My Handwork Studio ~ A Fashion and Needle Arts Community for Kids!

Sewing Your Finger into the Sewing Machine: When Bad Things Happen to Good Kids

As we prepared to launch the site, I spent a lot of time preparing the “content” for the parents and educators page. One of our frequently asked questions had to do with safety. I proudly stated that in 7 years we had no major accidents…testing fate.

That night (really), one of our adorable third graders proceeded to sew her finger in the sewing machine. The needle had cleanly pierced her index finger leaving hot pink thread dangling from the top and bottom of her finger. Suzie (names have been changed to protect the injured), our ill fated machine sewer, had been sewing for 11 weeks. She knew the drill; tushies down in the seat, go slowly, keep hands away from the needle, don’t rush.

As we prepared to end the class, fate struck and Suzie didn’t even know what hit her. Only after the reaction of her completely “freaked out” classmates, did it dawn on her what had happened. Luckily the needle didn’t beak or hit bone. Clean in and out and she didn’t even feel it….at first. Needless to say, once everyone realized what had happened she started to cry and cry and cry and cry. Our fabulous instructor, Miss Julia, quickly assessed the situation and decided not to call 911 but instead called me and the parents of our poor student. Julia then wrapped the injured finger in a paper towel and kept the finger running under cold water while applying constant pressure on it until mom arrived. Luckily the bleeding had stopped quickly, back up instructors had arrived, children were calmed and sent home, next class began and we all survived, nerves a little tattered but otherwise ok.

So the lesson here is even with the best of instructions, and the most cautious of kids, accidents do happen. Should you put a group together to teach machine sewing, I recommend having the following:

- emergency procedure typed up and reviewed by all
- latex gloves near by to handle bleeding
- ice (if you have the luxury of a freezer near by)
- band-aids
- all parents phone numbers on hand and
- an assistant to help manage the other kids as you work with the injured child

And while I’m not qualified to administer medical advice, I would suggest never to pull out an impaled item (sewing needle, scissor, or even a thread dangling from a finger).

This was a terrible thing that happened to Suzie, Miss Julia and the other kids at The Handwork Studio. However because we had a plan in place and one terrific kid, we all survived and are happy to share our learning experience with you.