How difficult is it to use those hand held little sewing machines,,for a complete novice at turning up hems and stuff !!

[bizzey]

Hi .

I am a complete shortarse !

Very rarely do I get anything to fit me in length.

I get lucky sometimes ... but not often .

I have a summer floaty dress that is very long
5"" or so.

It is not for a special posh occasion .

Just tourist city walking in hot city .

I thought it ould be cooler than trousers .

(Drip feed ...due to leg issues I have to wear clothes that go to ankle or a little above )

Apart from making a pillow case when I was 13 in a lesson at school...I have never done any seamstress stuff at all !!

Thank you .

I use the iron on tape myself. never tried the hand held sewing machines - I have weak wrists and they look awkward to use for me. Enjoy your floaty summer dress!

I forgot about the tape !

That is what I always use to use ...

Could be tricky on a floaty dress ?? 🤔

You could trim iron-on tape to half width to make a more delicate hem. Hand held sewing machine sounds dubious for fine material, would be better to hand sew with a needle. But the tape is quicker.

I know it’s no help at all in this situation, but I’m short too OP and when I decided simply never again to buy anything that needed shortening, it was liberating! I now only buy petite, cropped, midi etc styles.

But I do like the sound of your hand-held sewing machine - never heard of that before!

As far as I know those little 'sewing machines' don't have a bobbin so when your sewing is complete it will unravel quite quickly as there' s nothing for the top thread to lock on to. I might be wrong and they might have improved but check it out before buying

I'm intrigued
I'm also short and only wear full length (and flat footwear, which also doesn't help!), hadn't heard of the kind of machine you mentioned.

Then remembered I've never done anything that should encourage me to think that would go well.

honestly you will hate a hand held machine. invest in a basic sewing machine or a 2nd hand one. there are plenty of you tube channels that will teach you the basics.

Could a local seamstress shorten it for you? I've used the tape before and maybe I'm doing it wrong but half the time bits come unstuck so I avoid it now.

I hand sew hems, as I get a neater finish. I have a full size sewing machine if I want.

(I have turned up the hem on many a pair of trousers because of being short-legged.)

Yes if it's a long term thing you might as well get a sewing machine. I have to shorten maybe 3/4 of trousers jeans and dresses that I buy and often sleeves too. You could probably find a local sewing shop that does a simple alterations class.

I have a sewing machine and am pretty decent at sewing in general. I got one of those hand held ones thinking it would do the little jobs without me having to get the big machine set up.

Total waste of money. Impossible to use in a tidy meaningful way and the thread unravels immediately unless you are very skilled and manage to catch the last stitch.

I tend to hem by hand anyway but I do use the machine to zig zag raw edges.

Don’t bother with the hand helds they are a complete waste of money. You can’t change the needle either, and the dress you describe sounds like a maxi dress, generally they are made from finer cotton, and the wrong sized needle could damage the fabric. Honestly a basic sewing machine will be fine. If you don’t want to spend much, look at a second hand one on eBay. The John Lewis basic model ora Brother basic model will be fine for what you want. Otherwise as others have said, hemming tape and a few hand stitches to ensure it’s secure works.

It doesn’t take long to turn hems up by hand sewing them, it’s a job I enjoy and find rather relaxing. If I didn’t want to do it myself, I’d pay someone rather than faff about with a fiddly machine.

I’d highly recommend finding a local seamstress. It’s a lot less expensive than you think. I buy clothes off Vinted and get them shortened, turn long sleeved dresses into short sleeve summer dresses. I’ve even bought two of the same short dress and to turn it into one slightly longer midi dress - I hate my knees!

If you’re slightly different from a standard fit (like 90%of us) a seamstress is life changing when it comes to being able to customize what you can wear.

Thanks everyone.

You have helped me a lot !!

Won't waste my money on it.

They are absolute rubbish - not worth the postage.