First off, I do minimal hand work so there are probably ways to do things I can't imagine. Hopefully someone has a better answer than mine.
The idea of cutting sewn strips is part of modern techniques since the rotary cutter and rulers, and does not translate well to hand sewing. There are many things in hand sewing that do not translate well to machines as well.
Most of how I work is with strips and cutting subunits, I use a small stitch even by sewing machine standards. Not quite sure what it comes down to in real life, but my Bernina turns on and defaults at 2.5, I typically prefer to stitch with a size 10 needle and my stitch down to 1.9.
If you are making a bunch of short seams, like 4-patches by hand, you can use a long thread and knot off each piece, leave some thread space and knot on the next piece. When you are ready, you cut the space. That can help keep sets of things together too.