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WigglesbearsHi there
To hand sew or not to hand sew is the question!
l have a delima l am pondering around in my head at the moment and was wondering if any of you good peeps out there could help out. How do you sew your bears? do you hand sew or machine sew? l normaly hand sew all my bears that l do but l have just seen a great deal on a sewing machine which is half price at the moment in a local store near to where l live and l am wondering if l should go and get it before it sells out. What do you all think? Any feedback on machine sewing your bears would be great!
thanks in advance
wiggles
TeenytinyteddybearsI have to hand sew mine cause they are, at biggest 3 inches, and the teeth under the presser foot like "eating" the small bits. I also like the hand sewing cause I usually have bits with me and can sew if ever I have to wait anywhere.
puca bearsAlways hand sew.........I don't feel it's "ME" if I use a machine....plus, I HATE sewing machines - never got on with them!
huggies
Maria (self-confessed Luddite!)
Seamore CollectiblesMiniatures and plush bears by hand. And Mohair by machine for the body and legs.
Jellybelly BearsA sewing machine is always a good tool to have, especailly for big bears, you can sew up bodies and limbs in a flash, even if you leave the head and paw pads for hand sewing like I do. I always sew my little ones by hand, but even still, sewing machines always come in handy for bear clothes too...
Swan Valley BearsMelanie Jayne, that's so funny, "Why have a dog if you bark yourself". Too funny, that's a new one on me. :crackup: :crackup:
I always sew my bears on the machine. I used to sew them by hand too, but I ended up having hand surgery because of it. I bought an old (1950's) portable Singer for $10 at a yard sale and it works better for my bears than my $1,000 Janome. Plus my Janome doesn't get mucked up with fur dust bunnies.
Dolls N DreamsI use a sewing machine on all my bears 
I do both, sewing larger bears mostly by machine (except heads and paw pads), and sewing small bears by hand.
MerBear OriginalsMy bears are mainly 12 - 15" and I hand sew. I do have a good sewing machine but I LIKE to hand sew in front of the tv. Just a personal preference.
Marion
Lakeland TeddiesI use a machine to sew as much as I can. My hands can't take all of the hand sewing. I'm suffering from a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder and it's more than enough just sewing up the seams. I wish I could do more hand sewing, but it's too painful for me. I love needle felting and can't do that at the moment either. I'm hoping it's going to get better soon.
Peggy
EJ's CraftsI machine sew. My hands are like so many of the rest of you in that even the hand sewing to finish the bear is hard.
Eat Cake! bears and vintageI handsew everything. When I make clothes for the bears I will be almost completely done and say, I should have used my machine for this! I've been using my machine more now that I have been making my grandaughter clothes. It just isn't as relaxing as handsewing.
My bears are machine sewn. Even when I do the little bears I do as much of it with the sewing machine as possible. Hand sewing is too fiddle dee dee for me. Just personal preference.
Hugs and hugs, :hug:
Aleta
I sew everything by hand... I enjoy it and it's easy for me to start & stop that way. I don't have a big enough house to have a set up for my sewing machine, so I have to drag it out every time I want to use it. With three kids & homeschooling, I'd end up spending most of my time moving my sewing machine around instead of actually sewing!
That said, I do have to watch how long I sew at a time as I've noticed that since I've been doing more handsewing, I developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder and have bumps on the knuckles of my little fingers... I'm not sure why the little ones, maybe the way I hold them while sewing? So I usually break up my sewing with other parts of bear making throughout the day. Works for me so far....
I've already had tendon release surgery, some years ago, unrelated to bearmaking. My bears are big enough to machine sew (12 - 16" usually) and my hands get so white-hot tense in the same way they used to feel when I had tendinitis, that it's a total no brainer for me to machine sew my teds.
I do hand-sew the pawpads, whipstitching the edges to set and secure them before taking them to the machine to attach permanently.
If I made very small bears I don't see how I could machine sew as even some of my bigger pieces get gnawed by the machine. Which is one of the reasons I don't make small bears. !!
Tuppies TeddiesI think it does come down to personal choice...I hand sew everything bears and any hats etc....
I have a sewing machine but as we have not long moved here it is packed away somewhere...
Hand sew...my bears are small. But when I did the rare machine sewn teddy I would still hand sew the head and paw pads. I see that my answer is similar to many of you. When I hand sew I wear a splint on my hand because of a pinched nerve and numb fingers...the hazards of hand sewing. I also try to take a lot of breaks during a long day of sewing.
Kathy
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bearsokay...I've just read everyone's reason for hand or machine sewing...and here's mine...I machine sew
nearly all my bears for one simple reason...I stuff firmly and if I hand sew I find that I can see my stitching. I sew around twice on every piece on every bear. I don't want my bears popping appart. I had that happen twice on bears I decided to take a short cut on and only sewed once around. The chin seam popped open on one and the ear seam which I had sewn in split apart....and I had a lot of work to fix them. On the other hand I think that hand sewing is very relaxing and on very small bears it is fun... But for quality work and for bears that need firm stuffing, I think that machine sewn is superior. OMG have I opened a can of worms????
This is just my opinion and this is what works for me.
I think anyone who makes bears should own a sewing machine... Mine is an old "Classic" black 1950's vintage Singer that can "sew through a wall" It has one presser foot and sews only forward and backward...nothing fancy but incredibly reliable. It sews around curves without even holding it....
I think when my machine goes I'll give up bear making
Just my thoughts on the subject
Hugs
Gail G
"a bear by kim"i hand sew, only because sewing machines turn me into a raging nut case!
Newcastle, OntarioI hand sew my bears and I enjoy it - I take them everywhere with me. I'm not a patient waiter, and if I have a doctor's appt, I sew and it's much better for me. Having said all that, my hands are really starting to bother me. When I make a fist, my two babyfingers will not close, and I'm getting a lot of pins and needles at night. I have a brace, but can't sew with it. I may be switching to machine sewing bodies, arms and legs soon, and just do the heads and paw pads by hand, out of preservation for my hands. 
Gail, as for seeing hand stitches, I don't see mine at all. I do a lock stick that would match any sewing machine, and I stuff my heads rock hard! I've never had a piece come apart. Maybe it depends on what stitch you use.
hugs,
Brenda
WigglesbearsA big thank you to everyone who comented on this, l have decided not to buy the sewing machine after all as l do prefer and love hand sewing all my bears that l do and it did bring back memories of a sewing machine l once had when l got my finger trapped by the needle and another time when l did atempt to sew a bear on the machine and well lets just say the bears bits were nearly thrown up the wall......mmmmm... may be me and sewing machines dont get on LOL
Drea's BearsI hand sew right now even the big 30 " bears! Wow that takes forever. I was just given a 1992 Singer machine....it needs work which can be done for about $45.00. I'm going to have to learn how to use it as I've noticed I am experiencing serious back and neck pain after a day of working on my bears. I have a show in 3 weeks and need to get a move on!
I will only use it for the big seams, body legs and arms, I will do the paw pads and head by hand to make sure it's just the way I like it!
It sure is interesting to hear how others do it!
Hugs for all!
AndreaM :hug:
Country BearsI machine sew too, but I do understand everyone's frustration with machines!! I used to have those, but over time I have learned about my machines (I have way too many lol!!) and now I understand them a bit more, I don't get into such a with them when something doesn't go right ('cos it's usually user error!!) 
Dances With Teddy BearsI agree with Gail and Clare, and several others. I use my machine as much as possible. It's fast and my machine stitches far better than I can. I do the head and gusset by hand, but go over the chin seam by machine, to reinforce it. I also do the paw/foot pads by hand.
I have a great, very simple, 20 year old Kenmore sewing machine. It's a heavy duty model that has never had a problem, nor I with it. I only straight stitch and occasionally zigzag, so I find a simple machine is best.
Right now I'm not doing much of either. The meds I'm on have side effects galore. One is blurry vision. I can barely read what I just wrote, on my fairly large monitor. One more month and I'll be back at it. I miss my bear making.
Sorry for my side trip. 
Hi,
I hand sew everything!
Love the freedom of being able to sew where ever I want too. Even in summer, to go and sit and sew in the sunshine.
Love kayx.
