Today’s Topic-Stitching Safely, Good Habits for Better Machine Quilting
Good Morning, Quilters!
Welcome to the Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
(Find all of the previous Lessons HERE. Sign up for emails of the class HERE.)
A Public Service Announcement
Today, I offer a public service announcement.
Never reach under your needle with your hands! Use tweezers!
The foot pedal on your sewing machine is extremely sensitive–(that’s what makes quilting fine details possible!)
But it can be lethal! One slight tap and down comes the needle-whether there’s a quilt underneath, your finger, or even a cat’s paw!
Ask me how I know…
My Quilting Injury
A few years ago–(this was not a novice’s mistake)–I was in a hurry and reached under the needle to grab a short bobbin thread.
To my shock, the needle slammed down into my finger and the needle shattered to pieces.
Two days later I went to the doctor, the result:
30 minute surgery to remove the needle shards, ten days of antibiotics, several days of pain meds and four sessions of physical therapy! It’s been several years now and I can still feel numbness in my finger.
Misery Loves Company?
When I posted about the incident (a blogger never lets a crisis go to waste-LOL) I received hundreds of comments and emails from quilters and sewists who knew my pain first hand (pun intended).
I find no solace in knowing others had experienced the same fate!
One reader wrote that her cat often batted at her sewing machine and took the brunt of the needle!
Best Practices
Take my advice. Learn good quilting habits early on.
Whenever you reach under the needle, use tweezers AND take your foot off the foot pedal.
I move my foot completely off the pedal and rest it on the rung of my chair.
Don’t learn the hard way!
Practice good quilting techniques and they will become second nature.
Good habits will yield better machine quilting.
Give Blood!
As long as we are talking about Public Service Announcements and Needles….
Give Blood! There is a critical shortage of blood! Cancer patients and others are not receiving important treatment because of the shortage!
I gave blood a few weeks ago (and it wasn’t so scary) and am scheduled to give again in July.
Schedule through the Red Cross HERE.
What About YOU?
Have YOU ever had a quilting injury?
Does YOUR cat like your sewing machine?
What good habits do you recommend in the sewing room?
We’d Love to hear!
Your Cautious Quilter,
CLori Barton
You might also enjoy my motif books: Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 and More Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3
61 comments
Janet Licari
I have no tale of accidents but want to thank everyone for sharing ideas to help stay safe. I think I will be needing a rotary cutting glove, I will want to have my screwdriver handy and make sure to have my phone within reach to call for help if needed. Accidents happen fast and even when we are trying to be so very careful. Thanks for the reminder as I know I let my fingers get too close and feeling maybe too comfortable using the machine. I need to give it more respect and give it a safer distance from my fingers.
Noreen Taylor
Dear Lori, Just this last Monday 7/6/20 I had a similar accident-but I didn’t purposely try to grab something. I am a beginner free motion quilter and was doing an echo stitch around some flowers, using a very small fmq foot and I still don’t know how except that I was steering the fabric my finger ended up under the needle. I immediately pulled it back, thus breaking the needle and the broken shaft went into my finger too. So when I didn’t get my finger out, I saw two needles sticking out of it. Thankfully my sil got some pliers and pulled both pieces out without an issue. Today I was back at the machine, but let me tell you my hands were far from the foot and needle. Don’t want to make that mistake again! I know I’m not along, but it helps to know that I’m not the first to do this.
Noreen
Lori Kennedy Quilts
Oh Noreen! Misery does not love company–I am so sorry! Some mistakes we only make once–Any chance you need antibiotics? You might want to call or see your doctor!
Suzanne
OW!! I got shivers at your statement “pulled both pieces out without an issue”….that had to hurt! You’re a tough cookie.
If you haven’t had one in the past 10 years, I suggest you see your doctor for a tetanus shot.
Good Luck with your quilting!
Jane McNaughton
Using the Bernina Stitch Regulator and the Pounce Chalk, not a good combination, as the chalk gets all over the regulator, I used my little finger to swipe the BSR “eye” and next thing I knew, I too, looked like your X-ray. Kind of afraid of my machine now..PTSD (Post Traumatic Stitch Disorder).. it’s taken 4 years and your blog to get me excited about quilting again. Thanks so much, I’m making progress!
cyndyp
I’d heard that a light mist over the Pounce Chalk immediately before stitching will help it NOT bounce around. Perhaps that practice will help with your BSR clogging up. I’ve not tried it (I don’t have a Bernina nor BSR) BUT I have done it on my long arm and it DOES help.
Blanca Rico
I’ve had never been in a situation like yours but having heard about those kind of accidents, when I get close to the needle, I always think: “be careful, don’t get distracted, keep your eyes where they must be”.
It’s quite similar to when I go up or down the stairs of my house… I count the steps in my mind, no matter how many times it happens along the day. I’m 64 years old and don’t have any time to be wasted recovering from a silly step!
Big hug for you!
Blanca
swbesecker
One good habit I always perform is putting all tools, fabric, notions, back in their proper place before I leave the room. This way, my sewing and cutting tables are always inviting and the project starts off with a clean canvas. The bonus is I know exactly where everything is and don’t waste time searching for THAT foot, or THAT thread, or THAT scissor or pen. Always clean up when you are done for the day.
Blanca Rico
You are my hero!!! I wish I could do that every time, but… chaos always wins.
Laura Soby
Several years ago I stepped on a hand sewing needle that I had dropped on the floor and broke it off in my foot. It was a holiday weekend coming up so although I saw the doctor right away I had to walk around with the needle in my foot for several days before having surgery. I remember the doctor asking “Does it bother you to know its too deep to remove without surgery?” Still have a bump on my foot many years later. Yes I love the magnetic pin holder now!
Ann
I know a woman who held pins in her mouth, sure enough she accidentally swallowed one. Thought she was OK until she started having trouble breathing a few days later. It turned out she had punctured her esophagus and was aspirating food into her lungs. She was hospitalized for several days.
Needless to say I stopped that habit.
cyndyp
I’ve been known to do the same BUT had heard a similar story about swallowing a pin. I don’t do that any more.
Ellen
This is the very first post of Lori’s I ever saw. Which led to me thinking I could learn to FMQ! Guess I need to get some tweezers….
Linda Fleming
We can all learn from your misfortune!
I don’t think my cat, Rover, liked me sewing.
He would come in to my sewing room and pounce on the foot pedal…
Ever since then I’ve used the on/off stop button when sewing even although Rover is waiting for us at the rainbow bridge…
Bonnie Wilkum
Always look where you are sewing.
Donna McMichen
Yep – I learned that lesson the hard way, too. Sewing late at night on a costume for local HS musical – VERY tired & just wanted to get it done. Big Mistake. Sewed thru my pointer finger & nail. Broke the needle off inside my finger when I snatched it back. THOUGHT I got all the needle out – but didn’t. Had to get a tetanus shot – which made the dr & nurses all cringe when they heard my story. I’m careful to stop when tired now.
Deb
I don’t know about other states, but in the Twin Cities, MN, if you give blood right now they are performing free COVID19 antibodies tests.
Ellen Icochea
Kinda related to your story, Lori. Years ago, I went to AQS to take a class. All the machines in the class were provided by a sponsor and were new. As I sat down and introduced myself, the lady behind me tells me she is new to sewing and very excited. I didn’t ask how new. About a half hour into the class, a horrid scream as she sews throughout the very center of her index finger. The machine will not allow the needle and presser foot to come back up. The handsome fire department shows up, but has to cut the machine apart. They were concerned transporting her.with the weight of the machine could cause even more damage to her. So, later I learned that class was the first time she had EVER touched a machine. Moral of the story, match your experience to the class level you are taking! And for the rest of us, even when machines are provided, I take my Bernina with me unless it’s a Bernina machine because there is so much to know about computerized machines and it can be dangerous to try to learn a new machine when you’re in a big class that is focused on moving fast in a day or two. Focus on the subject matter, not trying out a machine.
cyndyp
I have an ALMOST disaster sewing machine story to relate. When I was sewing as a young teen on my Mom’s then newish Singer, I sewed, evidently, across a thick seam a little too quickly and the needle broke!!! … that one end flew off and literally hit me between my eyes. An inch one way or the other could have been disaster. I now HAVE to wear eyeglasses and I’m glad to have them as a sort of safety shield. I do not sew to this day without thinking of that moment and glad to be wearing glasses.
Arvilla Trag
One of my cats was fascinated by the needle going up and down. I knew this would not end well, so he is not allowed in the project room when I am using the machine. Or the rotary cutter. Or the iron.
Karen M.
Woke up this morning and found a thread trail through my living room. The cat had fun last night, hahaha.
Sewing injury, yes. I had my thumb too close to the shank and it hammered it. It even jammed/stopped the machine. Pinched and cut through the tip of my thumb. No stitches needed but it sure did hurt. Lesson: Keep hands a good distance from needle when in motion 😉
Marta
That happened to me… similar…it hammered my operated knuckle.. Ouch! Sore for
days. I think the fat screw handle for the shank should be located differently.
Jan Tarasovic
My husband used to find every pin I dropped—with his bare feet. It hasn’t happened once since I got the magnetic-pin-finder-on-a-telescoping-stick. I don’t know who makes it, but I got it at a quilt show. Can’t find a way to copy it’s pic.
Marta
UH.. you can get those at – shhhhhh- Walmart for low price. I have 2 . Also, I use a long pair of tongs to pick up things in my sewing room instead of leaving them for the next time I want to bend over or vacuum….from the $ store.
Karen
I sewed my index finger, too. I didn’t seek medical help but ouch–it really hurt and was numb for a long time.
Don’t want that ever to happen again!
Katherine Simonton
I have the exact same Xray-spent Christmas afternoon 2019 in ER to have needle removed…still 2 parts in finger but more hassle to remove them than let them be.
Lori Hope
My cat likes to unthread my machine, so I have to cover the machine every time I leave it.
Mrs. Plum
Lori, thanks for the encouragement to give blood. I did so on Sunday. It’s easy, safe, and as you mentioned, always critical. Blood centers have extra cleaning protocols in place. It’s a great satisfaction to know another human being has been helped by something so simple.
I’m sorry for your injury. Several years ago, I, too, got my finger under the needle. Fortunately, my nail stopped total penetration, but now I’m extra careful.
Pearl
When I was 12 I sewed my finger. Luckily, it did not break the needle.
I have also sliced off the tips of two fingers with a rotary cutter a few years back. Now, before I pick up a rotary cutter I put a glove on.
Joyce Beyer
We work with dangerous tools. In addition to a protective glove, I have a handle that attaches to your rulers via suction. It keeps your hands away from the cutting edge.
Safety first for sure.
Cindy Clark
Your names get better and better…. medical advice from Clori Barton…..lololol
hsiaomeiwiedmeyer
Another danger in the sewing room is the rotary cutter, learned the lesson quickly
Cindy
In December of 1982 I was 5 months pregnant and making a red crepe-de-chine maternity dress to wear to a Christmas party. This was not an accident of reaching under the machine and simultaneously pressing the foot pedal. No, not me. I was sewing along on a seam and just managed to somehow let my left middle finger get carried right under the needle. I took my foot off the pedal immediately and still remember the stunned feeling I had looking at my finger impaled on the needle-right at the medial edge of my nail. Of course, I had to turn the hand crank to get the needle to come up out of the finger. Since the dress was red, it was not a big deal if I bled on it a little. But now, over 35 years later, the edge of that nail is deformed and repeatedly a very rough callous forms, which I have to constantly file down. No doctor I have ever shown it to has a clue what to do to fix the nail. I guess I could go to see a hand surgeon…….
Ellen Icochea
Cindy- My stepmother had issues with her toe nails for decades. She went to a plastic surgeon to get help. You may call for a consultation.
Lori
My cat loves to sit right in front of my machine, and I have found myself trying to sew without moving her (she gets ornery when I do that). Good cautionary tale (tail!). Will do some cutting or pressing till she moves.
Suzanne
I had a cat like that years ago. She was a sweetheart until you tried to move her; then the claws came out. I loved her though, she was actually a great cat and very loving (when you weren’t trying to move her), but I needed a way to “cure” her without hurting her. A friend suggested I gently spritz her face with water. Not a lot, just a little bit. I found a tiny spray bottle and tried. Worked like a charm! She wasn’t hurt and quickly learned to stay away. It’s a good way to gently discipline a cat. I still do it today with all my cats. Now as soon as they see the bottle in my hand, they scram. I don’t even have to spray. They remain unhurt and it hasn’t changed their attitude toward me in any way.
worldpresscom986
Hooray, a person who can spell re: tale and tail. I so often want to correct grammar and spelling. My grandkids sent me a cup that says, “I am silently correcting your grammar”.
Marta
Me, too !! My brain just naturally reacts to it ! LOL
Cheri
My injury involves the rotary cutter, and I’m sure quite a few sewists can relate! Years ago I was cutting out fabric and ran across my left index finger and cut a chunk right off! Ow! Ow! Ow! I was lucky tho, all things considered, I kept putting on antibiotic cream and bandages after bandages and I was fine, eventually. I worry more about the grands picking up my rotary cutter, they move sooooo fast! So I bought a rotary cutter that closes as soon as your cut is finished and you release the handle. I almost almost always hang the rotary up right away, but sometimes I get called away!
REBERTA
What is the name of your rotary cutter?
Suzanne
I’m so sorry you had to go through that Lori, it must have been horribly painful!
I’ve never put a needle through my finger (just thinking about that one hurts!) but I once ran a rotary cutter diagonally over my left thumbnail. Strangely I barely felt it, I guess because the blade was brand new. But it was very messy and the damage was bad. It required a hand surgeon, removal of most of my fingernail and lots of almost microscopic stitches to put me back together. In order to stitch me up, he had to put a tourniquet on my thumb and warned me that as the local wore off and the blood return to my finger, it might hurt for a while. OMG did he understate that one!!! I was in excruciating pain once it happened. I learned my lesson.
Needless to say, my safety tip is: never, Never, NEVER use a rotary cutter without a protective glove!!!
One other tip I’d like to offer is get a tool caddie or hang a Command hook were you can put your good scissors after using them. If you lay them down and misjudge the edge of your cutting table, you can easily drop them on your foot. The results are not pretty. (ask me how I know this)
On more than one occasion, I’ve been careless with my scissors and cut a little “v” in the pad of my index finger – stupid me. That HURTS, although a little antibiotic and a band-aid take care of it.
One of my cats LOVES my machine and helping me sew was becoming a problem. So I took some leftover fleece and made him his own little pillow bed that sits at the far end of my sewing machine table. He really likes fleece and took to it right away. Now he curls up on it and watches me or snoozes.
Jewel
My cat always wants to keep me company when I’m sewing. I don’t want cat hair on my projects so I bought a plastic bin from the dollar store 12 x 8 x 6. He found it and immediately turned it into a “kitty nest” at the end of my sewing table. We are both very happy with the solution.
Helen
P.S. I’m going to be giving my 9 year old great granddaughter her first sewing lesson on Friday. I’m considering saving that X-ray picture to emphasize safety but I don’t want to scare her off from wanting to sew. Thoughts please!
Marta
Show her, it is OK for us to teach our young ones about real life.Do we stop crossing the street because we need to watch for oncoming vehicles? We teach kids about that early on ! Just sayin’
Suzanne
Amazingly, I still remember my mother teaching me to sew when I was between 7 & 8 yrs old. (I’m now 70) She positioned my hands properly and explained this was the best way to guide the fabric and how to stay away from the needle because it could “poke” me. She was very calm and matter-of-fact about it, then just went right on about what I was making, how pretty it would be, and how much fun I was going to have as I learned to sew.
If she were MY great granddaughter, I would NOT show her the X-ray, she’s too young for that and DON’T describe any horrific injuries. She doesn’t need a whole lot of negative in the beginning as it very easily could spoil the experience for her. Just be matter-of-fact about sewing as my mother was – calm and rational. If you are anxious, she will pick up on that easily and be anxious too. (I’m sure you know how good a child’s “radar” is.) Focus on the fun and the results and if your machine has a speed control, set to a lower speed for her. Be patient, and let her sew large scraps together to practice a good straight stitch. Then, if your machine has the ability, let her sew some pretty zig-zag patterns and make her first experience FUN! Stay with her, watch what she does and reposition her hands for her if needed, simply explaining that you want to help her keep fingers away from the needle. She’s old enough to understand that.
Lastly, if I were you, I’d save her practice samples and sew them into a wall hanging or quilt to give her a few years from now if she likes sewing and stays with it. Label it something such as: “My first stitches”
Good luck!
Helen
Thank you for that advice
Helen
My story ends with never go barefoot in your sewing room. I stepped on a pin and didn’t realize the point broke off in my toe. After cellulitis and two unsuccessful rounds of antibiotic it was discovered by x- ray. Then surgery. I was a certified Diabetes Educator and always told this story in my classes on foot care. Had I had diabetes, I most likely would have lost that toe and perhaps my foot. I find I have better control of my foot pedal with my shoe off. So I always wear slip on shoes when sewing and slip my shoe back on before getting up from the machine.
Kristin
I always wear slip off shoes in my sewing room, Halflinger slippers are perfect in the winter. Somehow, I can’t sew with a shoe on! My husband vacuums my space and he puts shoes on to do that but the rest of the house he just wears socks!
Karen
Always close the blade on the rotary cutter. Do not only turn off the sewing machine, iron and longarm, but unplug them too (even if they’re plugged into power strips). And NEVER ‘talk with your hands’ while holding an iron or rotary cutter!
Lisa Smith
Has anyone used the Bernina finger guard that attaches to the presser foot?
msa1950
I too went through the same thing just last year! My finger is still numb and has quite a hard lump underneath. I showed my husband your photo and he thought I had sent you mine. Sisters of the blood! I’m still a bit afraid of my machine because of that injury!
Lynn
We live in the lightening capitol of the country, hence no quilting yesterday afternoon. My good habit is to always unplug my machine when I finish quilting and not to quilt during a storm. I don’t want to fry my Bernina. (We do have lightening rods and a whole house surge protector—as well as one in the outlet fir my machine, but…)
Terri
Excellent warning, and one I definitely need to follow. One of my dogs loves to lie at my feet while I sew and sometimes she rests her head on the foot pedal. Her spontaneous sewing has caused me to rip out a few stitches, but I never thought about the possible danger when changing a needle or pulling up a bobbin thread. thanks so much for keeping me out of the emergency room!
Meg
My dog always wants to play ball when I quilt. The place he drops it is by my foot pedal and then he paws at it. You can imagine what happens. So now the ball goes away when I am quilting. I try to compensate for him wit a treat as he does not understand but he is learning that there are times for ball and times for just laying quietly by my side.
Debbie
As a young mom desperate to sew, I held my toddler on my lap. He reached for the needle I’d it caught just the flesh of his little thumb. After struggling to undo the deed, I learned a hard fas lesson. Babies are quick!
Jewel
I was fascinated watching my Mom sew at her machine when I was a toddler. One day she left her machine suddenly to run outside. I think she had to rescue clothes off the clothes line when it started to rain. She yelled out as she ran out the door:. “Julie Ann, do NOT touch Mama’s sewing machine!”. Of course, being a toddler immediately crawled up and started playing with the knee pedal. Next thing I was screaming with a needle right through my finger. My mom ran in and must have used the hand wheel to pull the needle out while she reminded me “that’s what happens when you disobey mama…I told you to NOT play with my sewing machine!!!!”. After that I became the most obedient little girl. Haha. My mom would let me watch her sew from a safe distance on a chair. When I was 8 she taught me how to sew with a child’s hand cranked machine. When I was10, she taught me how to sew on her machine. By 15 I started a mending business. Later I became a professional seamstress and joined the family tradition of tailors.
Lois
Many many years ago I put the machine’s needle through my finger tip while sewing my wedding veil. My mom said I yelled “I can’t get blood on the (white) fabric!”
nina777743
I thought it was my X-ray when the site first loaded up as I just went through the same thing. I was sleepy, but of course wanted to finish my quilt, so kept on going. You guessed it…I dozed off and sewed right into my pointer finger. The needle was stuck in my finger and I had to grab my screwdriver to loosen the needle holder to release the needle and slide my finger and needle away from the machine. I rushed into the bathroom and after running cold water over it for a few minutes was able to pull the needle out…but the end point was missing. Sure enough, 2 days letter I knew it was in my finger because of swelling and pain. It is out now, but the finger tip is still numb. No more sleepies for me. I stop now when the yawning starts!
My safe tip for my sewing room is to ALWAYS retract the blade on the rotary cutter every time I finish making a cut.
Elizabeth
Love your web site. You are always so enjoyable with your post ( even the ones about your injury).. in these crazy times Thank You….
Elle
Yep, been there too many times. I have “retrained” myself (foot OFF the pedal)!
Janet
Love the x-ray!
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