Sewing machine vs hand sewing: when each one wins

A sewing machine wins for construction: long straight seams, seams on knits, topstitching, zips and buttonholes are faster, stronger and more even by machine. Hand sewing wins where stitches must not show or where control matters more than speed: invisible hems, closing a lining, sewing on buttons and hooks, basting a tricky sleeve cap, and repairs away from home. Most garments use both, the machine for the seams and the hand for the finishing, and you can learn to sew without a machine on small projects before you buy one.

Machine or hand: which is better for each task?

Can you sew clothes entirely by hand?

Yes. Every garment made before the 1850s was, and a backstitched seam in a woven fabric is nearly as strong as a machine lockstitch. The backstitch is the seam stitch; a running stitch is for gathering and basting; a whipstitch or overcast stitch finishes raw edges; a slip stitch hems. With those four you can make a gathered skirt, pyjama shorts, an apron or a woven top from start to finish.

What hand sewing costs is time. A machine sews a 1 m (39 in) seam in well under a minute; by hand the same seam in a small, even backstitch is a quarter of an hour or more. A pair of pyjama shorts is an evening by hand instead of an hour by machine; a dress is several evenings. Knits are the honest exception: a hand backstitch has no stretch, so a hand-sewn T-shirt seam pops when you pull it over your head. Knits are machine work, or at least a stretchy hand stitch such as a catchstitch, which is weaker.

When is a sewing machine clearly better?

• Construction seams of any length. The lockstitch is even, the seam allowance stays accurate, and pressing afterward is easier because the stitch lies flat.
• Knits. A zigzag or stretch stitch is the only practical way to sew a seam that stretches with the fabric.
• Topstitching and edgestitching, where evenness is the whole point.
• Buttonholes and zips. A one-step buttonhole takes a minute; a zip foot keeps the stitching close and straight.
• Finishing edges with a zigzag or overcast stitch, so seams survive washing.
• Heavy fabrics and many layers: denim, canvas, a lined tote bag with boxed corners.

When is hand sewing clearly better?

• Hems that must not show on a dress, skirt or trousers in a fine or dressy fabric. A slip stitch or a blind catchstitch picks up one thread of the outer fabric and disappears. Hand hem vs machine hem compares the two in detail.
• Closing openings after turning a lining, a cushion cover or a pouch: a ladder stitch closes the gap with nothing visible.
• Buttons, hooks and eyes, snaps. Sewn by hand with a shank, a button sits correctly and stays on.
• Basting a sleeve cap, a plaid match or a slippery seam before machine sewing. Basting by hand puts the layers exactly where you want them, and a hand-picked zip, basted and then prick-stitched from the outside, is both secure and nearly invisible.
• Tight spots: the inside of a cuff, a hat band, the last few centimeters of a lining a free arm cannot reach.
• Mending, a dropped hem on the train, a button in a hotel room.
• Delicate fabrics, where a hand-rolled hem in silk chiffon beats any foot.

Which hand stitches are worth learning?

Five earn their place even if you own a machine: running stitch for basting and gathering, backstitch for a seam or a repair, slip stitch for hems, ladder stitch for closing openings, and a proper way to sew on a button with a shank. Hand sewing stitches you will actually use shows each one. Use a sharp hand needle of a size that passes easily through the fabric, a single strand of all-purpose thread no longer than your arm, and a thimble on the middle finger if you are pushing through anything heavier than cotton.

How do you combine the two in one garment?

A typical dress: the darts, seams and facings go through the machine. The zip is hand-basted in place, then machine stitched. The facing is machine understitched. The hem is turned, pressed and slip-stitched by hand on a wool or silk fabric, or machine blind-hemmed on cotton. A hook and eye above the zip goes on by hand. The hand work is a small fraction of the time and most of what shows.

The step-by-step guide that comes with each Sewly pattern describes the steps of the garment with the options you chose; if you want to do a step by hand, a hem or the closing of a cushion cover, you can ask the guide how and it answers for your pattern. For a sense of which small projects are realistic entirely by hand, a scrunchie, a zip pouch with the zip hand-backstitched, and an envelope cushion cover are all an evening's work.

Do you need to buy a sewing machine to learn to sew?

Not to start. A needle, thread, pins, scissors and a tape measure teach you how fabric behaves, how a seam allowance works and why pressing matters, on a scrunchie, a pouch or a cushion cover. The moment you want to make clothes regularly, a machine is worth it: the seams are the slow part by hand and the fast part by machine. Just bought your first sewing machine? Start here picks up at that point.

Which should you choose?

• Curious beginner, no machine: sew a scrunchie or a cushion cover by hand this week. If you enjoy it, the machine is the next step, not the first.
• You want to make clothes: a sewing machine, plus the five hand stitches above for the finishing. Budget an evening to learn the machine before the first garment.
• You sew knits, activewear or children's clothes: a machine, and a serger when the budget allows. Hand sewing is not the tool for stretch.
• You love slow, quiet, portable sewing, or heirloom and tailoring details: hand sewing is a craft in its own right, and hand-worked buttonholes, pad stitching and hand-picked zips are the mark of fine garments.
• Everyone: a small hand-sewing kit in a drawer and a travel bag. The machine makes the garment; the needle keeps it wearable.