Alice Harper has been sewing since she was a teenager, when her aunt taught her how to thread an old mechanical sewing machine at the kitchen table. In the decades since, Alice has made everything from curtains and quilts to Halloween costumes, children’s clothes, tote bags, repairs, alterations, and more than a few projects that had to be taken apart and started over.
That last part is important to her. Alice believes good sewing advice should come from someone who has actually dealt with puckered seams, broken needles, tangled bobbins, skipped stitches, shrinking fabric, and patterns that somehow don’t look anything like the picture on the envelope.
At StitchTested, Alice evaluates sewing tools, notions, fabrics, machines, and techniques from the perspective of an everyday sewer. She is particularly interested in whether a product makes sewing easier, lasts through repeated use, and is worth buying instead of simply being another gadget destined for the sewing drawer.
Her favorite advice to beginners: Don’t be afraid of the seam ripper. Every good sewer owns one for a reason.
Areas of experience
- Home sewing
- Garment repair
- Quilting basics
- Sewing machines
- Needles and thread
- Fabric selection
- Patterns
- Pressing
- Alterations
- Sewing-room tools
Guides by Alice
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