Originally Posted by sushi
Anyone else out there suffering from a very sore thumb(s) due to quilt-making? If so, have you found anything that helps?
I damaged the tendon(s) at the base of my left thumb several years ago when I tied too many fleece blankets in a short period of time. While it has never fully healed, I find that cutting, piecing, quilting, and binding quilts exacerbate the problem. (The worst offenders are quilting and binding.)
Check out Liuxin Newman's book & DVD _Perfect Hand Quilting Without Pain_. She has done extensive research into the ergonomics of hand quilting and her methods really work.
She uses a thimble with very deep dimples, a quilt very loose in the hoop so it can be folded and distributing the task of quilting between three fingers to reduce the strength needed to push the needle to literally almost nothing. I still have problems using too much strength and I feel like I'm barely touching the needle!
No pricked fingers, no tendon pain, no need to hurt yourself. Just beautiful hand quilted stitches, up to 16 per inch counted on one side (depending on fabric and batting used).