So last night, I was crazy tired, but knew I needed to finish up my friends wedding dress early this week and get it sent off to her. So I was finishing up a bit of sewing and ended up getting my left pointer finger under the machine. I was in a bit of shock after it happened, but I went to the restroom and realized how bad it was. The tip of the needle was stuck deep in my finger, and there was thread on either side of the finger. It barely missed the nail area, but it was right next to it and was a thru and thru injury.
My sister and I looked at it and debated going to the emergency room, but kind of felt we could probably get it out. I had her find my sharpest and smallest pair of scissors, sterilized them, and then cut around the needle tip and pulled it out. Then I pulled out the thread and put hydrogen peroxide in it!! Man, that was crazy painful, but in the end I think it worked out for the best. Typing today has definitely been impacted, but I had the nurse on site here check it out and she said it looks fine. Just keep it clean and see my doctor if it gets infected.
So has anyone else done something like this? What the worst accident you have had with your sewing machine?
I've come close to doing that... eep! and almost always have at least one occaision where I cut myself with my scissors (it wouldn't be mine if i didn't bleed on it after all!)
Ouch! I'm kind of surprised that, as long as you've been sewing, you haven't done this before!
I've sewn through my thumb, on an industrial machine, no less (I worked for a summer sewing draperies for dorm rooms). It never occurred to me to do anything more than just back the needle right out again! :o My supervisor and I bound it up with a length of muslin until it stopped bleeding, then put some Neosporin and a band-aid on it. The next day, I actually had my wisdom teeth removed--and the only reason I needed to take any of the prescription pain medicine was for my thumb! It healed up just fine, and today I don't even have a scar from it. The funniest thing was that everyone kept asking me, "Did you need stitches?" I kept saying, "No--the one was quite enough, thank you!"
Hope you're feeling better soon!
The description of you and your sister reminds me of a recent episode of the TV show "Life" (NBC, Fridays, quirky). Adam Arkin's character has his hand impaled by a pencil during an earthquake, and he spends the whole episode trying to find somebody to help him. There's a 24-hour wait at all emergency rooms in the city, so he and his girlfriend debate whether or not to leave it in or pull it out!
I concur. The first time I ever sewed through my finger was in Home Ec class in Jr High.
I think I've done it 3-4 times in my lifetime, as well as countless scary little moments getting my finger knocked by the screw that holds the needle in.
I've also sliced myself on a serger blade a time or two, but not while the machine was running.
Got my hair caught up in the thread once. That was a surprise.
Haven't sewed all the way through my finger yet -- although I've gotten stuck a lot of times. Have cut myself pretty bad with rotary cutters, though -- again, several times. You'd think I'd learn.
I reply, hoping that I don't jinx myself - I have not yet sustained serious injury from my sewing machine. However, I was doing a hem by hand when I was younger and managed to cut *mostly* off the tip of my index finger above the bone. I, too, was shocked at that moment, but the scar is very faint almost 18 years later. It was hanging by a thin bit of skin and bleeding pretty badly--totally gross.
My wife actually had a machine needle go through one of her finger nails. It was before we were married and she was had to call her sister down from her room to help her pull it off the needle since she was in a little shock and couldn't do it by herself.
No machine needle accidents, but the normal thousands of pin pricks, and nicks from scissors and cutters. I did find out that an old (late 60's) model singer that I had bought at a yard sale had an interior short, that ran current through the casing. Not a problem as the enamel insulated it, except I found a chip in the enamel with my arm while sewing, and shocked the hell out of myself. Took a little bit before I could move my fingers.
I was in Fashion class sewing something, and I didn't have my glasses on so I leaned in really close to see what I was doing, and the thread-catching-thing inside the arm of the machine came around and hit me square in the forehead. Twice. No puncturing or bleeding skin dangling for me, but I did have a strange bruise on my forehead that I had to explain to everyone for a little while.
Also, non-sewing-machine incidents include cutting myself with scissors, stabbing myself under the fingernails with pins many times, stepping on a really long pin and getting it embedded in my foot, and pinning something to my leg - like, the whole pin in my skin, not just the top layer, it was right in there.
I have a scar on my left pointer finger from the tread guide on the needle, the damn thing bled like crazy!
the on the same finger a tad down is a tiny scar from the same damn thing,,,
you'd think I learn right?
I ocassionally bust a needle here and there when it comes down a a pin wrong or jam a pin in the bobbin raceway. That's a pain in the rear to undo.
I buy the Schmetz 14 Universal needles. They last a bit longer. Though I do change my needles frequently enough.
I have bruised my fingernail to the point it turns black by having my fingers underneath the screw-thingy that holds in the needle.. it's way too close to the sewing surface on my machine!
Got new scissors and snipped a wound in the base of a finger on my left hand that needed stitches...
Other than that, no other accidents, thank heavens!
Exacto blade accidents for me... Last night, while taking apart my fan (who knew hot glue was so stubborn?), I was trying to use my exacto knife to remove the excess glue. Yep, the knife slipped and stabbed me in my left index finger. Bled like crazy, but it seems to be okay. Lady Elizabeth, I am always afraid of doing exactly what you did! In fact, I hate sewing past 11, as I just KNOW that if I do, I am going to be too tired to pay close attention, and I'll sew right through my fingers! :o
Ya, my accident wasn't as much due to the time as due to the very long weekend I had had over at LARF and not enough sleep since we got a new puppy coming home... But it's mostly better now. I don't have it bandaged today and I'm finally able to type with it again. The bandages along kept me from using it...
Sewed my finger once.
A couple of weeks ago I almost took off a chunk of my middle finger of my right hand with an exacto knife that slipped while working on a project. Damn that bled badly....all healed now.
Tripped over one of the cats while trying on a skirt I made and fell onto the floor with a big thud......that hurt.
Almost took a chunk out of my left index finger with the scissors once, cutting plastic boning. Ther's now a pair of tin nips in my sewing room for this! (Um... For cutting the boning, NOT the fingers! ::))
I frequently have pin crashes, though not always this severe:
This took several minutes to extract from the needle hole...
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Dickens/pincrash.JPG)
Two holes through the head of a flower pin! I had to rip half a seam to get it out!
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Dickens/pin1.JPG)
Two holes through the head of a safety pin, no less!
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Dickens/pin2.JPG)
None of these did any damage to my trusty Lily.
The worst sewing machine disaster/accident killed my Huskylock. I'm sure I've told this before, but just to reiterate the warning:
How to kill a serger:
Mea culpa! I killed my serger... "Woe! Woe! And thrice Woe!" (OK... so THAT quote ages me!)
A tale of doom, gloom, and horrendous expense, not to say STRESS!
Sergers need TLC. They need to be de-fluffed and cleaned and oiled and serviced... ESPECIALLY if you are using a domestic serger heavily for sewing bespoke stuff for customers!
Ok, so about three years back now I was in the middle of a BIG project for a customer... Wedding gown for her, and kit for 16 bridesmaids... Heavy poly satin, circular skirts, and they all needed to have rolled hems! The bride's skirt had TWO complete circles of fabric in it!
And I tried to do the whole lot in one go! BIG mistake! I should have known better! My poor hard-working Huskylock 910 over-heated, and then siezed solid! Emergency trip to the sewing machine repair guy revealed a damaged needle bar as well as a seizure in one of the main bearings. I had to phone round all the sewing machine shops in the county to find an emergency replacement while the Huskylock was fixed. It was never the same, and limped along (no! Clattered and rattled along like a Gatling gun!) for another year, until I replaced it two summers ago with my lovely Bernina and the Brother with the free arm.
That bit of arrant carelessness cost me a Huskylock 910, £170 for the emergency pre-loved Toyota, and the price of a new Bernina 1150MDA and a new Brother 1034D. Never again will I be stuck in the middle of a project without a back-up machine! And never again will I hammer one to death is this manner.
I WILL allow more time to complete rolled hems!
I WILL allow rest stops for both me and my machine!
I WILL clean and oil more regularly!
Please learn from my mistake...