I just got a machine, I've been hand sewing forever. Does it really make that much of a difference?

Hand sewing typically gives a person more control and accuracy, so that the stuff fits the forms and person it's sewn for more correctly.

If you're asking about the machine making a difference, heck yes! It makes your seams way stronger and more professional looked

Awesome! I need my mom to teach me how to use it ha. I double stitched an entire body/ paws/ tail by hand. Took FOREVER

Wow, that's a lot of work! But I bet it came out really sturdy! You'll like having the machine, though. They're super handy, even though I still sew stuff by hand from time to time :D

It was, but yeah totally strong! I used upholstery thread too :3 thanks for the info! :D

All the relief cuts and contour cuts, tidy and clean with the fur on the outside where it belongs, Nice! Tails can be an obnoxious amount of work...

Always a good thing. I do that as well. Starting to play with a serger soon.

wish peoplee understood the work that goes into suits in general- soon as i tell people my 1200 prices on fullsuits there go :OOOOOOO WHA!? WHY U OVERCHARGE!? meanwhile i hardly can pay my rent >.>

I always get upset when people complain about cost. I always want to reach through the screen and smack people. Even after I finished my partial with my fiancé seeing how much work it was he stil was all "oh, now you can overcharge and make suits." UGH!

yea, i know that feel... even at my INSANE low prices i cant get customers D:

People sadly don't appreciate the level of effort that goes into custom art of any kind. I feel u.

you know who dosnt feel me? MY LANDLORD XD

Looks wonderful and strong :D
Also really nice to see how different makers make the "bendy" part. as some only make one or two bigger splits and some make smaller splits but more of them. ^^

Wow! I'm always amazed how long hand sewing takes. Also, holy darting Batman! No wonder I couldn't get my tail curve right on my first tail.

Thank you for sharing. :3

Now that's interesting... If you hand sew first and then machine sew over the same seams, I would think that the seams would be visible due to the machine sewing. How do you do it in such a way so that even with machine sewing, it's still appears seamless?

tiny seam allowance, that and by hand sewing first you assure there is no fur caught in the seam which is the #1 issue for a seam showing.

Now I should note that even with this method seams may show on plush seal type furs, they are just so short and thick that even done this way the very base of the hairs caught in the tiny seam will cause a "pucker" and make the seam show.

Ah gotcha, so the more fur you can get out from under the seam, the less the seam is visible. I do tuck all of the fur to the other side when pinning before sewing, but even then there's sometimes a little bit of a visible seam. Only when you try to stretch that area and look closely though, otherwise it's fairly hidden.

That's pretty amazing. I've learned, especially with my current project, that even things that look or seem simple (even after you finish them!) can be incredibly complicated--I never would have guessed this is what they look like on the other side!

How many loop stitches before you knot one off. I know its machined as well, probably a straight or a small zig-zag (width 3-4), 2 on the stitch length?

I like my tails to be furry....hehe

What's the point of the relief cuts if you don't mind me asking? I only make plushies (nothing large like a fursuit) and don't use relief cuts on my plushies. Is it because of the size?

the darts? they made a straight tail turn into a curved one, saves on fabric vs cutting in the shape of a curve and the nape of the fur follows the shape of the tail.

How do you machine sew after handsewing? I just don't know how that'd work. When I think machine I think on table and pedal. Are there hand machines?

I use a table/pedal machine, you just chug over where you hand sewed first.