Beginner Sewing - Kid & Cosplay Edition

December 27, 2021 1:43 PM

The highlight of my holiday was my niece in full cosplay, and her showing me all of her outfits and wigs. Her makeup was spot on. She'll be 11 in March, but in most things, is pretty advanced for her age. When she's interested in something, she will learn (and likely master) it quickly. I would like to get her a sewing machine for her birthday. Help me pick one, and complete the gift?

I know absolutely zilch about sewing or sewing machines, but I asked her, and she is most definitely interested. "I would love one, but I don't know how to use one!"

She's very big into anime, manga, and graphic novels. It seems most of her cosplay right now is anime-based, and consists of the few costumes she's been gifted, when someone could afford. She has modified some clothing; mostly in the cut and tie sorts of ways.

Given she will have [also inexperienced/clueless] adult supervision, most of the time, and probably won't actually require much soon, I'd like to find a *real* sewing machine for her. The ones marketed to kids seem a bit flimsy, childish, and like she'd outgrow it within months.

I would also like to put together some resources to get her started; beginners tutorials and projects, some basic clothing alteration (hemming pants would help a LOT), up through beginners cosplay. I'm open to any form of media, but super interested if you know specific YouTubers or Tik-Tok or whatever that would interest her. She has an Android tablet with a USB port, so I'm thinking about putting something together on a thumb drive. I live about 250miles away, and can only make it to see her 2-3 times a year. I'm already A Favorite; I'm trying for The Favorite ;-) hehe

posted by MuChao to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (20 answers total)

What's your budget?

I'd like to find a *real* sewing machine for her. The ones marketed to kids seem a bit flimsy, childish, and like she'd outgrow it within months.

I think you're absolutely right. Plus there's nothing more discouraging than a machine that doesn't actually work well!
posted by trig at 1:55 PM on December 27, 2021

Response by poster: I am ignorant enough to not have any idea what my budget *should* be. If I can keep the machine, and a good supply of essentials under $500, I'd be happy. I don't know how do-able that is, though.
posted by MuChao at 1:57 PM on December 27, 2021

I have a basic Brother sewing machine that I probably paid about $130 for about 18 years ago. It comes with maybe a dozen types of stitches, and I find that to be more than enough. Sewing purists really knock these machines, but mine has given me nothing but joy. I've made basic clothing, done clothing repairs, made curtains, pillows and a queen-size quilt. Only difficult spots have been with multilayer denim and yeah, actually quilting that queen-size quilt (though I managed it).
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:58 PM on December 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Also, are you looking to buy online or from a local dealership? If the latter, maybe you could link to one (or more) and we could look at what the options are there.

Without any further info, I'd say get a basic mechanical Janome (or Elna, if possible - they're basically the same as the Janomes except they have adjustable presser foot pressure even in the entry-level models). I personally would stay far away from Brothers and Singers - even though I've heard some decent things about them, one highly-rated not-so-cheap recent Brother I tried was incredibly unpleasant to work with and kept throwing weird curveballs I've never had to deal with on better-made machines.
posted by trig at 1:59 PM on December 27, 2021

I would strongly encourage you to pay a little more and get a machine with embroidery functionality. I have an older version of this Brother model that I've had for almost 10 years and I love it. It's very easy to use and never jams or has issues with tension (unlike a certain Singer model that I had prior to it that never, ever worked well).
posted by mezzanayne at 2:05 PM on December 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

Okay, that's a more than decent budget. Just looking at Amazon (there are probably better places with better selections, but I don't know them offhand) you could go for something like this, get her a fun presser foot set and some pins/clips, a seam ripper, and good scissors (or a cutting mat plus rotary cutter...) and put the rest of the money aside in case she gets really into sewing and could use a serger. Or, if she doesn't have an iron, throw one in - that definitely makes a difference when you're sewing.

For videos, if people don't link anything in the next day or two I'll try to suggest some.
posted by trig at 2:12 PM on December 27, 2021

Finally, if she does have a sewing machine shop nearby, maybe she could go in person and try a few out (covid rates aside). The reason is that sometimes you have more or less chemistry with a machine, and also that some machines give you better control over things like sewing speed, which can make a big difference to the experience. That's the reason I'm not recommending the Singer Heavy Duty machines, which are supposed to be much better than most Singers, but also are famous for letting you sew very slow and very fast and not much in between (unless something's changed in the most recent models). When I started sewing I had a really hard time getting a handle on things until I got a machine you could really control the speed on.
posted by trig at 2:16 PM on December 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

I inherited my sewing machine and so have never bought one, but if I were going to buy one - I'd go talk to the people who work at Joann Fabrics and ask them what they'd recommend. If you want her to be more involved in the process, bring her with you and see what functions she's especially interested in.
posted by bile and syntax at 2:18 PM on December 27, 2021

Oh, and apologies for the serial posting, but one more thing: I'd get her a selection of needles (like this Schmetz combo pack, for example). Different fabrics need different types of needles, and using the wrong kind can lead to lots of hard-to-debug problems. Better to have the right equipment from the start. If you don't want to get a variety pack, then start with three types: universal, stretch/ball point, and jeans/denim/heavy fabric.
posted by trig at 2:33 PM on December 27, 2021

Depending where she is, also worth researching to see if there’s anywhere in her area that will offer lessons for kids. I imagine she’d be less likely to get frustrated if she has some expert hands to help her sort things out when they don’t go as planned at the beginning, they’ll be able to help her learn about what fabrics are best for what kind of projects so there’s less waste, and the people running the class will be able to advise on what machine to buy her. Covid will make it more difficult of course, but worth thinking about.
posted by penguin pie at 2:37 PM on December 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

Okay, this is really the last post (can you tell I have a deadline tonight?) - I looked at the selection at Joann's (this is all assuming she's in the US), and I take back my previous recommendation. If you're at around the $200 price point I'd get this because it gives you independent stitch width selection (the one I linked before only lets you choose the stitch length). And if you want something similar to what I linked before but at a better price, then there's this.

Again, this is just going off the selection at those two stores (Amazon and Joann's). One caveat to my comment before about going to a physical shop - they'll generally recommend based on what they carry, which might not be the best choice for her. Growing up we had a machine recommended by a sewing dealership, and I never managed to get along with it.
posted by trig at 2:49 PM on December 27, 2021

I got a sewing machine for my similarly-inclined daughter at age 9 and here are a couple things I've learned: (1) do not get a ton of fancy features like embroidery or multiple needles or specialty stitches. you can always upgrade her in a couple years if she really takes to it. (2) the single most important thing is that the child be able to (solo) cut the thread and re-thread the needle and get it going again when it gets (inevitably) tangled and snagged. Otherwise much frustration and/or adult supervision required, which is a drag on the whole endeavor.

I went with a portable adult machine (a version of this one) and it's not really big enough (although it does have a foot pedal which was great). A regular adult machine would be better. Check the Wirecutter reviews as well.
posted by nkknkk at 3:08 PM on December 27, 2021 [4 favorites]

I studied clothing construction and am a pretty confident clothing sewer, and the advice I would give is to locate a local sewing machine dealer close to her and see if they offer sewing classes with the option to try out a bunch of different machines and then make a plan to purchase something only after they get the lay of the sewing machine land and know they want to pursue sewing. The shop might have trade ins that they are selling. Any machine you buy from an independent dealer will come with a lot of support, and a place to bring said machine if there are issues. I say this because I imagine that a lot of cosplay costumes are more about creating a costume then actually doing intense clothing construction. For a lot of costume making, a serger would be a lot more useful than a sewing machine, and there would be a lot more use of glue and other manipulation of fabrics than your basic sewing machine would do. One would also consider the fabrics the costumes would be made out of- stretch lycra= serger, fake fur+ heavy duty machine like a Juki.
posted by momochan at 3:10 PM on December 27, 2021 [5 favorites]

You will find that machines lean one of two ways, and this is not related to their price as much as you think: they're computerised things with 101 forms of stitch type, and mega simple machines that do maybe a straight stitch and some zigzags. You need the straight stitch and zigzags (zigzags get used on stretch fabrics, which are likely a cosplay thing). You can live without the rest quite easily.

I have one of both. The straight stitch one is the one that is used all the time. The other one sits on the shelf, but it cost me sub-$200 from Walmart and there's nothing terribly wrong with it; it's just that the basic one is much faster and nicer to use.

Also, you might check to see if your/their local sewing machine shop refurbishes models. They might be able to sell you a good older model that has been checked over for a sensible price - high grade older sewing machines (back all the way to the 50s, though I wouldn't stretch it that far) are fairly bulletproof, sometimes literally if they're made of cast metal.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 4:42 PM on December 27, 2021

She'll want good fabric scissors, a flexible measuring tape, and thread snips as well as the machine. Also a pincushion and lots of pins!

If she doesn't disdain stuffed animals, I'd throw some fiberfill in as well. A stuffie made like a fabric sandwich--something along the lines of this owl stuffie--would be a good early project.
posted by yarntheory at 4:42 PM on December 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Seconding the fabric scissors (you have no idea the difference).
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 4:43 PM on December 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

I’d look for a vintage, all-metal one used in schools. I’ve had a White for about 25 years and it’s very tough. EBay.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:50 PM on December 27, 2021

You've gotten a lot of good advice here. Mine is that she will benefit from an in-person class to get to know her machine, even better if she learns to read and follow a pattern. A decent simple machine is fine, good in fact (I would absolutely not get her that embroidery machine mentioned above, and I also have a perfectly good 15 year old Brother), but agree that you don't want a children's machine or something really low quality.

I wouldn't get a used machine unless you feel really really certain it's not a dud. This is a pretty good overview of beginner machines, and pretty recent, veers lower cost and more variety than the Wirecutter recs. I personally wouldn't spend less than $175 (or so) on a new machine for a beginner, but I wouldn't spend more than $300 either.

Real fancy cosplay costumes can be a pretty high level of difficulty (she shouldn't be starting with lyrca for example) but accessories and stuff for kids costumes can be pretty fun and not that hard. I made a costume for a play that was a pretty good garment after only sewing for a few months as a young teenager.
posted by vunder at 5:32 PM on December 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

For resources, may I recommend KamuiCosplay on YouTube. They have many tutorials, and are just really encouraging and fun. I don’t cosplay myself, but I love watching cool people making cool stuff.
posted by dorkydancer at 6:05 PM on December 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

I've been into sewing for many years and actively doing cosplay in the past 4 years or so.
Here's what I can relate:
I had a very basic Elna that I had for nearly 25 years. I killed doing some very advanced heavyweight materials - and this is one of the catches of a cheaper machine - the cost of fixing it far exceeded the cost of a new machine.

Here are the things that I find most useful from my machines for cosplay:

• A good solid straight stitch
• decent button holing (with a button hole foot)
• good light (this can be augmented)
• easy to thread and wind bobbins
• clear markings for seam allowances in front of and behind the presser foot

Now, that's pretty minimalist as far as must haves and a lot of the signs of a good machine are things that you can't see without taking it apart. I replaced my old Elna with this model from the repair store. Here's what sets it apart from my older machine:

1. it sews a helluva lot smoother than my old machine - I didn't realize how clunky my machine was until I tried this one
2. better adjustability in terms of satin stitch density, needle position, speed
3. better thread tensioning
4. needle threader

That said, it's a pretty expensive machine and it feels like it. I've also spent a bunch of time playing with this machine from Brother. It's closer to the Elna in terms of features, can go super fast, and seems like a decent enough machine. It has a shit ton of stitches which are, frankly, largely useless. Beyond straight, satin, zig zag, and triple stitch most of the other stitches have very limited usage. The problem is that simple machines tend to fall into two categories: cheap junk and way high end (think tailoring machines) - someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.
The suggestion to pay for a sewing class is awesome. Maybe you do it too? The gift of time makes memories that will stay with her.
Accessories that I've found invaluable: zipper foot, thread organizer, lots of bobbins, a good sewing box, pins (some people like clips - I'm torn), good scissors - for fabric only, tailors chalk, a good seam ripper.

As for getting started, look for super simple patterns. One of the first patterns I made was a Hawaiian shirt and it was pretty easy, although honestly the fit on the shirt is pretty crappy. Fleece is a really forgiving fabric and this time of year you can find cheap fleece hat patterns that are very straight forward. There are a number of mask patterns kicking around. This one is pretty easy. Another easy project is to fit a t-shirt. T-shirts are simple cuts and are made to quick to manufacture. To fit one to yourself, put it on inside out and clip (binder clips work great). the side seams evenly to make a closer fit to your body. Take off the shirt, adjust the clips for symmetry, mark the seams with chalk (or heck even a marker - this is experimentation), pin everything up and sew up the line. Try it on and if feels ok, cut the waste fabric away. Congratulations, you have a t-shirt that fits your body!
Yaya Han wrote a book about cosplay culture which she might like, although I've not read it. Cosplay, like any community, has its upsides and downsides. The downsides (gatekeeping, body shaming, etc) can be a challenge for a young person to help understand the bigger picture. At the same time, the upsides are great - it's a lot of fun to get your geek on and see other people who share your interest in costuming and characters. Feel free to me-mail if you have more questions.
posted by plinth at 2:56 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]