Correct Posture

[Girly Girl]

I have a Tilt'able for my machine which is basically a piece of
plastic to set the machine on and it tilts it up at whatever degree
angle is most comfortable to sew on. It's helped me, and you can get
them for around $50. I ordered mine from http://www.shoppersrule.com/,
but you can also find them at sewing fairs.

On Tue, 1 Oct 2030 11:11:55 +0100, "Gareth Slee"
<garet...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

>Hi
>
>I posting this on behalf of my wife Jane.
>
>She spends long periods of time sewing and lately has started suffering with
>neck and back pain.
>I think it might be because of her posture while sewing.
>
>So what is the correct posture when sewing?
>Are there perhaps websites you know of that may also help.
>Are there any aids I can buy that would help the position?
>
>Thanks for any help you can give.
>
>Sorry for the cross posting but I reallly didn't know which newsgroup would
>be most helpful.
>
>Thank You
>
>Gareth Slee
>
>

[penny s]

"Girly Girl" <girl...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3c7c638d...@netnews.attbi.com...

> I have a Tilt'able for my machine which is basically a piece of
> plastic to set the machine on and it tilts it up at whatever degree
> angle is most comfortable to sew on. It's helped me, and you can get
> them for around $50. I ordered mine from http://www.shoppersrule.com/,
> but you can also find them at sewing fairs.
>

you can accomplish the same thing with anything that will prop you machine
up on the back corners for a lot less. I use two pink pearl erasers.

Penny S

[Melinda Meahan]

Girly Girl wrote:
>
> I have a Tilt'able for my machine which is basically a piece of
> plastic to set the machine on and it tilts it up at whatever degree
> angle is most comfortable to sew on. It's helped me, and you can get

I have heard that you can get thick erasers and put them under the back
side of the machine and it will do the first thing. Better to try that
and make sure that's the problem before spending tons of money on
something.
--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

[Melinda Meahan]

Girly Girl wrote:
>
> I have a Tilt'able for my machine which is basically a piece of
> plastic to set the machine on and it tilts it up at whatever degree
> angle is most comfortable to sew on. It's helped me, and you can get

I have heard that you can get thick erasers and put them under the back
side of the machine and it will do the first thing. YOu could try that

and make sure that's the problem before spending tons of money on

something else.

[Joanne]

You can use those wedges for holding doors open. They work
especially well and are cheap. Two for a dollar or so.

Joanne in Reno

--
Joanne <mailto:joa...@singerlady.reno.nv.us>
Visit here today: http://www.thehungersite.com/index.html
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

[EB's Sewing Room]

I have used both thick erasers and door stops for my machines. Personally I
like the erasers better, I bought them at Office Max very reasonably priced.
Emily

[Beth Pierce]

Forgive me for being a little late, but I noticed
the thread on using erasers or door stops under
sewing machines. I sit at a rather tall desk that
can't be adjusted, and sometimes my shoulders hurt
from sewing too much. I visualized what the
erasers would do, but then I thought the fabric
would keep slipping off the machine if I used
them. Is this possible? I'm getting ready to
make some lined drapes and I think maybe I'll need
to "rethink my posture".

--

"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather
openings where our loved ones shine down to let us
know they are happy."--Eskimo Legend

[Kate Dicey]

Make your chair the right height for the desk, and if your feet dangle
in mid air, get a box made for them, big enough for both feet and the
foot peddle. This is how I learned to sew!

I have an adjustable office chair as both my machines are on fixed
benches. I just scoot between the two.

Kate XXXXXX

[Beth Pierce]

Because the desk is a kneehole, the chair is as
high as it will go without cutting off circulation
in my legs. (I forgot to mention that!) I like
the idea of the benches, though. Thanks Kate!

Kate Dicey wrote:

[Kate Dicey]

Mine are bits of pale grey kitchen work top, fixed to the wall. Cheap
and cheerful! The only time I get a problem is when sewing something
with lots of needle movements very fast (rows of fancy stitches, for
example), when the Lily's bench bounces gently, and my CD's slide off
their piles, small things drop off the edge, and everything vibrates!
The other bench is shorter and has supporting drawers at one end, so
doesn't bounce, but because the top is slightly textured, the serger
suction feet don't grip, so it can vibrate towards the edge if I'm
sewing in foot to floor mode!

Everything has it's drawbacks! I don't have room for a nice big table!

Kate XXXXXX

[Pat in Virginia]

Kate:
My SM liked to boogie a bit, too, especially after I
got the SM Cabinet with lift. "A whole lot of shakin'
goin' on!" Here's how to stop that: place rubber coated
mesh mat under the SM ..... this is the product sold
for lining drawers and shelving ..... one brand is
Rubbermaid. Problem solved .... no more rock and roll.
PAT

[Mike and Sharon Hays]

Pat, you are SO right!!! I was just going to say this very thing. I have
the rubber shelf liner under both my sewing machine and my serger. My
sewing table is an antique ceramic over metal kitchen table. (was my
Great-Aunt's kitchen table) Works great, my magnetic pin catcher can cling
to the side of the table top till I need it. :-) Plus the table is perfect
height, perfect length, and has that little drawer on the long side. The
drawer is great for stashing bobbins and accessory feet. :-) But I about
went NUTS (ok, more nuts than I already am....) when I first started using
it. It was like free motion sewing all the time!! lol Then I stuck the
rubber liner under there and lo' and behold! the machine stopped wandering
all over creation!!!

Kate, check the discount stores. Anyplace that sells kitchen stuff of any
kind will have this stuff. Works great, and a roll will last you a very
long time. (if it starts to get mushy looking in spots (where the machine
feet rest) just whack off another piece and cut the first piece smaller.
Stick the small pieces in the kitchen junk drawer for opening stubborn jar
lids!!!)

Sharon

--
Remove NO SPAM and validate my address to reply.

"Never Try to Teach a Pig to Sing. It's a Waste of Time and It Just Annoys
the Pig."

"Pat in Virginia" <pat.q...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:3C826215...@cox.net...

[Kate Dicey]

I know the sort of stuff you mean! A great tip! Lakeland do some
variety of it... guess where some of tomorrow's on-line shopping will
be!

Thanks for the idea!

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

Will do! Not that I usually have trouble with jar lids - my hands are
rather small, but my grip is fierce! Comes from lugging books, sewing
machines, files, handfuls of pens, etc. all over educational
establishments all my life.

Kate XXXXXX

[Lydia Ash]

On Sun, 3 Mar 2002, Kate Dicey wrote:

> with lots of needle movements very fast (rows of fancy stitches, for
> example), when the Lily's bench bounces gently, and my CD's slide off
> their piles, small things drop off the edge, and everything vibrates!

I found an old Steelcase L-shape desk at a Goodwill for $30. I have my
sewing machine on the main desk and my serger on the return. These
desks are built like tanks. If I stand next to it, grab the table edge
with both hands, and shake as hard as I can, the table does *not*
move. No exaggeration. It also has two handy drawers on the main desk
and three drawers on the return. (The return is the short part of the L)

I know schools and offices often sell these desks when they can afford to
buy new furniture. If you're in the market for a new sewing desk, you
might check the classifieds occasionally for one of these. Mine was built
in 1977 and there isn't a ding or dent on it anywhere. Steelcase really
can build tough furniture.

--
Lydia Ash ............... Never miss a good opportunity
ly...@1011tenn.net ...... to shut up

[Kate Dicey]

I'd LOVE something like this, but there isn't the space in the room!
The bouncy work top has to fit between the door and the far wall, which
has floor to ceiling shelves in an alcove. It also has to be
fold-away-able when we have guests! I am constrained by having to find
space for a bed as well as the sewing machines, a couple of thousand
books and all the sewing paraphernalia that cannot live in the loft, all
in a room less than 12' by 10'.

As it stands, I shall just have to stack the boxes of thread up so high
they wedge under the work top and act as an extra leg!

Kate XXXXXX

[EB's Sewing Room]

That's what I use under the serger, and also under the sewing machine on the
writing desk in the living room when I decide to "come up for air" as my DS
calls it.
Emily

[EB's Sewing Room]

I saw an advertisement recently for a support "stick" in either the Clotilde
catalog(www.clotilde.com) or Nancy's Notion's(www.nancysnotions.com) to put
under a table top to give support to the machines. NAYY.
Emily

[Lydia Ash]

On Mon, 4 Mar 2002, Kate Dicey wrote:

> has floor to ceiling shelves in an alcove. It also has to be
> fold-away-able when we have guests! I am constrained by having to find
> space for a bed as well as the sewing machines, a couple of thousand

**stunned silence**

You do all this and you don't have a dedicated sewing room?

I am in awe of your amazing talents and apparent inifinite patience.

[S. Kea Grilley]

I use the rubber stuff, too- but still had problems with vibration. I had
an old camping/sleeping foam pad- you know, those blue ones that roll up
very tight? I cut that up, put pieces under serger and sewing machine, and
Voila! No more bounce.

Good luck! skg

[Kate Dicey]

I think a stack of 13 lt food storage boxes full of thread that I
already have to stack under there will be cheaper! If that doesn't do
the trick, DH has plenty of wood in the shed! :)

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

You wait 'til I put the pictures of the sewing room on the web page!
:)) Then you'll wonder how I get in the door, never mind how I work in
there!! At the moment the bed is missing: I gave the double that was in
there to my next door neighbour just before Christmas, and keep meaning
to collect a single with guest bed under it from my sister. This will
allow me to give double bed space to couples and two single beds to
people like my goddaughter & her sister, or my two nephews. This is
when I need to put the sewing machine away and gain the extra pace!

ALL DH's modelling stuff is in there at the moment too, which makes it a
tad cosy! At the moment there is no room for the bed: from somewhere a
heap of junk has moved in while I was sewing costumes... I'm sure most
of it can be 'disappeared' again, but I'm not sure where!

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

I got a roll of 'Stay in Place' ordered from Lakeland this morning. It
was £4.95 for about 10 feet, which will last a week or two! I shall try
it under both machines to see of it helps with the pogoing work surface
as well as the boogying serger!

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

Now there's another good idea! Somewhere in the loft is an old closed
cell foam Karrimat in green. I may not be able to un-curl it now, as it
has spent the last 20+ years rolled up with a Scout tie wrapped round
it!

Kate XXXXXX

[sewingb...@webtv.net]

Steelcase desks are also quite pricy in California--DD saw one which
had been stripped down to the original burnished steel in an antique
shop for well over $2,000 (US).
Of course, by the time you paid to ship one to Ca., and stripped it,
you'd have about $2,000 invested. They weigh a ton. (Used to be used by
the US. military.)
Amen-- that's all I know about steelcase. :-)
Cea
---
Sewing machine furniture

(Lydia Ash)

I found an old Steelcase L-shape desk at a Goodwill for $30. I have my
sewing machine on the main desk and my serger on the return. These desks
are built like tanks. If I stand next to it, grab the table edge with
both hands, and shake as hard as I can, the table does *not* move. No
exaggeration. It also has two handy drawers on the main desk and three
drawers on the return. (The return is the short part of the L)
I know schools and offices often sell these desks when they can afford
to buy new furniture. If you're in the market for a new sewing desk, you
might check the classifieds occasionally for one of these. Mine was
built in 1977 and there isn't a ding or dent on it anywhere. Steelcase
really can build tough furniture.

[romanyroamer]

I use old mouse pads......Amelia
"Kate Dicey" <ka...@diceyhome.free-online.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3C83BF42...@diceyhome.free-online.co.uk...

[Kate Dicey]

I have an old sponge one at the end of the sewing machine, into which I
thrust needles, pins, and other odd bits while sewing: it usually has
all the alternate needles (e.g.. standard Universal 80, top-stitching,
Jeans, metallic embroidery) used on one project. at the end of the
project I bin the lot and start again. There are usually a few hand
sewing needles as well as my favourite milliners straws for most jobs,
the long darner for threading serger ends back though the stitching, and
occasional beading needles for other odd bits...

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

[sewingb...@webtv.net]

I can help, Katie me dear, just pack them books in a big box and send
'em all ta me!!
Cea
---
Re: Sewing machine furniture

Kate moaned:

I'd LOVE something like this, but there isn't the space in the room! The
bouncy work top has to fit between the door and the far wall, which has
floor to ceiling shelves in an alcove. It also has to be fold-away-able
when we have guests! I am constrained by having to find space for a bed
as well as the sewing machines, a couple of thousand books and all the
sewing paraphernalia that cannot live in the loft, all in a room less
than 12' by 10'.

Kate XXXXXX

[Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply]

>Kate moaned:
>I'd LOVE something like this, but there isn't the space in the room!.........

>It also has to be fold-away-able

>when we have guests! ...........
>space for a bed
>as well as the sewing machines..........

>all in a room less
>than 12' by 10'.

De-lurking yet again for this thread :-). I have a wall unit with a Murphy
bed in the middle, fold down table with storage for my sewing machine and
serger and other supplies (shelves below in a cupboard) on the left side and a
cupboard with shelves on the right side. I ordered the size I wanted as they
are modular. I have a double bed in my unit and it is folded up into the unit
unless I need it for company. Lots of shelf room for stash and supplies too.
You might consider going this route if at all possible. CiaoMeow >^;;^<
.
PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^<
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Visit my albums @ http://www.picturetrail.com Username is tiamary (no caps,
no spaces)

[Kate Dicey]

NO!!!! They are precious! They are all that's left of 20 years of
careful weeding (we do not need THREE copies of The Lord of the Rings, 4
of The Hobbit, of 2 of The Silmarillion! Each of the two very posh
copies of Edward Lear belong to different folk [one to me, the other to
the cherub], and I NEED 4 copies of the Reader's Digest Complete Book of
Sewing as teaching manuals!) and collecting - I aim to own ALL the
Taunton Press sewing books by the end! :)) I think I'm addicted to
books...

Kate XXXXXX

[Kate Dicey]

There's 110 ft of shelving on the walls in this room, mostly crammed
with books! They go from ceiling down to waist height on one wall, fill
one alcove completely, cover most of the walls above both sewing
benches, and the other 3 ft space is chimney breast! The fourth wall
has 3' wide shelves down to the stack boxes and storage bins, and a
window, under which is the radiator. The only naked wall is the bit
just inside the door, needed to get the door open! There are even
shelves above the window and the door! The room is painted pale pink
with grey woodwork: not a lot of pink shows!

Kate XXXXXX