Let’s Discuss Sewing Machine Safety
Keep safety at the front of your actions and thoughts when using a sewing machine!
1. Finger Safety
When sewing on a sewing machine, it is almost unavoidable that your fingers will be vulnerable. This is already an issue, but it becomes even worse when you aren’t paying focused attention to your finger placement. That makes the most important safety tip to be watchful of fingers and to pay attention at all times. Don’t move your eyes away from the needle. If you lose focus for even a few seconds, there could easily be an accident.
Implement safety measures. The way to avoid an accident is to keep safety in its rightful place: priority number one. If you must look away from your sewing machine, (which is very possible if you have kids or pets), decide that it is more important for your safety to stop what you’re doing first.
Learn how to sew with a machine in such a way that your fingers don’t need to get so close to the needle. If the fabric needs to be close, find an alternative. Erasers or chopsticks are great alternatives for your fingers if something is potentially going to get poked.
2. Become a Mindful Sewer
Sew at a slow, steady pace. You can begin doing this by using sewing as a meditative, mindfulness practice. Not only does moving fast and rushing potentially create messy pieces, but it can also lead to very painful accidents. Slow down and enjoy where you are.
3. Protect Your Hair
Most activities that require safety will ask for pulled back hair. When it comes to a sewing machine, the risk goes up. These machines have a lot of moving parts that move very fast when the machine is on. Now think about it, if you let your long and flowy hair free when you’re working on a sewing project, it can easily get caught in one of those swiftly moving machine components.
It would be as simple as you getting a little close to the machine in a focused manner and BAM, your hair is wrapping itself around a sewing needle at a fast pace. This means utter disaster. It’s a simple fix: pull your hair up and away from your face. It will help you focus with fewer distractions while simultaneously keeping you safe from the sewing machine.
4. Keep it Unplugged
After you’ve finished a hard days work with your sewing machine, remember to always unplug it. This might seem like just an extra step to add to your long day, but it’s a one-second safety precaution that can be made into an easy habit. Another good tip is to remember to unplug your sewing machine before doing things like oiling it up or cleaning it.
5. Never Yank the Cord
When you go to unplug your sewing machine, make sure you never grab the cord by the cable and forcefully pull it out of its socket. This action will cause your cord to have to be replaced long before it would have otherwise been necessary.