I mended a rip in a pair of pants, removed elastic waistband from another and sewed it right back up. I would say it is probably good for mending or light fabric projects. I wouldn’t try to make a dress or a large project on this machine, but it might work. the foot pedal is not a variator, it is simple a basic on/off switch. Meaning that there is no way to change the sewing speed, and there is no way to do a soft start or end slowly. It's lightweight.