Sewing Room Safety

Safety is important, even in our sewing rooms and a lot of times we don't realize that we're doing things that are unsafe practices. So today I want to give you a couple of tips for some of the most common things you're going to find in your sewing room. First of all, is the sewing machine. These machines can literally sew over your fingertip and asked me how I know this. I've had a needle in my finger more than once and it will stay in bedded and you are going to have to yank it out with a pair of pliers and it's not a pleasant experience. So, when you're sewing, keep your fingers away from directly in front of the needle. If you need to adjust something under the needle you might want to use a stiletto or even a long pin can help you guide things under the the presser foot. If you have children, you can also buy a foot that has a safety guard on it. It looks like a little upside down U that attaches over your presser foot and it keeps it so that the finger cannot go through and be run over by the machine. Next, are pins. We don't think of pins as being dangerous. In fact, how many of you do this and you take the pins out one at a time? Well, I recently learned after years of doing that, that this can be very dangerous, that it's actually quite easy to inhale the pins. You're also teaching your children or grandchildren some bad habits. You can also poke your tongue, which isn't very pleasant. Also, when it comes to your pin dish, if you will get a magnetized dish the pins won't spill all over and fall on the floor where people can step on them. And that can hurt an awful lot. Ask my husband. When it comes to scissors, scissors can be very, very sharp and we don't want to drop them, because we don't want to dull the point, but if you're in your sewing room barefoot and these fall, you can actually cut that large vein on top of your foot. So I recommend just the little lanyard that you can put around your neck and then your scissors are always handy or you can also attach it to your machine or to the table with different methods. If you use a rotary cutter, quilters use these all the time and they're becoming more and more popular in the sewing room. The rotary cutter is like a pizza wheel and this blade is extremely sharp. I have taken off part of my finger before and had to go to the emergency room and get it stitched back on, but I have absolutely no feeling in that finger right now. I have known... So, when you're cutting with the ruler, keep your hand back as you're cutting or get a safety guard for your ruler. One of the most important things you can do though is never leave a rotary cutter open. Always close it and lock it, because if it falls it's not going to, again cut that vein on your foot. It's not going to maybe nick your leg or a child. I've also known of a quilter that I was teaching in class who said that she was sitting on the floor with all of her fabrics and the rotary cutter got lost in the fray and she managed to sit on it and slice her behind and have to have stitches. So this can be a very dangerous tool. The other thing is, changed the blade quite frequently, because a dull cutter is actually more apt to cut you than a sharp on wheel, because you're pressing harder and it can jump over the ruler. The last piece of equipment that I want to talk about is your iron. Always make sure that you unplug it before you leave your sewing room so that you don't inadvertently start a house fire and remember that the iron is extremely hot. If you have children in your sewing room, make sure that they know to stay away and not play around the ironing board where they can easily step on a cord or somehow pull it off onto them. The other thing is, if you pull the iron down and you have nylon or polyester carpet, you will melt your carpet, which I know you don't want to do. Also when you are ironing, make sure that you keep your hands away and when you're spraying a burst of steam and just be extremely careful when you clean it, because normally when we clean an iron we need it to be very hot and we put the cleaner on it and wipe it with a rag. Just make sure that you've got several layers of that rag in between you and the iron. So, if you keep these tips in mind not only will it keep you safe, but you will be setting a good example for anybody else who may be sharing your sewing room with you. And I wish you many years of happy, safe, sewing.