For the first time, I've been sewing with my glasses. My problem is that I'm extremely nearsighted. Since I can see my absolute best with my "natural" eyes up close, it was amazing how much easier it was to match seams, etc just by taking off the glasses. Then the glasses went back on for everything else, sewing included. The result is a nasty headache! Ugh!

I had been sewing with my contacts in and reading glasses. The power of the reading glasses is perfect for me to read, but I think I could probably use more power for sewing(?) So, I'm wondering if any of you are nearsighted contact wearers and have suggestions to improve sewing vision.

Thanks!

When I wear my contacts, I have several pairs of reading glasses of different strengths handy. I pick them up at the drug store :wink: and they work just fine according to my eye doc :D:D:D
My vision changes slightly when I get more tired towards evening, and the pair I use for reading doesn't seem to work as well as my main pair for sewing.
I too have noticed the need for brighter light with my contacts/reading glasses vs wearing my bifocals.

I too am nearsighted. I wear contacts but also need reading glasses for up-close reading or viewing. I keep a stronger strength pr of reading glasses by my sewing machine at all times. I just think of them as a necessary "sewing notion".
I can't be without them or my bendable bright light.

I sew without my glasses.My eyes adjust and I do fine.If I need I do keep a pair of reading glasses at hand but I find I do better with nothing when sewing.

I have done mono vision for over thirty yrs. it works so well. You have to check with your Doc to see if you are able to do this. I am just now having to wear reading glasses to help me with close up hand sewing. I can sew at machine without the glasses, drive read etc. Just need to thread needle close work.
DONNA,The Rustic Quilter

I use this when I'm machine quilting. I wear bifocals and was having a horrible time because I am nearsighted. This works for me. I can see each stitch close enough to sew right over the top of it in a straight line. I won't machine quilt without it. http://www.simplicity.com/p-5219-cc-...magnifier.aspx My only complaint is the light on it is pretty much useless.

I bought it at Walmart for $19.

Donna, how long did it take you to adjust to the monovision? I have them and i don't know if i can get use to them. I still have trouble up close.

I'm nearsighted AND farsighted. FUN! I do take off my glasses sometimes or worse, look over the tops. Looking over the tops is a guaranteed headache but sometimes I have no hands handy or am just too lazy to take them off and find a place to put them (and I'm not quite ready for the string look). I am hoping to get new glasses very soon but I think I'll still have to take them off for the really close up stuff.

I also wear the monovision contacts. I put them in and had no trouble at all. Sometimes I wear cheap little reading glasses from the drugstore. Increasing the amount of light also really helps.

I'm in the same boat. I constantly wear contacts for severe near-sightedness, and recently started to wear reading glasses. I even got checked by my eye doctor because I was only 30 years old when this happened. He wasn't alarmed and just said my eyes turned "old" about ten years earlier than most people.

I don't know about you, nance-ell, Sometimes I leave my contacts out and just wear my near-sighted glasses when sewing. For me that takes away some of the strain. For distance sight like driving it's always contacts, or I have trouble reading street signs. But for close up things it's contacts + reading glasses or super-thick glasses by themselves.

You can experiment with different powers of reading glasses, but I strongly recommend going to an eye doctor and explaining all your activities. We only have one set of eyes...

p.s. I thought I was the only one who wore reading glasses over contacts. I don't feel alone anymore :shock:

Mono vision contacts for me too. At this time one of them is a bi-focal for close and mid distance and my left eye has a contact for distance. It did take a few weeks, and I tried more than one strength and more than one brand. Maybe a trip back to the eye DR?

I couldn't get used to the whole bifocal thing. I wear a pair of glasses for distance and "normal" things. I have another pair for reading and sewing.

I've covered many options with my eye doctor. Mono-vision, Lasik, bifocals. I actually have bifocals, but need a new pair. I opted out of surgery because I don't want to lose that up close vision that I have without any correction. I'm pretty sure the headache came from pulling the glasses on and off. And hannajo, don't think you're the only one... I've worn reading glasses on top of regular glasses!!!! Kinda created my own bifocal world! LOL. I guess I'll try a higher strength reading glasses and see how much that helps.

Thanks for all the replies. Too bad all of us can't mysteriously have our eyesight perfectly restored, eh?

Happy quilting to all!

SuziC, It only took me a few weeks to totaly get used to mono. I love it. I haven't had glasses nor 2 contacts for over 30 yrs. You just have to hang in there. I can remember that I felt drunk all the time & couldn't focus well at the beginning. How long have you been trying? Keep trying & don't concentrate too much on seeing clear . It is your brain that has to adjust. It has to tell one eye to see close & the other to see far. Let me know if I can help you. As they say if you want something bad enough "you can do it".
Donna, The Rustic Quilter

I Too have worn contacts and have monovision. Am over the seventy-five mark and can still thread a needle without any help from add glasses. I sometimes close the distance-vision eye and it helps. There is a more than 4 diopter difference in correction for near vision. There is a certain amount of determination that has to take place. Worked as a optometric assistant for over 20 years and taught lots of patients to wear CL, and know that from experience.

I wear glasses on top of glasses too, when I'm doing things like hand sewing and watching television. I keep asking for better reading correction in my varifocals and keep being told they're correct as they are. My closeup vision is good without glasses and I don't want to lose that, but as I have problems with dryness when wearing contacts I'm not a candidate for surgery anyway.

I do still have some contact lenses in the house, perhaps I should try wearing just one and see how I get on! It might be interesting, LOL.

I have vision in only one eye and that is thanks to a cornea transplant. The vision seems to vary just a bit from day to day. I use a magnifier and bright light as an absolute necessity. At least it works!

I am also near sighted. And wear my contacts when sewing.
My contacts are monovision. One contact is for close up, and the other contact is for distance. I don't have any problems when sewing. But when I need to do hand work, I wear my glasses. They are no line bifocals and I can get better stitches with them.

I wear contacts, too , and have several pairs of "readers" in different strengths depending on what I need to see.

I have worn progressive lens for years. I had bi-focals at first but couldn't read the music at the organ. It was in that never land. The PG lens fixed that. Also, I am a BIG fan of proper light. I have three Ott lites that I use for sewing. Those little lites on the machines are a joke. My son does professional lighting for the entertainment field and they mostly use LED's. He can't understand why they don't have them on the machines.

I've worn contracts since 1959. I have the mono vision and it does take some getting used to. I wear the hard gas permeable lens. Never had the desire for soft lenses. Bright light does help too.

I wish I could help you, but I wear Trifocals. It is so much fun trying to line up the glasses with the sewing machine.

I have a seperate pair of glasses for computer and sewing. I have the eye Dr. set the top area at the distance I am usually from the computer screen. Mine is approx. 26" from eye to screen. I have no idea what he does, but the glasses work great, for sewing I measure my comfort position and have hubby get the measurement to the needle. For me its approx 18". So the top of the glasses are set to 26" and bifocal area to 18". I just know it works, have no idea how its done.

I am nearsighted too. Wore contacts for years, now just wear my glasses, bifocals. I can still see real close up better, without them, but agree, it is a hassle. I can't imagine sitting at my sewing machine & not having to use them, lol, I would have to be really close to that needle! But, with handwork, sometimes I just slide them down & look over the top & see alot better. DH has good vision, but is amazed at what teeny tiny print I can read, that he can't, when I take my glasses off, lol...

This is so funny. I had just ask my eye doctor about this matter. I thought something was wrong with my eyes. He told me that it was my age. He said that since I am near sighted that my eyes were probably getting stronger. So I am like you. I have to take my glasses off to do the up close work, then put them back on when I do the other things like pressing and and cutting. It is very annoying to have to be putting on and taking off my glasses while sewing. But I am getting use to it.

I am right there with you both. Off for close up work and even reading, on for everything else. This even though I am wearing progressive lens. Might be time for a new prescription. I have to say that I got these at Walmart (not my favorite place BTW) and they are the best lenses I have ever had (Nikon wide angle correction). Expensive, but worth it ever so much.

I am in the same boat with you and the trifocals. I think I will take them off and try the reading glasses, just happen to have a pair that I bought and never used. Thanks, you people are so helpful and it is amazing that so many of us are experiencing the same problems.

To those of you who can wear contacts, lucky you! I have been so nearsighted my whole life that I cannot get an acceptable result with contacts. Have worn thifocals for years and really have no problem but I make them put them lower than they want to. One added side effect, when I got the "old foggy" change, I was able to take them off and handsew closeup and it is like a magnifying glass.

I buy mine at dollar tree, I can see far away , but, cant' see a thing up close. I had what my Dr back in Maine called computer lenses and they were great but, I eventually grew out of them. Got another pair at Wal Mart and lost them at 300.00 a pair. that's when I decided dollar tree is good enough for now. But, I have to be careful and be checked because my mom had maccular degeneration and it is hereditary.What are monovision, never heard of them. I cant' use bi-focus they drive me crazy there is an in between area where I can't see any thing. Like reading a cookbook sitting on the shelf.

I went to trifocals and that sure seemed to help the mid-range vision. Makes sewing at the machine much nicer.

I am nearsited also and I too tend to take my glasses off when I am sewing. Thank goodness though I don't have headaches but my eyes get very tired.

Light is the key! It makes a huge difference.

For really close work, I have some clip - on magnifiers that the optometrist ordered in for me. I put them over my spectacles and it enlarges everything very well. I have had my eyes switch from being myopic as a child, to the opposite and swinging back and forth - has to do with muscles I believe - however, the attachment works very well. I recommend it as it was not very expensive - $30.

Wow, that sounds like a great idea. I think I will talk to my doctor about it. I wear mono vision contacts but both my distance and my close up vision are compromised by wearing the mono vision. I do wear store bought readers over my contacts but still not good enough. When I take out my contacts, I too can see great detail up close, but then it has be right up to my nose, haha. And yes, terrible headache from doing this. I also had a torn retina and was told it is like a 90% chance this will happen in my other eye.....a very common thing for near sighted folks. So....if your vision grays out or you see a million dots, go to the doctor immediately!! Do not waste any time. Had laser surgery to fix the tear. I worry that I won't be able to quilt when I get older (I'm only 54). Our eyes are so important, aren't they?

i have mono vision contacts - they work well except cannot thread a needled with them in - throws off my depth perception or something and have to slip my reading glasses on for that. also can't do cross stitch with them otherwise they are great!

Cannot see a thing without correction. Wore contacts off and on since 1958. I had Lasic done in 1998 and loved it. I chose monovision and I loved it. After doing my right eye for distance, the Dr. let me try a contact in the left eye to simulate the close vision. I could even read very fine print. A couple of years ago I had cataract surgery on both eyes and my vison changed. And I found as I get wiser (older) I need more light too.

I have mono-vision contacts and wear drug store readers for sewing. when I hand stitch binding I take everything off and just sew with my nose 2" from the binding. The amazing thing here is that in the last 3 years that I've been quilting, my vision has actually improved for the first time EVER!!! I got used to my mon-vision in a week or so, but then the next spring, when I went to my kid's baseball game, I had to re-adjust! My near eye wanted to look AT the fence and my far eye wanted to look THROUGH the fence. THAT was a little weird, but I adjusted after a few games!

I sure wish I could improve my eyesight! Distance is no problem except for the astigmatism, just can't be on the computer, read, sew, quilt without different glasses...for each one! Still can't time my quilting machine, even with a magnifying glass, so my hubby has to do that. Definitely could not do the "glasses on a chain" thing, or I would have 5 pairs hanging there and I would never know which one to have on! :shock:

Our local dollar store stocks them. If I lose or scratch them, no biggie.

I wear glasses full time, but have a pair of magnifier clip-on glasses that I wear over them which help me immensely. I bought them from JoAnn's Fabrics online. Cost is up there with shipping, but well worth it since I can comfortably see to sew or rip. :-)