Thread: One armed quilters?

So sorry to hear of your injury! The surgery you have been through is a really tough, painful one so I've heard from friends. Happy for you that that is behind you. Therapy will be a long haul, I'm sure.
I have no advice for one armed quilting but wish you a good outcome! I always wondered how people managed to sew on hand-cranked machines. Maybe one of them will have some advice for you. Best wishes!

I have had 3 surgeries on my shoulders. I did need to take a little time off but I figured out how to sew on the machine and even cut fabrics while wearing my sling. Ergonomics really plays in here. Get your machine at the right level. Use your bad arm to just direct fabric feeding into the machine. Thread the machine and all other "movement intensive" things with your good arm. It was tricky when my right arm (twice) was the one in the sling, as I am right handed. I had my DH help with any folding needed doing. Use your good arm for any pressing. Be really careful not to use the bad arm too much. You will pay for that!
Because mine were planned surgeries, I was able to get a few things done ahead of time that would have been much more difficult. Be careful and keep that arm close to your body, move your body to get in position not the arm.
I hope your heal quickly and fully.

it took me a full year to get my full range of motion back after my rotator cuff surgery. sounds like you have found a way to use your sewing machine.

You have to be so careful first. I usually only use my right hand to guide the fabric thru the needle. Take it slow.

I have a quilting buddy who was born with one arm. She uses a hoop to hold her fabric as she guides it through her machine.

My Husband had surgery on both his rotator cuffs. He doesn't sew but finds it very hard to use his arms over his head. He had very bad tears, ortho doc said it was very hard to mend them. He did the physical therapy.

Originally Posted by Geri B

Are you interested in hand sewing or EPP?

Exactly my thought. Do you have any interest in hexies? They can be addicting once you start. The only real investment would be if you purchase the hexie papers. But they can be found online, printed out and hand cut. Use up some of those scraps you have. Once you have the papers, the fabric can be cut in squares ( again by hand) Hexies are measured along the sides, not across. Add 1.5 inches to the size of your hexie to figure out how big to cut your squares. IE 1" hexie (what I started with) needs a 2.5" square and 5" hexie needs a 6.5" square. And everything in between! If this doesn't work for you, try googling hexagon graph paper. http://www.printablepaper.net/category/hexagon_graph