Weekend Review: Sew Happy & Healthy

 

Sew Healthy & Happy / Rose Parr
Concord, CA: C&T, c2021
80 p.

A bit of healthy sewing content today...I read this book on ergonomic sewing by a fellow Canadian, and found quite a few great tips to stay healthier and less achy after spending time in the sewing room.

This book is quite short, but covers a number of things. It starts out with some guidelines about setting up the sewing space ergonomically, starting with studio design. Then moves on to ergonomic tips specifically for cutting, pressing, and then all the sewing options. How high to have your sewing and cutting tables, pressing techniques, angles, how to use different machines etc. She is a quilter so does talk about seated sewing, longarm quilting and various situations like that which may require different adaptations. This is all very practical and useful. 

The book is illustrated with drawings throughout, no photos. They are clear and show the details of both the set-up suggestions and the stretches well, however. 

The book then moves on to 20 pages of stretches for sewists, to keep your body supple and help you avoid any chronic repetitive strain injuries. It's very helpful. There is then a brief section on healthy habits and snacks - I have to say, this part I just skipped over, it wasn't interesting to me. Then the book closes with some tips on best practices when attending workshops - things like have a proper transport for your machine so you're not hauling it uncomfortably, find out what the workshop offers so you don't haul along unnecessary items (ie: irons if you don't need to). Like I say, this is primarily aimed at quilters so definitely a lot of workshop info will be very relevant there. But the info is great for any sewist who spends time in a workspace that hasn't been optimized. There are a few tips here I could use, and I will definitely incorporate some of the stretches - I can already see how they'd help with the aches and pains of longer sewing sessions. I thought this was a good book and super practical for any sewist!

Simple Sewing Room Fix!

Just a quick note about something that has helped my back in my sewing room a lot! It seems like a small thing but I have found it a fabulous addition to my sewing space. 

I sew with a folding table set up for my cutting and my sewing. When I'm tracing patterns or cutting, I can't spend too long at it because I'm hunched over and my back ends up very sore if I don't take breaks. I had seen someone mention bed risers for a folding table before but hadn't followed up on this. 

Well, I was lucky enough to get some of these bed risers in December - they're very simple, just heavy plastic lifts. I set them up in my sewing space and wow, the difference! So simple to just stick under the table legs to raise it for cutting or tracing, and to remove for sewing or usual table use. 

This has been a huge improvement for such a little thing. I can trace, cut or or do other crafts standing, and my back doesn't ache at the end of any of them. I can't believe it took me this long to make this simple change that I am loving. Highly recommend as a super easy and cost effective fix if you also sew and cut on a normal height table.