappointed by this product. It does imply it works. I had a little sewing machine as a kid. No recollection of the brand. I had to crank it to make it stitch, which was hard. I did prick my finger a few times, but that taught me to be careful. (I’d done it as an adult, too!) I guess I played with it a bit, and eventually learned to use my mother’s Singer. (Interesting story about Singer.) Regarding pinkness, I have seen people cover old sewing machines with cloth and Mod Podge (decoupage medium). That could be something for your daughter to do herself, perhaps.

  36. Suggest you either go to a reputable dealer and get a simple used machine cheap or get a simple Brother machine and see if you can get a guard for the needle and she will be able to use this into adulthood. Kids machines are a waste of money.

  37. We got my daughter the Janome Hello Kitty machine for her 6th birthday (it is coming up in July so she hasn’t tried it yet- I have!!) I will be getting a guard for it so that she is less likely to sew her finger. I think with proper supervision and rules there is nothing wrong with kids having sewing machines. And from what I have heard the “toy” ones are horrible!

  38. I appreciate all the feedback and the Hello Kitty sewing machine looks fun. (fir me too)

    A few people mentioned it was not Target’s problem. I believe Target, or any store for that matter should take responsibility for the product they choose to sell. A Product buyer doesn’t just randomly pick things from a manufactures catalog a whole lot more goes into than that.Misleading packaging in this case I think was an oversight.

    I am not out to drag Target down “I love Target” but I am disappointed in them.

Have you read?

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If your porch is looking a little tired after cooler weather, these ideas are a lovely place to start.

Add oversized summer planters

If I had to pick one thing that instantly makes a porch look styled, it would be planters. Big pots flanking the door, clustered containers by steps, or even one statement arrangement can make the whole entry feel finished. Porch plant ideas that keep showing up again and again include hanging baskets, ferns for shade, and larger statement containers with a mix of height, filler, and trailing plants.

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Try hanging baskets for easy height

Hanging baskets are one of the easiest ways to give a summer porch that lush, layered look without using up floor space. They’re especially good for smaller porches where every square foot matters. Garden advice for hanging baskets consistently recommends building them in layers and choosing plants based on the amount of sun your porch actually gets, which is one of those obvious tips that is easy to ignore until everything starts sulking.

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Hang a summer wreath on the front door

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Layer in lanterns for soft evening glow

Lanterns are one of my favourite porch tricks because they make everything feel prettier with very little effort. Summer porch decorating guides often call out lanterns or solar lanterns as an easy finishing touch, and I can see why. They work in pairs by the front door, grouped beside planters, or tucked near seating where they can add a warm evening glow.

If you want a DIY version, How to Make an Easy DIY Outdoor Lantern is a good one to try.

Refresh the porch with outdoor pillows

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Style a little porch table or crate vignette

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This idea pairs nicely with your seating area and helps tie together your planters and lanterns.

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Use budget outdoor DIYs to fill the gaps

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Summer porch decorating is really just about making the entry feel alive. Flowers, seating, rugs, wreaths, planters, and lanterns are popular because they work. They add colour, texture, height, softness, and a sense that someone actually enjoys this space. Plant-heavy styling in particular continues to be one of the easiest ways to make a porch look more polished for summer.

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