old controversy Hand Made /Sewing Leather

[spurdude101]

Ive been reading old threads (pun) on the handmade controversy regarding something hand sewn or machine sewn. Having done both it is my opinion that more skill is involved in machine sewing. I base this on the fact that I never ruined a project hand sewing, but have completely ruined or almost ruined projects on a machine. I have sewn out of stitch grooves, had broken needles, broken thread, run out of bobbin thread, had tensions off, skipped stitches, had big items like belts hang up on stuff and interrupt the feed, presser foot marks, and on and on. What I'm saying is while you are sewing it takes complete and total concentration. Having done or knowing all the above things can go wrong, one must use all the senses possibly even smell to avoid  ruining a project. So, if one bases the criteria of being handmade on skill of sewing,  I think sewing on a machine should not disqualify if that qualification is based solely on skill level.

[dikman]

You make a good point. I have had pretty much all that you list happen to me (not all at once, of course) which is one of the reasons I want my machines to sew very slow!! There is an element of skill involved in using a machine -  understanding how it sews, correct needle and thread for the project, balancing thread tensions etc. Definitely not as simple as hand stitching.

[paloma]

I've never read anywhere that machine sewing could not be qualified as manual work.
Since you have to choose your thread, needle size and stitch size, feed the sewing piece into the machine, machine sewing is for me a fully-fledged part of what is called "handmade" work.

for me there's no controversy about it.

Edited March 6, 2020 by paloma

[toxo]

Amen to all the above. There's far more trepidation when I sit down to my machine than when I hand stitch. I think the artisans among us are more likely to rear up at the dark side.

[mike02130]

Skill and handmade are two different things.