We have never hand sewn anything on our quilts. Our hope is that our quilts will get a lot of use, and we think the machine sewn bindings are more durable.
We are much better now than we were, and in general are pretty happy with how the bindings look when we're finished. There are a ton of tutorials on youtube and we have watched several of them. Some of them have more steps than others and I suppose they would be necessary if you wanted to enter a quilt in a show. You can always practice on potholders or doll quilts before you commit to a larger quilt. Try with a decorative stitch and with a straight stitch also. Let us know what you decide.
Darren