Is it fine to do simple clothing alterations by hand?

[smallglassbottle]

Anybody else do minor clothing alterations, hems etc. by hand?

I have late Mil's sewing machine and it's fine, but I just can't set it up and I get muddled and tangled up. I can hand sew fine. I need some hems and whatnot doing. Is it okay to do by hand or should I really make an effort with the sewing machine? I'm not naturally gifted when it comes to fabrics 😬

Of course you can, I don't even own a sewing machine so do all my hemming and mending by hand.

I can't sew very well, and I'm a short arse so all my trouser hems are taken up with wundaweb. Brilliant stuff, no needles, no thread, and no squinting to thread any needles either. I'd be lost without it.

Your local fabric shop or community college may have some classes. It's so much easier on a machine. Or do you know anyone else with a machine who can show you?

If it's an older machine they are hell to set up . It's fine to hand sew , I do both machine and hand but find hand sewing very relaxing .

Uh yea, why wouldn’t it be? It will just take longer that’s all.

I can sew, have a machine. But for smaller jobs I wouldn't bother getting it out. I do them by hand. I've even done really big jobs by hand. The only things I wouldn't do by hand would be things like sewing curtain tape on, or putting zips in.

Of course it’s ok! The sewing machine police won’t come round and tell you off :)

Dh knows how to use it and he sets it up and shows me every time, but I don't like to keep asking him. It's easier just to sit and hand sew really.

I always hem curtains by hand; much neater than using a machine.

I feel like I ought to be using the machine.

Do it by hand, it will be fine.

It is absolutely fine to do things like hems by hand. Because clothes these days are mass produced, hems are done in a machine but better clothes would have a hand sewn hem.
I do quite a lot of sewing by hand, including putting in invisible zips because they come out correct every time.

It's a nice machine. 1960s I think. Electric and does a variety of stitches.

Why do you need to keep setting it up? Once it's set up it's done.
Do you mean changing the thread? If so get the instruction book out or look for a copy online if you don't have one or get your DH to write it down if you really have to then you don't have to keep asking.
But yes it's perfectly acceptable to hand sew like they did in the olden days.

Hand for small things and machine for larger jobs ? That’s always been me

Both really. Lots of small jobs are fine or better done neatly by hand. But a sewing machine isn't hard to use when you have been shown, feels like a missed opportunity.

Hemming always looks best when done by hand, aside from jeans where you need the contrast machine stitch so it’s not obvious they’ve been altered.

If you’re neat and know the right stitches so you can make the job strong, there’s no need to use a machine. But for many projects it can save time and make a better job if you do.

It sounds like you need to get to know the machine so you can make best use of it. Threading it really shouldn’t take long!

I use it so infrequently that I forget how to thread it. I suppose I could make a home video as a record to refer back to.

Of course it’s fine to hand sew alterations. But if the machine is difficult to set up why don’t you part exchange it for a new modern one. Machines need to be used - you are unlikely to use it, so pass it on to someone who will.

I'd like to, but I doubt dh will let it go. He does use it sometimes himself. I think I have a mental block about sewing machines from school back in the 80s. I'd always be in trouble for getting it wrong.

That’s such a strange question, who would object?

The Hand Sewing Law of 1843 specifies that all sewing jobs taking more than 32 inches of thread must be done by machine, with the maximum sentence being 5 years of handwinding bobbins.

However hems should always be done by hand so I always close the curtains and refuse to answer the door so I can flout the law. Machining hems is the devil's work so I'll take my chances

Hem away with a needle, expensive clothes always have hand sewn hems that hang better.

Hand sewing seems archaic and I feel that I should make the effort and machine it. I worry the stitches won't be strong enough to hold things in place. I just worry about things I suppose.

Hemming by hand usually leaves a neater hem than machine.