Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had this on my wish list for a long time. It's not a need, but a want—something to make hemming easier, quicker, maybe even safer (fewer little burns for me)! Hooray! Only now that I've had it for a while and used it on several projects with all different kinds and weights of fabrics so that I can review it properly, it's not the miracle helper I hoped for. First, as a couple of reviewers mentioned, it's pretty thick. Over 1/16 of an inch, but not quite 1/8", I'd say. So if you love devastating accuracy on your hems, you either have to give that up or adjust your thinking... is 5/8" *plus* almost 1/8" okay with you, or will you back each section of fabric off the 5/8" mark by the thickness of the hemmer? I've been backing off. Annoying. Then, also because it's pretty thick, when you remove the hemmer to move on to the next section, you realize you haven't got so much of a crisp line as a soft roll. Because all you've done is sort of convince an L shape (1/8" thick) to form on top where the iron was meeting the fabric, not heat all the way through the thickness of the hemmer (if that makes sense). So now you have to press down that L to the underneath fabric once the hemmer's out of the way in order to get a crisp line, otherwise the soft roll is likely to be gone by the time you make it all the way around your sleeve or lower hem and get back to where you started. It's just not firmly ironed enough with only the ironing on the Hot Hemmer. And hope that in pressing down your L, which is only something like a soft guideline, you don't wind up with wobbles in the final crease. And the last problem with the thickness is that, even though the measurements go down to 1/8", there is no way you'll be able to get your fabric to come up and over the thickness to make a tiny hem. I don't think even 1/4" would work. (Not to mention how inaccurate the hem would be with the thickness factored in!) Of course many of us eyeball the tiniest hems, so I don't really hold that against it. Just something to be aware of. Finally, the material it's made of: not sure what it is, but it feels almost like a grippier version of felt. (Might be that stuff you get at JoAnn's to stiffen the bottom of purses with?) Other reviewers have mentioned how nice that grippiness can be because you can place your fabric on whatever depth of hem you want and get your hands out of the way. I find this is true for some fabrics but not nearly all—so if that's why you wanted it, just be aware that maybe only 50% of fabric types grip enough to let go. But when it does grip, aaaaargh! Say you want a 2 1/2" hem. First it grips at 1 3/4, where you weren't even trying to place it. Then you wrestle it up, get it in place, and look back and realize it's wavy, from 2 1/4 to almost 3 in places because as you were moving one section, another sort of snaked along with it. Then you look at your perfect, straight 2 1/2", and back down to the edge of the hemmer, and realize you didn't get it tight up against the edge... so that perfect 2 1/2 is all a lie and you have to lift the thing and try to get the excess at the edge to un-grip and go under the hemmer with the rest of the skirt... without moving the perfect 2 1/2" line at the top... And if all that works then you have to slide the hemmer along—oh, wait, it won't slide with a fabric that grips! You have to wrestle it along (hoping that doesn't distort what you've just done), complete that section by pressing the thick edge out without the hemmer in the way, and begin wrestling again with a new section of fabric. SO. I've been finding uses for it with some fabrics. Not the grippiest, and not the slipperiest. Not the ones that have a hard time holding a crease anyway, because with those it doesn't even hold the "L" strongly enough to re-press accurately as you move along. Not the ones where I really need the accuracy. Not on days where I don't think I can take the frustration!! Can't recommend it fully. It's okay. I really love the idea of burning myself less, and I really, really wanted to love the Hot Hemmer after waiting so long to get it. But I don't love it—and if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have bothered. I'm still waiting for the perfect tool to make hemming easier, quicker, and a little safer.