A honest list of best handheld sewing machines you can get for under $20. You can’t really call them the best, you can call them the best of the worst lot.
Honestly speaking, I am not a great fan of handheld sewing machines. The reason is the lack of quality associated with them. They simply won’t last long enough. Stitches may not be strong enough. Even then, handheld sewing machines are quite handy for doing some simple sewing tasks and mending. Portability is the biggest advantage of all. That’s all you can expect from them. Anyways, you are not spending hundreds of dollars, so you can always throw it away if it doesn’t work as expected.
This is my honest attempt to give you some insight to the best handheld sewing machines available in the market. I won’t recommend these machines by my heart, but these are the best you can get of the worst lot. I have kept the list deliberately under $20, if you plan to go beyond, you will be better of going with a mini sewing machine. They have better quality at least.
1. Singer Stitch Sew Quick
A familiar brand indeed. Singer Stitch Sew Quick has been the best seller among handheld sewing machines for a while now. It became popular mainly because of its brand name. It is suitable for very basic tasks. It operates with 4 AA batteries or on AC using a power adapter. The funny thing is that, both are not included in the box, you need to get them separately (Singer could have included the adapter at least). I guess that’s where the cost cutting begins. The machine is priced well under $20. The stitch quality is not great, you can’t expect more for the price either.
2. Jokul Sweden Handheld Sewing Machine
This is the second best option. The stitch quality is slightly better than the Singer machine, but it is expensive. This is the most expensive machine in this list. It creeps into the price segment of mini sewing machines. The machine is pretty small and you can easily carry it in your pocket. The instruction manual is poorly written. You might not even get an English manual. Even if you get one, you will have a hard time figuring out things. However, there are some videos on YouTube to help you out.
3. Handy Stitch Handheld Sewing Machine
This is the second most expensive sewing machine in this list. It is good for quick repairs. It has only battery operation (4 AA batteries). Loose stitches and thread breaking are some of the common issues reported by users. So it will be a love or hate kind of relationship with this machine.
4. Michley ZDML-2
Michley is known for its affordable mini sewing machines. They have some quality as well. ZDML-2 is Michley’s handheld offering. This is the least expensive machine in this list. The stitch quality is not that great. Loose stitches is a common complaint. However you can do basic stuffs, if you are really careful and don’t subject it to rough use.
5. Sunbeam Handheld Sewing Machine
This is good for small mending projects. Since there is no option to lock the stitches, it will come loose rather quickly.
Verdict
As I have said earlier, I am not a fan of any of these above said machines. They really don’t have the quality I am looking for. Handheld sewing machines cater to a specific set of sewers looking for small, easy to carry machines for small fixes. That’s all they are capable of. If you are looking for quality you will have to search in the segment that belongs to mini sewing machines. You can have a look at our list of 6 Best Mini Sewing Machines Available In US.