Singer Lock Stitch Sewing Machine and Activity Set

This is a toy, not a sewing machine. If you want to introduce a child to sewing, get
a real machine not this toy. If you want a toy, get something else because this one
is useless.

This was received as a gift to my daughter and after wasting two hours on it we've concluded
that giving her a sewing machine was a great idea (it turns out she is very interested in
learning how to sew), but that this particular machine was a poor choice.

The poor design and low quality of construction of this sewing machine is obvious - lots
of plastic, a flimsy pedal, vague instructions, and things that are not aligned properly.
Those qualities lead to frustration at every turn when trying to actually use.

First we tried to thread the thing. The instructions did not make it clear exactly where
to wind the thread around the tensioner (the physical part had three potential areas the
thread could be wrapped...Read more

Two of my sewing students received machines for Christmas and brought them to their first lesson. I was thrilled they'd both gotten Singer sewing machines! It didn't take long to see there is a vast difference in the two. The Lockstitch Elite is a TOY. Most of the parts and supplies are plastic. The presser foot is much too large and clunky. The only way to thread the needle is to use the needle threader, which is quite challenging to a young novice who lacks the coordination to achieve that.

Then there is the bobbin. I've been sewing for 25 years and I have never been so frustrated or confused by a bobbin system! Winding the bobbin is much more complicated than it needs to be. The instructions are terrible. The bobbin floats around because there is no real case in which to place it. Once the thread is actually caught by the needle, it becomes a tangled mess before a dozen stitches are made. There is very little about this machine that is kid-friendly...Read more

I bought this for my 7 y/o granddaughter to teach her the basics of sewing. It is impossible to thread. The needle's eye doesn't come up far enough to even thread it. Ok, so I found a work around. Then I took the bobbin out to teach her about that. Well, FORGET trying to get it back in there and then LOOP it around this impossible small slit. We both trying for over an 1.5. Needless to say, trying to sew when the bobbin tension is non-existent is impossible. I researched all comments for every "children" sewing machines. None were that good, but the was the best of the worst. I am returning this and buying her an inexpensive "real" machine. Both of us were very disappointed.