PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

PCMag UK

Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Studio

Sascha Segan
 & Sascha Segan Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Studio - Toys
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

The Spin Master Sew Cool is an easy way to get started sewing, but it isn't actually a sewing machine.
Best Deal£59.9

Buy It Now

£59.9

Pros & Cons

    • Easy to use.
    • Can't hurt yourself.
    • Comes with projects.
    • Works with any type of felt.
    • Works with felt, not other fabrics.
    • Not repairable.

The Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Studio ($39.99) isn't a sewing machine, my 8-year-old daughter immediately informed me. It's a felting machine. That doesn't mean it isn't a fun toy, but you definitely have to moderate your expectations.

There's no thread needed here. Instead, the Sew Cool( at Amazon) uses a set of needles to mash together two pieces of felt. The needles are under a plastic guard, so there's no way to hurt little fingers—but there's also no way to get more than two pieces of felt under the guard. You can't use any fabric other than felt. 

"This really is a kids' machine because you can't sew your finger," my daughter remarked.

The machine comes with eight sheets of felt, some stuffing, some buttons, and several patterns to cut out, but you can also just use felt sheets from any craft store. It requires four AA batteries to run. You can also buy "character sets" for $10 each that provide the pre-made fronts and backs of little stuffed animal pillows, ready to be sewn together.

The toy is extremely easy to use, and works fast. My daughter sewed together a full pack of stuffed animals in about an hour, decorating them with little plastic jewels, and distributed them at a birthday party. While it's easy to sew the felt together, if you make a mistake, it can be tricky to separate the pieces; you're not just cutting thread, after all.

She then moved on to more complicated projects of her own, such as cutting out little felt letters for a "Home Sweet Home" sign.

Her major design criticism, as has been with a lot of these toys, was about how girly the Sew Cool is. As an avid watcher of Project Runway, she knows that boys sew, too, and wished there was a more gender-netural color option.

I'm concerned about the durability of the Sew Cool, which isn't repairable. Because of the non-removable needle guard, you can't replace a stuck or broken needle. Our unit lasted fine over two weeks as of this writing, but it's only been two weeks.

The Sew Cool Sewing Studio is indeed pretty cool, as long as you come to terms with that it's not a sewing machine, but a felting machine. A quality beginner's sewing machines run around $100, so for its price, the Sew Cool is a good way to see if a kid wants to dip a toe into sewing.

Best Toy Picks

Further Reading

Final Thoughts

Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Studio - Toys

Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Studio Review

3.5 Good

The Spin Master Sew Cool is an easy way to get started sewing, but it isn't actually a sewing machine.

Get It Now
Best Deal£59.9

Buy It Now

£59.9

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

  • US and Canadian mobile networks
  • Mobile phones released in the US
  • iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
  • Mobile hotspots
  • Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services. 

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

Read the latest from Sascha Segan

Read full bio