Do Not Try This At Home
The deadline was approaching. The annual Costume College was the next weekend, and I was desperately trying to finish my costume for the Gala. You know the panic.
I had a narrow ¼” seam allowance with several fat layers of fabric under my presser foot to stitch on the bias for finishing. Go! Go! Go!
Then, in the living room, my husband hears: “Oh my gosh! I hope I don’t pass out.” (Yeah, I actually said that.) He throws his book down and comes running into the sewing room. “What?! What is it?”
He sees me sitting on the floor in front of my desk where my machine is and I have my right hand elevated. “What happened? Do you need to go to the emergency room?”
“I don’t know. I just sewed my needle into my finger. And it went all the way through!”
OUCH!
Because I was sewing quickly and using a tiny seam allowance, AND my fingers were just TOO close to the foot, my hand slipped into the needle’s path as I was trying to push the fabric under the foot. I’ve done the process lots but this time my finger got in the way.
I released the foot pedal as soon as the needle went in. But of course the machine wasn’t powerful enough to keep stitching my finger – Thank God!
I had to stop and assess the situation.
My right ring finger was stuck in my machine with the needle in it so I couldn’t very easily move. So I stretched across with my left hand to turn the fly wheel to release the needle. I had indeed put the needle clear through my finger. Yeah. Fortunately it missed all the blood capillaries and the bone as it was sore but not bleeding or stinging.
What an experience!
You wouldn’t think that sewing can be that dangerous, but don’t underestimate working with sharp objects! Pins, scissors, rotary blades, buttonhole cutters, needles, seam rippers, tin snips, etc., etc. The sewing room is filled with pointed items just waiting to take revenge out on you.
I’ve also nearly lost an eye by hitting a metal bone in a bodice when the needle broke and the end flew up to my face. The second time it happened, the needle was a large size and I only managed to bend it into a fish hook.
The sewing room is a wild place. Caution must be exercised!
- Keep cutting implements in the center of tables and not teetering on the edge.
- Have a magnet handy when you spill pins on the floor
- Clean up your main work area after a sewing session (you don’t have to put it all away (who does anyways?) but at least put your tools up)
- Store your hand needles in a case or corkboard
- Leave machine needles in their packaging until needed
- Pay attention when machine sewing with a tiny seam allowance
- Be extra careful when sewing around metal bones
- Above all: slow down!
Do you have a cautionary tale of a sewing room medical disaster or injury?
Aaand after years of sewing, it’s finally happened to me too. Was hyperfocusing for hours on a corset I’d been wanting to make for months, and I guess my brain got a bit tired and somehow let me put my finger in the space above the foot as the needle was coming down…. 😅 Next thing I know, my finger just feels like it’s jammed in something, definitely not the sharp pain I expected. And I was surprisingly calm as I took my foot off the pedal and slid my finger down the needle that was shoved completely through it. It just feels a bit tender now and I’ve since had my dad change the needle (which I couldn’t do for obvious reasons, and which he made a joke about – “bring the your finger here so we can test it out” 😂) and then went right back to sewing!
Oh dear! Glad you came out okay and got right back into sewing. 😀
My mother was at her sewing desk in the living room, oiling her machine (not threaded, but she had left the needle in) when my then-3-year-old brother walked up and decided to try to touch the shiny thing. The needle went through his tiny little finger (without hitting any bone!) and they were both so shocked that neither of them jerked or yelled, thank goodness! The hole bled a little, of course, and (after forty years) I’ve forgotten if my mother decided to take him to the ER for x-rays just to be safe, or not. She always removed the needle before oiling her machines after that.
I remember my aunt telling me a story of the time she sewed through her finger and I thought, how do you manage to do that. Well I found out a few months ago. I only got part of the way through. I released the pedal and went off to deal with the wound. Luckily it was more painful and less bleeding so I just applied a plaster to keep the sewing clean. When I tried to carry on sewing the needle hit the foot. At that point I realised the my finger had bent the needle. .
I’ve also managed to cut myself with sharp scissors. I never realised how sharp they can be till I’d done it the first time.
Doesn’t seem to be worth mentioning the number of times I’ve stuck pins or needles into my fingers.
At the first quilting class I attended, the instructor said to be sure all fingers are away from the edge of the ruler when making rotary cuts. Guess who sliced her left index finger? I bandaged it tightly and continued cutting in spite of the throbbing. The class must go on! That was 25 years ago and there is still a scar. The feeling in that fingertip never fully returned.
Thankfully, I’ve never sewn through a finger! However, I did cut myself with my sewing shears once. I was clipping something that I was holding in my hand (stupid!), and I clipped a little too far—right through the base of my finger! It was a rather deep cut, but not wide, so I didn’t go to the ER. I just put some antibiotic ointment on it and bandaged it up. Didn’t even leave a scar, which surprised me. I don’t remember it hurting, either, so I must have just missed the nerve.
Also, I had a terrifying experience with my cat, about ten years ago. I left my pincushion out on the sofa arm, and when I came back into the room, I noticed that one of my threaded needles was missing. I thought I must be mistaken . . . until the kitty started this eerie vibrating cough. We rushed him to the vet, where they found the missing needle—lodged at the back of his throat! Fortunately, it got stuck there, where they could easily remove it with pliers. If he’d swallowed it, it would have meant surgery, because the thread attached to the needle can get tangled in their intestines and cause blockages or even gangrene. Now the cats are banned from my sewing room. Too many ways for them to get into trouble!
This was a fun and helpful read! Now I know I’m not the only Klutz at the machine…thanks
How funny that I found this blog post today! A couple of weeks ago I was doing alterations at 4 a.m. (you take whatever time you get some days) and the coffee hadn’t kicked in yet. When I sewed my index finger the BRAND NEW THAT I HAD JUST REPLACED needle broke off right in the middle of my fingernail! Sewing my finger was the least of my problems – the sensation of pulling thread out from under my jagged fingernail hole was so much worse! 😀 At least I didn’t bleed on the project!
What makes it even better is that when I was talking to my mother yesterday she started with “You’ll never guess what I did today…” but she had the added fun of spending the afternoon repeatedly sewing her handstitched portion of her project to her bandaid.
I wonder where I get it from!
Ouch and double ouch! 🙂
I have sewn a finger as well. I can’t remember what I was making, but I sure remember the sound of the needle punching through the nail! I also have a lovely scar, and likely permanent nerve damage up the side of my left index finger from a slipped Xacto knife while cutting leather, in the days before I discovered the joys of the rotary cutter. I’ve never felt anything quite as unnerving as the edge of my blade scraping against the bone, and it’s not a feeling I want to repeat! I’m glad my roomie was home, and heard me start cursing loudly and running for the bathroom, because I actually blacked out for a second from shock, then threw up the blood I’d swallowed from refexively putting the finger in my mouth. She got me to the ER safe and sound in spite of her fear of hospitals, then *she* almost passed out and had to leave the room while the doc was stitching my finger up! I was fine by then, because freezing and painkillers are wonderful things.
These days I use a rotary cutter with a safety blade for leatherwork, and always keep a close eye on where my fingers are. Lesson well learned!
I once slipped off and the seam ripper sticked between two fingers in my hand – it was very painful and happened when I was outside in the garden… I immediatly went into the house because I didnt wanted to cry out loud outside 😀
I too have broken a needle sewing in steel boning. Luckily I wear glasses!
My most horrifying episode though was when I was working on a project on a table on one side of the living room and sewing on the dining table about 10 feet away. My sister-in-law and 6 yr. old nephew came over to visit. While I was sewing and mother & grandmother were in the kitchen, my nephew picked up my roller cutter and rolled it across his fingers! Luckily he didn’t push hard & it was a dullish blade and only made a small cut on one finger. Thankfully no stitches required. I felt terrible.
I have also sewn my finger. My youngest daughter was 4 at the time and I had to enlist her assistance with the pliers to help me pull out the needle. She reminds me that I was most concerned with NOT bleeding on whatever project I had in the machine!
I actually sewed my finger to a garment. It was silk, with a tiny rolled hem (my personal nemesis) at the cuff. The machine was loaded with the tiniest needle I could find (a #8, I think). I let out a yelp when the needle first punctured my finger and reflexively stomped down even harder on the pedal. Four stitches right up the side of my finger, very neat, very tiny and very, very OUCHIE.
A trip the the E/R would have resulted in a 14 hour wait for care so I bandaged it using the silk sleeve I had been sewing and was waiting on the office doorstep for my doctor at 7:30AM.
It should have taken only minutes to remove but she was laughing so hard I had to sit there for half an hour while she picked them out. Believe it or not there was hardly any blood at all and the sleeve (after rinsing out in cold water and careful pressing) was actually usable!
Do you want to hear about the year I worked as temporary Christmas help and stapled my finger to a customer’s package?
I was sewing a lovely peach moire bustle dress on a very old but very powerful industrial machine. I was paying more attention to keeping the pleated layers aligned than I was to the needle. Before I knew it my thumb was caught under the foot between the silk layers and even though I took my foot off the pedal the flywheel continued three whole stitches, one through the nail and the bone. The thread didn’t break so I was sewn into the dress! I use a tool to hold those thick layers now!!!
I was being hasty in a cutting and still had my finger on the trigger of the wheel cutter when I passed it under my other hand. The blade was so sharp I didn’t feel the cut but felt the immediate wet of blood from surgically removing like the top three layers of skin. Thankfully the fabric was junk fleece for a pet cage, but you know those fine cuts like that bleed everywhere and then you wonder how you got all that all over the place.
I worked in a sewing factory many years ago. Of course we are talking heavy duty industrial machines which go very very fast! One day the needle broke and I was looking around for it. There it was sticking out of both sides of my thumb, right through the nail! It didn’t hurt til the boss pulled it out and poured alcohol on it! Ok, back to work! lol
I keep my pins in a magnetic small-parts dish from a garage/workshop. Then if it turns over, it’s all “contained.”
I also want to remind people about pet safety. Keep your thread and fabric bits swept/picked up so your cats don’t swallow them. Even little bits can build up over time and cause a blockage. Make sure they can’t get near the hot iron or bite the cord, or knock or pull it off the ironing board onto themselves. I had one cat who liked to bite the pins and needles on my pincushion! And a friend whose poor dog swallowed a needle. They always want to be ‘supervising’ right where you are working.
My biggest sewing injury actually came from my tape measure. It was one of those yellow ones with the metal tips on the end, and I wound up stepping on one of the ends. For some reason, instead of flattening itself to the floor, it stuck straight up and cut off a huge chunk of my big toe. It took a couple months to heal.
I’ve broken needles more than once, mostly on corset bones or too thick fabric. It teaches you to take time with your sewings, othervice you end up hurt. Having glasses or protective eyewear is actually a good idea to wear while sewing if you think the needle might not handle it, this is from a person who has had broken needles hitting right to the eyeglasses, without them I’d probably lost an eye already.
The other handy thing is a stick with a magnet on the other end. We had this kind of instrument when I was in grade school (kids drop a lot of needles) and it was easy to pick the needles up with the magnet. I’ve used this at home too because my kitties have a tendency that if they find my pincushion, they just have to pull out the pins and drop them on the floor (naughty kitties!). The stick is very helpful for finding needles you just KNOW are on the floor, but cannot see them anywhere.
I have also sewn through a finger. Unfortunately, when it went in, I instinctively pulled my hand away, ripping open the finger. It has since healed but there is now a very strange looking, numb area of my finger.
I’m of the (unfortunate) opinion that those of us who sew fall into two categories: those with at least one cautionary tale (stepping on pins/needles, sewing through fingers, cutting something with a sharp implement that shouldn’t be cut, etc.) and those who are merely biding time until they have their own cautionary tale(s)!
Last fall I borrowed a friend’s mother’s sewing machine to sew some velcro onto a shirt for an onstage quick change and about halfway through one side, the needle broke and the tip landed right at the corner of my eye. Luckily it didn’t touch my eye, but I’m now very cautious when using unfamilar machines that are particular rickity
I ran a sewing machine needle through the end of my right index finger, while trying to work jumbo piping on a pillow sham. The good news is that it missed the nail; the bad news is that I jerked and tore it out the side of my finger. Fortunately, I just ran over to my neighbor’s & she helped me bandage it. Scarier yet, when I was not at home one of my kids ran a metal presser foot through my serger to see what would happen. It split the presser foot in 2 and one end went flying. I’m lucky they didn’t lose an eye!
Very good points indeed (no pun intended). Glad you and your finger made it ok.
I’m a natural klutz, so I seem to be making blood sacrifices to the sewing gods on a regular basis… LOL.
There was an incident that happened at a “stich and bitch” party. I was very lucky there were other people around and I wasn’t alone. I inhaled a pin. Yes, inhaled, not swallowed.
911 was called and I got a trip to the emergency room. At the time the paramedics thought I had swallowed the pin, I could feel it on the back of my throat. They didn’t want me to talk or swallow. Once at the emergency room they took an x-ray and there it was as pretty as a picture lodged in my windpipe.
They wanted to go in and get it, but they had to put me under and of course, I had just eaten. They put me in a room for 4 hours to wait for my stomach to clear lying flat and trying not to swallow. At one point I had to cough, so I did. It seemed like nothing happened, I could still feel the pin.
After 4 hours they took another x-ray. Now the darn thing had moved. They thought it was in my lung. They started preparing me for surgery and quite possibly be opening me up to take it out. I was a bit loopy on drugs and remembering asking a nurse jokingly if they could remove a rib or two so my corsets could fit better.
But thank goodness for a the radiologist. She insisted that it was in my stomach. So they brought in the Chief of Thoracic Surgery to consult. He agreed with the radiologist.
When I coughed I had apparently brought it up out of my windpipe and then immediately swallowed it. In the words of the Chief, I cured myself. Now it was just a matter of *ahem* nature and I would pass it naturally. And I did. A week later they took x-rays and it was gone (and no, I never found it myself… eeewww).
Moral of story… never, NEVER sew with pins in your mouth.