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
- Brother PE535 vs PE545 vs PE800 vs PE900: which embroidery machine?
- Brother PE900 review: the 5x7 embroidery-only machine most people should buy
- Brother SE2000 review: is the 5x7 sewing and embroidery combo worth it?
- Brother SE600 vs SE700: what changed, and which one to buy
- Brother vs Singer sewing machines: which brand should you buy?
- Embroidery hoop sizes explained: 4x4 vs 5x7 vs 6x10, drawn to scale
- Embroidery machine vs sewing machine: one machine, two, or a combo?
- Embroidery stabilizer guide: cut-away vs tear-away vs wash-away
- Is Singer a good sewing machine brand? Yes, with one clear specialty
- Sewing machine needle sizes chart: which needle for which fabric
- Sewing machine vs serger: what each does, and whether you need both
- The best embroidery machine for a small business, matched to how many orders you'll stitch
- The best embroidery machine for beginners, picked by the size of design you'll stitch
- The best embroidery machine for hats and shirts, and why hats change everything
- The best heavy duty sewing machine for denim, canvas and leather
- The best serger for beginners, judged on the thing that scares people: threading
- The best serger thread: what to buy, how much, and which colors
- The best sewing machine for beginners, picked from what new sewists actually buy
- The best sewing machine for making clothes, from first T-shirt to tailored jacket
- The best sewing machine for quilting, picked by the size of quilt you make
Every guide shows how it was researched. See how we research and our affiliate disclosure. Questions or corrections? Contact us.