Hi Does anyone have any recommendations for sewing machines? I don't do lots of stitching work. I used to do it when I was in India. After that, I just use needle and thread and do have stitches for blouses, Kurtis etc. I don't have much Indian clothes or sarees. So I don't have any blouses for those sarees. Just have a couple of sarees. I did so a tailor shop to stretch stitch the blouse for it and it's expensive. I have bought a couple of Kurtis from India and I ordered a bigger size as I have sizing issue with online purchases. Those Kurtis are very big and I had to alter it by doing few stitches. I called few alteration places and they just said it takes three to four weeks for them to do this work. It just takes a minute to adjust both sides by running a stitch. So I did have sewing on those dresses. I wanted to buy a small and affordable sewing machine for my own purposes. I saw some mini sewing machine in Amazon for about$30. Have any of you tried that? Any suggestions or links please. Do any of you stitch your own clothes like blouses etc?
In my early years, i altered my indian kurtis by hand with running stitch. I did so many kurtis by hand now i recollect. For sewing, if u just want basic alterations, go for brother version, from walmart/costco. It is ~100 or even less like 80$ ( LX3817 something). One of my friend have that and love it. She bought it from costco for same alteration of indian clothes and did so many projects on that. You can try to find some indian ladies in your area.
I've tried quite a few types of sewing machines. Anything less than $100 is not worth it. My conclusion is that if one has extensive sewing experience and likes to do that as a hobby, and will spend 9-10 hours a month on it, then buying a sewing machine is worth it. If not, do the stitching by hand or find someone who does alterations. The well-advertised alteration places will be expensive. Try to find Indian or Pakistani women who offer alteration service. The beauty parlor ladies tend to know other ladies who offer tailoring service. Also, many dry-cleaning places offer alteration. To buy a sewing machine, keep an eye on craigslist or post in your local Buy Nothing group.
I don't know about this group buy nothing. Will check it out. I did call an Indian lady in my area and she said it takes a month for her for a kurti alterations and charges more. Dry cleaning place is a good idea . will check it out. If you stitch my hand, how does it look? I mean, the stitches are not proper( though I do good hand stitching) and the end product looks so shrinky. I mean the hand stitching looks like that. I bought a kurti from India online for about 4k. It's a grand and nice kurti with some designs on it. But it was little bigger for me. I called few tailoring places nearby to alter it. No one was ready to do it sooner. So I ended up doing it in hand. Didn't have that color thread too. Used black color thread for red kurti and I feel like I spoiled the dress. Because after I finish the hand stitching, it looks so shrinking and doesn't look good as how it was before. I felt very bad that I spoiled an expensive kurti. I have few more Kurtis for alterations. But I am just worried if I am spoil the dress. How do you do it with hand stitching? Does it look good when you alter the kurti size??
How does it look when you stitch my hand? See my comment below. Same question to you too. How do you avoid the shrinking and get proper finish when you do hand stitching??
This reminds me of the sewing machine I bought from Walmart 10 years ago. I hardly used it since threading was challenging for me. Every time my husband tried to give it away I convince him about doing alterations for his pants . He still believes me. My advice don’t buy it unless you are sure you will use it regularly. This is one thing I neither have time nor have heart to throw away.
So trick is to keep steady hand, go slow and try to have stitches uniform and straight. STRAIGHT is the key to avoid puckering ( i think that is what is you calling shrinking). On sides, it looks gathered at few places right? but first time, it happens and for me also it happened but no one is going to look close specially on your side seams. I had all my seams winky wonky, puckered but no one ever noticed. When altering, normally it is always sides which are also hidden by your arms and dupattas. Also keep sharp needle and matching thread. Rest is - all, our guilt knowing it is hand stitched etc. But if you do not know, many years ago, when machines were not invented or many wont use, it was all hand sewing. Couture is all hand sewing. On youtube, you will see many artists just do hand sewing, even their white bridal gowns. About ruining your kurti - no, just rip off stitches you made and redo. Take advantage of fact that in america, no one is that close to you like shoulder to shoulder to notice flaws in your dress. most people look at you from distance, praise your dress, and move on. oh, btw, I remember, my very expensive and fav dress, in bright mango yello, i hand - altered it with red thread still no one noticed or found out...
I got a brother sewing machine from Costco. While it's not expensive or fancy, it fits my needs. I can do repair work or alterations on it. I have had bad experiences on craigslist and on one of the fb groups. They sold me a machine that did not work properly both the times. I thought, it was user error. However, once I purchased a brand new sewing machine, it was so easy to use it. I have never sewn before and it was very simple and easy to use this machine. If you have prior experience in using sewing machines, make sure that you are test driving it before buying it used.
