Tender Fingers

[fluter]

April,

My middle finger is too fat for a standard thimble, but the Barb T. pattern works wonderfully well!

I develop a callus on the side of my left index finger (which is backing the pleat which I sew) from being lightly stabbed by my needle as I stitch. It's not more prominent than you might acquire from moderate gardening chores; but if your skin is tender, then try to avoid using the finger as your stitch gauge! Perhaps you'll be more adept than I: my prior experience is bachelor level hand work and a little light machine sewing.

Work on the pleating posture as described, and do whatever you need to do to accommodate the stretching + stitching operation.

I promise that you'll have fun!

[AKScott]

Couple things. I am a registered nurse, work in the operating room sometimes. I am guessing you know some medical type people.

1. See if you can beg some "needle drivers" a couple "suture removal scissors" and a pair or two of "standard forceps." The latter two are single use disposables, so anytime someone opens a package for one the other is still sterile in the factory packaging. Needle drivers can (typically) be run through an autoclave and be reused, those might be tough to find. If you do like them they run US$5-10 (and up) each.

You may not like these for sewing, but someone in your class probably will. You can probably get a free lunch in exchange for a pair for suture removal scissors ;-)

Surgical forceps probably have too many teeth on them to be useful in kiltmaking. They are made for picking wet thread up from wet smooth slippery surfaces, but worth a try. Smooth toothless forceps go by many names, just tell your contact what you are up to and ask about "big tweezers."

2. To toughen up your skin, rub the areas you want to toughen with salt alternating with lemon juice. Do this before you get any cuts, sores or blisters. On open skin these are excruciating substances, on intact skin they will encourage callous formation.

I can't imagine you would need a sailmaker's palm unless your skin is extraordinarily delicate, I don't bother with mine until I am working with 8oz or heavier leather, but I do keep needle drivers around for lighter work.

[sutherland]

Hi Marks Mom, sore fingers or should I say finger [my left forefinger] goes with the job, but will ease up as you get used to needles pricking your forefinger as a hard patch will build up, not all bad news though as you can feel that you have gone through all thicknness of cloth when you feel the stab. I use a tailors thimble [ open top ] thats the way I was trained, but anything that makes life more comfortable great. With a tailors thimble you use a bended finger and push with the nail, if thats any help. Needles again personal, I prefer size 6 or 7 sharps. Enjoy your kiltmaking.

Regards Sutherland.

ps. made by mum, when working at Sulka in londons old bond street in the 70s, work was taken home by Mums [ and me] to be made, then sold in London Paris and New York, made by people not robots.Take it as a compliment .Again enjoy the trip.

[Barb T]

It isn't hard to push a needle through the fabric when you're kiltmaking, and I can't imagine that you would need either a sailmaker's palm or needle pullers. The only thing that would actually be hard to stitch are the leather straps, and you'll punch holes in those.

The thimble is solely to protect your finger. If you stitch 25 pleats with 10 stitches per inch, that's a lot of stitches. Unless you have a really substantial callus, your pushing finger will get very sore. And it's enough stitches that, sooner or later, an ordinary leather thimble will poke through. The ones that I make have a little scrap of metal (roof flashing is what I use) in between two leather layers. That's enough to keep the butt end of the needle from eventually working its way through to your finger after many many stitches. But you don't have to push hard to get the needle through the fabric. And, with a thimble, you can develop one smooth poke-push-pull motion that allows you to stitch quickly.

[Mark's Mom]

Wow, AK Scott, that is some great information! Thanks!

[Mark's Mom]

Thanks, Barb, I will get a piece of leather and give it a try!