Question for those who make outfits.

[bobws]

I just came from the finished customs page and there was a supergirl put together by cutting other outfits and layering on top to make a cool figure. The maker said he doesn't sew.
So this got me thinking as i've tried to sew some things. My Question is this: when you make your outfits do use a sewing machine or are you sewing by hand?
I don't know how to run a machine and my hand skills are minimal. So you experts among us fill us in please.

[Tothiro]

I'd find it impossible by machine... I can't use modern ones anyway (only know how to run a singer from 1960). So all my stuff is by hand. All it takes is lots of practice to eyeball the distance between stitches. I think consistency there is the main thing.

[thunderbolt]

I sew by hand, too. I've also found more than a few fabrics that work well with liquid stitch and that saves me some sewing, too.

[HumanWolfman]

I use a machine always. Nothing and I mean nothing comes close to a machine sewn seam. All of Ghost Riders arm and leg piping was sewn in by machine. On Spidey, the red was sewn to the blue. Also on Shocker, all maroon pipe was sewn in. As you can see(rather not see) not a single stitch is visable where the 2 colors meet each other. With even the best hand sewning, stitches would be visable giving an almost zipper like apearance.

[Mego Magyar]

I hand sew and have also become very found of liquid stitch.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Most of my stuff is by machine, although there are some things that require a hand stitch. It's probably best to develop both skills.

All I gotta do now is figure out how to embroider properly....

Don C.

[Tothiro]

I use a machine always. Nothing and I mean nothing comes close to a machine sewn seam. (edit) With even the best hand sewning, stitches would be visable giving an almost zipper like apearance.
[/IMG]

Weeeeeelllll.... Spidey & the gang there are pretty fly - So I guess good results are available with both. Mr Wolf may make me a convert yet (it would surely save me some finger joints and jabbed thumbs!)
But these guys are hand stitched. They turned out largely zipperless thankfully, but you can see where things went astray on Namor's cuffs:

If I were being true in my retroeyness I'd have done them on machine anyway (since that's how they were made, right?)

[Megospidey]

I think it depends upon the material.

John is right. For lycra-spandex, nothing is better than machine. Unless you get your proportions PERFECT, lycra is going to stretch when you put it on a body and that is where you will see the hand-sewn stitches. I've gotten it very close before, but it's still there and you can still see the "pull" of the uneven stitches. Machine sewing gives you an even line every time even with pulling.

For other materials that don't stretch, hand-sewing is fine. You can't see the stitches because the material doesn't pull.

I've learned to live with hand-sewing, but I want to learn to machine-sew with lycra-spandex someday.

[Boywonder0]

I've learned to live with hand-sewing, but I want to learn to machine-sew with lycra-spandex someday.

Ditto. But I have heard that it is very very tough to machine sew spandex-lycra...