Which hand stitches should I know?

Four hand stitches cover nearly everything a machine sewer needs, and they take an hour to learn.

Running stitch. The needle passes in and out at even intervals. Long stitches for basting, short ones for gathering. It is quick, it is weak, and it is meant to be temporary or decorative.

Backstitch. Each stitch goes back to meet the end of the previous one, so the line is continuous like machine stitching. It is the strongest hand stitch and it is what you use to repair a seam without setting up the machine, or to sew somewhere the machine cannot reach.

Slip stitch. A tiny bite of the garment fabric, then a run of 5 to 10 mm inside the fold of a hem. Almost nothing shows on the right side. This is the hem stitch for anything where visible machine stitching would be wrong — tailored garments, linings, bindings.

Ladder stitch. Alternate bites along two folded edges, pulled closed. It shuts a turning gap invisibly.

Two more worth having. A catch stitch for hems in heavy or stretchy fabric, because it has some give. And a whip stitch for quick edge work.

Practical points. Use a thread no longer than your forearm — longer tangles and abrades. Knot the start inside a seam allowance. Use a thimble on anything heavier than cotton. And match the needle to the fabric, since a blunt needle drags and marks.

None of these needs to be beautiful, only even. Regularity is what reads as neat.