Taking care of your hands

[SeppoKaitainen]

Silly new guy question here - 

Can anyone share ideas to keep from cutting up the skin on the first knuckle of my pinky finger when I pull thread through stitching?

Am I pulling too tight?  Is it the angle I hold my hands?  Should I wear something on my finger or hands?

[Tinkerton]

Personally, I either wrap my finger with this stuff http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=31213&cat=1,42207

or I use a pair of leather driving gloves that I cut the fingertips off of.

[JLSleather]

Some folks just put a band aid there BEFORE stitching.   If you do it with any regularity, it will toughen up right there and likely won't bother you  any more.

[Aven]

13 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

Some folks just put a band aid there BEFORE stitching.   If you do it with any regularity, it will toughen up right there and likely won't bother you  any more.

I tried that, but I couldn't get the skin to toughen up, it kept splitting open all the way down to muscle on me right hand.  So I made finger covers. I made four leather finger covers out of soft leather that was about 8~9 oz.  Think fingers cut off of a glove, with the tips cut off.  I made them tight enough to stay on, but not so tight I couldn't bend my fingers.  Basically they are a wrap.  Wrapped the leather around the finger I wanted to protect and used binder clamps to snug the leather. Once I figured out how tight I wanted them, I sewed a simple seam down the length.  I'd show you picture, but I don't have a camera at the moment.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Aven

[billybopp]

I use cloth athletic tape around my fingers where the "wear points" are.  It's cheap, readily available and even gives a bit of added grip on needles.

- Bill

[rodneywt1180b]

I use a pair of pliers to pull the needle and knot through.  It should go easy after that.

Are you using waxed thread?

[Stetson912]

I tend to wrap the thread around the meat space between the first and second knuckle. Not as thin and doesn't cut. 

Odds are you aren't pulling tight enough rather than too much. You'll get calloused after a bit and it won't be as bad. But wrapping with anything will totally eliminate the issue 

[battlemunky]

I really only use the finger gloves I made when marathon stitching. For most things I'm stitching for under an hour at a time and am ok for the most part. I can feel it for sure but luckily I don't get cut.

 

Edited November 16, 2018 by battlemunky

[SeppoKaitainen]

Thanks all.   I’m glad to know I’m not entirely crazy and not the only one who’s had to deal with this.  Really appreciate all the solutions!

[chrisash]

As William Shakespere once wrote "How tight is tight enough" that is the question

or something similar

Edited November 16, 2018 by chrisash