Now that I have two tutorials on hand sewing felt, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the benefits and disadvantages of both.  Each works well and brings a distinct look to your hand sewn item.  It's worth it to think about what sort of effect you are going for to help you choose the right stitch.

Whip Stitch        tutorial    project featured above

I like to use whip stitch to sew together felt stuffies when I want the stitching to melt into the stuffie.  Usually, I use thread that matches the felt when I use whip stitch.  Occasionally, I will use a contrasting thread color with whip stitch to get a more primitive, hand made vibe going.  In the case of my rose pincushion, I tried to create a woodcut feel with whip stitching.

Benefits : Whip stitch is great for sewing together stuffies when you want the seams to meet up flatly to create a shape.  This is especially good for round shapes, like heads or bodies.  Whip stitch is also pretty simple and forgiving of mistakes, especially when you use a matching thread color.

Drawbacks : Whip stitch doesn't always come out as straight or evenly spaced as you might hope because the thread goes diagonally through the felt on the inside bit of the stitch.  This can also cause your felt pieces to come out uneven near the end of your work, unless you are careful about "felt creep."

Blanket Stitch        tutorial    project featured above

I use blanket stitch when I want a decorative edging on my hand sewn item.  It's especially interesting when done in a contrasting thread color as an edging for a patch, like my travel stickers, or along the seams of a 2-D stuffie.  Blanket stitching is easy, once you get started, and I think it looks very professional and bold.

Benefits : When using blanket stitch to sew the seams of a stuffie, there won't be any "felt creep" because the needle goes straight through the felt from front to back.  Because blanket stitch creates a thread outline along the edges of your piece, it can mask uneven edges and wonky cutting.  Blanket stitch seems to be easier to use to create evenly spaced stitching than whip stitch.

Drawbacks : When using blanket stitch to sew together stuffies, it becomes a ridged seam that is equal to the depth of your stitch.  This creates ridges in 3-D stuffies that might look weird and distort the stuffie's shape.

If you have any thoughts, lessons-learned, or blog posts about hand sewing that you'd like to share, please leave a comment.  Lots of people come to my site after searching for "hand sewing" so people (including me!) really want to know your tips and tricks.