Product Review: As Seen on TV Handy Stitch Portable Sewing Machine

I own real sewing machines. I really sew with sewing machines, but I was amazed to see the Handy Stitch in action in one of those infomercial type television ads. Imagine sewing curtains or quilts or doing fabric repair jobs without having to pull out and hook up your big sewing machine. In fact, it sounded attractive to be able to sew while waiting at the car repair place or the airport. Cool. But still, seeing the advertisement didn't convince me enough to buy it. I remembered the Handy Stitch every time I saw a television commercial for it when I periodically would turn on the TV. Or, if I were perusing quilt quarters in a fabric store or craft store, sometimes I would see the Handy Stitch displayed to catch my consumer eye. Still, I did not buy one.

So what changed my mind? A friend on the Internet who shared their crafting projects and experiences with me was pumped up about their new Handy Stitch. They raved about all they were sewing and making on it while they were traveling. I started thinking of all the ways I could conveniently be more productive with my time sewing when I was forced into situations where I had to kill time. All I needed was something to set my Handy Stitch on and I was good to go. It operated on batteries, so being cordless was fantastic. Or so I thought.

I used one of those 50 percent off coupons Michael's frequently puts in the Sunday newspaper and bought myself a Handy Stitch at half price. So I was now the owner of this neat little contraption for either $5 or $10. I can't remember what I paid because I have seen them sell for $10 to $20. But I was soon to learn that my half price deal was no deal at all. The Handy Stitch was like a cheap piece of garbage. I wouldn't even want one if it were free.

The Handy Stitch was certainly lightweight, but not in a durable way, in a flim flam cheap way. It came with the batteries so I immediately set it up and read the instructions. The Handy Stitch came with some sewing needles, small bobbins and some other unrecognizable doo dads. I had to read the instructions about 4 times before I could even understand them and I know how to use a real sewing machine. I quickly realized that even if this thing sews it is not going to hold much thread, since the bobbin was the main source of thread instead of a spool of thread. I had a difficult time threading the needle and could barely se or figure out what I was doing. I finally got it set up, or at least I thought I did, and I tried to sew a piece of test fabric. No dice. I couldn't get the thing to sew. I tried again and again and I was convinced my unit was broken but I still kept brainstorming trying to solve the problem of what was wrong. About 20 minutes later and after trying to insert the batteries differently and re threading and trying just about anything that I could think of to kick start this plastic garbage, I finally got it to sew. I didn't even know what I did to get the Handy Stitch to work, because it was like an accident getting it to work at all.

If you have ever done any sewing then you know it is common to sew in reverse. The Handy Stitch does not sew in reverse and I immediately noticed this because I like to start a sewn piece of fabric by strengthening the seam going forward and reverse a few times. It felt extremely weird and limiting to not be able to reverse stitch. I stopped sewing and took a breather to gather my thoughts and try to see past the not being able to sew in reverse thing so I could still make use of this purchase the way my friend raved about it.

I sat down again at the kitchen table and tried sewing again. I was not a happy camper. There was really no room to slide the fabric in this little junk gadget. Additionally, it was difficult to even sew a straight line or even be able to control the fabric. I don't know how the TV commercial even showed someone sewing fast, let alone sewing anything at all. That must be trick photography. Even if it is not trick photography, they sure tricked me.

I was glad I had my sales receipt. It was like a bad joke and there was nothing funny about having wasted a couple of hours of my life. I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating this Handy Stitch would be for someone who knew nothing about sewing. Do NOT buy a Handy Stitch. It will only give you grief and you will debate with yourself whether it is worth the high cost of gas to return it to the store.