The trouble was that from the day I found them the entire inner palm-ward index finger seam on the left glove was completely ripped open. The finger lining would continually pop out of the vinyl shell when I'd wear them. This was not a huge problem in that the lining was itself intact so the finger stayed warm, but it just didn't look good and I was afraid that eventually I'd catch it on something and rip it open even further, spreading the hole around the middle finger too.
So tonight I decided to try my hand at sewing. Not something I've ever done before, but I didn't see how I could make it look any worse. I have no idea if there's a specific "right way" to do such a job, but I figured if I could get the needle threaded, I could always run it in and out along the seam however many times until I closed it up. Luckily it didn't have to be perfect. I didn't think to snap a "before" shot, but here's the "after" with the newly sewn seam highlighted...
I have no idea if it will hold, but I'm pleased with the immediate results as far as how it looks and feels. They're not work gloves, so I'm hoping the quality of the job will be sufficient. I'm thinking the durability may well hinge on my knot-tying prowess with thread.
The actual sewing didn't seem difficult at all. The hardest parts were threading the needle at the start (plus re-threading it a couple times when it pulled out of the eye) and tying the two thread ends together when I finished up near where I'd started. I've never been an expert "knotter" even with string or rope, so working with thread is iffy at best, I figure, but I'm hopeful.
As a footnote, my Mom was a sewer. She made many sets of nice clothes over the years for herself, my Dad, my brother, and me. She even did really nice furniture reupholstering in her day. As she got older she sometimes enlisted me in threading a needle or two to get her started. Having since suffered my own advancing years, I now know what it was like for her trying to do what seemed like such a simple task for my young eyes at the time.
I set up a low fluorescent desk lamp to focus light on what I was doing, but it was still very difficult threading the needle. Granted, I used a needle I found lying around which may not have been the ideal one for hand-sewing, but still it's just one of those tasks that makes you feel a lot older all at once. It would have helped to have a third hand so as to hold a magnifying glass. I've never needed to wear glasses, but much more of that and I would probably have to start considering the possibility.
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4 comments:
Dim Skip:
You did an awesome job! Truly.
My sewing has never been what one would call "pretty", but it does what it needs to do and for that I am grateful.
My Mom used to ask me to thread her needles, too and, this past year, I guess I have found out why. So what I did is get one of those needle threaders. They cost almost nothing and it makes the job of threading a needle or the needle on the sewing machine, much easier. I am all for making a task easier. :-)
A needle-threading tool, eh? Didn't know there was such a thing. Would have come in handy. If I end up going on sewing jags now I may have to look into that. :-)
I may even try to Google up something so I can get a visual, but not enough time right now as I just want to check a few sites and then be on my way.
Thanks for the tip!
lol. me too, sew not for the esthetics but functionalities of whatever needs sewed on. and my first thought when reading about vinyl, oh so you can play records in there, very handy :-) (pun intended no doubt)
Yeah, if I only had a gun, I could have the glove playing "...with luger in hand..." ;-)
Of course, since I finished the job global warming has taken over and in particular the last three days have seen temps in the mid 60s (65° F = 18.3° C). But that's OK by me as I'm simply not a fan of cold weather.
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