Friday, July 11, 2008

Friday Confession

Hand Stitching


I used to hate hand stitching and avoid it like the plague, but after all the hand stitching that I did on the wedding dress, I have discovered that I actually kind of enjoy it... Now I am much more likely to hand stitch something. Hems, of course, often call for hand stitching - but I've even started hand stitching (instead of pining or machine basting) tricky bits - like when I was trying to get that zipper into the make-believe "wedding dress" I recently made for my 7-year-old niece.

How about you? When do you hand stitch? Do you enjoy or hate it?

8 comments:

Lisa Laree said...

Like you, I used to avoid hand stitching like the plague. But now there are times when I'd much rather hand stitch something than wrestle it through the sewing machine, and I've discovered hand basting is not cruel and unusual punishment...and it makes the final stitching almost fool-proof.

But I will confess to liking to have a good movie playing whilst I hand stitch ;)

Emily said...

I have a love/hate relationship with hand-stitching. I usually default to it for hems, and I pretend that I don't mind it, but it often takes me months to finish things because I put off the hem for so long! But, once I get into the rhythm, I find hand-stitching to be relaxing, especially in front of a movie or TV show or something. :)

Shannon said...

I love hand stitching. It allows me the most control and provides a wonderful finish to a garment that you just can't get by machine. All the higher end clothing I make has a ton of hand stitching inside.

Summerset said...

Love it! I do a lot of hand stitching and there is nothing like the control and precision you can get by hand stitching.

Donna Hodgson said...

I don't mind hand stitching a bit. There are many times during the construction process of most items that you just gotta use a needle and thread. I love the control it gives me.

Becky said...

Ha... I get excited when I DON'T have to hand-hem something! I don't mind it when I'm doing things I wouldn't be able to do while on the machine, like IMing my friends or watching TV shows that you have to pay more attention to (like Lost or Heroes). But it's also something that I can't do for hours on end, both from boredom and because of my recurring carpal tunnel issues.

SunnyQ said...

I hand stitched (more or less for the first time) on my quilted bag! I didn't *have* to hand stitch, but decided that some "zen" time hand stitching would be more worthwhile than a speedier, but probably less accurate, attempt at machine stitching-in-the-ditch. I like it! (When I *want* to hand stitch that is!) :)

Claire said...

I'm very late answering this question but I don't mind some handsewing. I find it relaxing as long as the handsewing doesnt' have anything to do with mending. Then I'm severely allergic. ;o)