Zigzag stitching?

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Hi everyone!

Lately I've been crafting like a mofo. This weekend I'll be finishing up my tie skirt and taking pictures to show you all. :D Before I do that, though, I have an unrelated question.

On the getcrafty instructions for sewing undies out of a t-shirt, it says to zig zag stitch on the edges. My sewing machine is old and sick and can't zig zag stitch, so could someone tell me what the purpose of a zigzag stitch is and how I can emulate it with handstitching (or if I even need to)? I assume it's more complicated than just doing a running stitch in a zigzag pattern. :\

Thanks a lot, girls/guys/human beings ;)