If Blindness Comes: Sewing Techniques

If Blindness Comes: Sewing Techniques

Sewing Techniques

A blind person can and should continue to do whatever kind of
sewing he or she did as a sighted person. Many people sew very
little today. Some even arrange to have the laundry or dry cleaner
do mending for them. Others very much enjoy sewing and do a great
deal of it. Whether you are blind or sighted need not affect your
success in sewing or your preference to avoid it. Three or four

A needle threader consisting of a small piece of metal and
wire loop which can be put into the eye of a needle and used to
draw the end of the thread through the needle is very useful for
threading needles, whether you are sewing by hand or with a sewing
machine. If you are tense, it will seem impossible to do this. If
you relax and practice, threading a needle in this way can become
quick and easy. Needle threaders can be ordered from us and can
often be purchased in fabric stores. Self-threading needles are
also available. There is a tiny division at the large end of a
self-threading needle through which the thread can be pulled. If
your fingers are somewhat stiff or numb you may prefer these
needles for sewing by hand.

When sewing with the machine, you may use the presser foot or a seam guide
to line up the material and keep your seams or topstitching straight. Two types
of machine guides are also available for sewing machines: a magnetic guide which
adheres to the metal of the machine just to the right of the presser foot or
a metal guide that can be screwed onto the machine table in the same place.
If your machine has the hole or holes for the screw, this type of guide is much
sturdier and more reliable than the magnet. Some people like to use adhesive
tape to mark a 5/8 inch seam allowance in front of the presser foot. The most
reliable guide is the presser foot itself and it is safe to let your finger
touch the front of it. As long as your finger is not on top of the presser foot
and does not reach in from the side, the needle cannot hurt you. After a seam
is sewn, you can feel the stitching line to tell how straight it is. Blind sewers,
like sighted sewers, will need to make use of the ripper occasionally.
If you like to make garments and other items, you will need to
develop a new technique for cutting them out. You will probably
want to get a friend to trim commercial patterns on the cutting
line before you lay them on the fabric. You may wish to make some
special markings of darts or arrows with tape when you have them
trimmed. You can feel the edge of the tissue paper against the
fabric well enough to cut along it quite neatly. You should loop
your hand over the top blade of the scissors so that your thumb is
on one side and your fingers on the other just where the two blades
of the scissors come together when you are cutting. The edge of the
pattern should not cross over the bottom blade of the scissors.
Therefore your fingers should be against the pattern and your thumb
against the fabric (or vice versa) as you cut. You will be able to
feel the pattern edge against the fabric and the scissors best if
your hand is relaxed and you touch it lightly. Of course, you will
hold the scissors in the same hand you always did, using the other
to guide them as described above.
Sometimes labeling thread for color can be a problem. One
solution to this problem is to obtain pill bottles with large tops
from your local pharmacy and stick Braille labels on them. Braille
labels glued to the spool of thread itself will be pushed off by
the spindle if the spool is put on the machine.

Sewing is like so many other activities for a blind person. The question is
not whether it can be done. A newly blinded person needs to ask: How can I do
it? not Can I do it? A few relatively simple techniques will make it possible
for a blind person to do any kind of sewing he or she wishes to do. Practice
will make these techniques simple and commonplace, although they may seem difficult
or frustrating at first.
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Copyright © 1994 by the National Federation of the Blind All Rights Reserved.