[Nfb-krafters-korner] sewing

[Ramona Walhof]

Nikki and Lisa:

I have been totally blind all my life, and I have been sewing my own clothes 
since I was in sixth grade.  My mother and I were too uninformed to know 
about all the things blind people were not supposed to do, so we figured out 
how to do them, including how to cut out tissue paper patterns.  I have 
taught sewing weith the machine to both sighted and blind people.  I have 
made my own clothes, my kids' clothes, including formal dresses for my 
daughter when she was in high school and college and bride's maids' dresses 
for her wedding. My daughter made her own wedding dress and two for friends, 
and I am the only sewing teacher she had.   I have not used the new 
computerized machines, but I think some of the people on this list may have 
done more of that.

If you have a working sewing machine, the first thing to do is to learn to 
thread it.  If you can thread a hand needle with a needle threader, you can 
thread a machine needle, and there are several other places the thread 
passes through before it gets to the needle.  This route for the thread is 
different from one machine to the next, so I really can't teach it from a 
distance.

Our President Joyce Kane has also done a lot of sewing, both as a sighted 
and a blind person.  I seem to get over-committed, and have had difficulty 
finding time to organize another class, but it is clearly time to do one. 
Feel free to contact me offlist at ramona.walhof at gmail.com or phone me at 
208-338-1595.  I believe we have several people on this list who do machine 
quilting without sight.  I can answer specific questions better and more 
quickly lthan guessing what you want to know.

Ramona
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nikki" <daizies304 at gmail.com>
To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] sewing


>I have retinitis pigmentosa. I can't see detail. I do see light and mostly 
>shadows. Seeing color is out of the question. I really don't have any 
>experience with sewing. When I was younger, my mom helped me sew/make a 
>teddy bear from her stash of old material and cotton. It wasn't very big, 
>something I hand sewn. My mom pretty much did all my sewing. At one point I 
>asked her if she thought I could use the machine and sew. She said probably 
>not because you would have to see the stiches and how would you know if you 
>made a mistake. And to fix it, how would you be able to see where the hole 
>is. So that's why I never persued. I just think it would be cool to make my 
>own skirts, instead of searching the stores. Our sewing machine is pretty 
>old. My grandfather built it in the 70's or 80's. I'm surprised it still 
>works. I'm also curious to know if there are adapted sewing machines for 
>the blind.
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Jennifer Jackson
> Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2012 5:58 AM
> To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] sewing
>
> Yes, of course it is. Tell me some more about your current sewing 
> experience
> and what, if any, vision you have, and that will help me know where you 
> need
> some support. I am totally blind and have made complete garments before.
> There are others who sew on this list too and I am sure that between us we
> can help you figure out what you want to know.
>
>
> Jennifer
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nikki
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:13 AM
> To: Nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] sewing
>
>    Is it possible for the blind to use a sewing machine? 
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