Hand care for those who sew
Yes, your hands need you to care for them, too!
If you want to be able to use your hands for another 20-40 years for hand stitching you absolutely must begin caring for them right now. It’s not something I hear a lot of people talk about. Your hands need TLC especially if you hand stitch on a regular basis. All of that pinching and pulling and pushing needles takes its toll. That repeated movement for hours on end needs to be balanced with counter movement and stretching.
If your insurance covers it, or if you can afford it, I would go to an occupational therapist with your sewing kit, show them what you do, and get custom exercises from a professional that will set you up for a lifetime of hand health!
If your insurance does not cover it (yet, because you don’t have an injury to show) you can start now on preventative care and hopefully avoid chronic pain and injuries!
I would also note here that if you get some minor pain from sewing now, it absolutely will not go away on its own. Especially if you continue the same motions over days or months. Minor pain needs to be addressed as soon as possible before it becomes a chronic problem or you may lose the ability to do certain fine motor skills.
There’s two main ways to address the issue: one is that you buy some items to help your hands, and two is that you build up some stretching habits. I guess there’s a third option and that’s do both! Anyone who has ever tried to begin a flossing habit would probably agree that it’s easier to buy the floss than to actually floss every day. Anyway, let’s start with the products you can buy, I normally don’t try to recommend purchasing things to solve problems, but there are a few very affordable things you should get to keep your hands working well.
A few material items to add to your arsenal
Flexible rubber thimbles, or gripper thimbles
They are mostly made of silicon and add gripability to your fingertips so that you don’t have to pinch as hard for the same results.
These are for those of us who tend to pinch the tip of the needle and pull it through the fabric (as opposed to needle pushers who tend to push it from behind through the fabric). I found that using one on my thumb helps me get a really tight grip on the needle without having to squeeze my pincer grip unnecessarily. That saves those tiny tendons and muscles in your fingers and forearms from overwork.
🔗 Rubber grip thimble from Brooklyn Haberdashery 🧶
Nimble Thimble or a Palm Thimble
The Nimble Thimble is a leather thimble with a small piece of metal at the tip to give you great pushing ability without puncturing or damaging nerves in the tip of your finger. Mostly worn on the middle finger. You can totally use the gripper thimble on your thumb and the nimble thimble on your middle finger for support in both the pushing and pulling movements.
Palm thimbles are worn at the base of your middle finger and used to push a long needle (like a sashiko needle) through many layers of fabric. These do seem very comfortable compared to other thimbles and I’m sure with practice could transform the way you sew and protect your hands while doing it.
🔗 Palm Thimble from Brooklyn Haberdashery 🧵
🔗 Nimble Thimble from The Sewing Place ✂️
Tension Gloves
These are like fingerless compression socks for your wrists and palms. These are often used in arthritis patients to ease pain and reduce swelling. They can be used as a preventative measure for all sorts of inflammation in the hands and wrists. Definitely consider a pair if you plan to do many hours of hand stitching at a time. These can help with long-term effects of hand sewing. They are designed to keep your body heat contained and stimulate circulation in your hands, while additionally offering support (they are tight!) to your wrists and palms.
🔗 Thergonomic Hand-aids from Missouri Quilt Co 🧤
The thing that money can’t buy: daily or hourly stretching and strengthening
The most important thing is something that money can’t buy! I have found this a difficult thing to add to my sewing practice: hourly stretching and resting! Plus an end of day stretching routine to ease inflammation. I cannot recommend enough to get yourself a kitchen timer for your workspace. Both as a motivational tool and also as a reminder to pause your physical work and stretch. If I have a long period of time in front of me to work on hand-sewing I set the timer for 50 minutes and spend the last 10 minutes of every hour resting my eyes, moving my neck and doing some hand recovery work (and also snacking).
What exercises, you ask?
Enter YouTube physical therapy. This should not replace medical advice from a real doctor or physical therapist. But the YouTube PT universe has thousands of videos with common exercises to add to your routine.
Here’s a couple to get you started:
Ask Doctor Jo: 5 best carpal tunnel syndrome stretches and exercises
Ask Doctor Jo: Neck Pain Relief Stretches - 5 Minute Real Time Routine
Of course, doing these exercises on your own could potentially hurt you. If you are experiencing specific and chronic pain, see a doctor! But if you are going for preventative care, online videos for hand and wrists stretches and strengthening will probably do the trick.
Please don’t take any of this as professional medical advice, see a doctor if you are experiencing hand pain!
Do you have any practices or products that you use to prevent injury in your art practice (any practice, not just sewing!)?
Continued reading
Handmade things are made by bodies with Julie Cloutier on Creative Fuel
What are some of the things that you think we as working artists don't talk about enough publicly, or aren't transparent about enough?
Labor.
Not just the time and minutiae of making the work but the toll it takes on the body. With pottery as an example, some people may think it’s meditative, loose and carefree, but working on a potter’s wheel is incredibly physical and taxing on the body. That doesn’t get reflected or translated into the cost of a mug. It’s truly blood sweat and tears.
Read the whole interview:
I hope you make some time this week to stretch it out.
Take care,
Bekka