kimv44

Well.. after over a decade of quilting and thinking that I was an extremely careful cutter, the inevitable finally happened..

Had a family birthday event last night and after being at the babysitter's house til almost midnight, my 6 year old was happily sleeping late this morning so I decided to take advantage of a few extra quiet hours to get ahead on some of my Christmas quilting.

Got out my fabric and a fresh rotary cutting wheel and [i'll save you all the gory details] BLAMMO!!!... wheel slid up the side of my ruler and right into my left index finger. OUCH!! Typing this tonight is the first time I've had it held lower than my heart all day.. it is extremely painful and I never ever want to do that again!!!

So my husband, to make lemonade out of lemons, sees this as a great opportunity to buy me a quilting gadget that I don't already have for Christmas this year.. a Klutz glove. I have extremely short fingers so before he buys one and wraps it up for me he would like to know that they'll be useful for me and not simply get in the way. Yes, I know sounds odd to already know what will be under the tree.. but.. times are extremely tight for us this year so we're both making our gifts to each other necessity items like socks and a bathrobe.. and since I already have pajamas, today's incident seems to scream necessity to me so I've asked him for a cut resistant glove.

Do you all use these? Anyone with really small hands use them and find them useful? I was also thinking of some of those index finger and thumb guards that only cover those two fingers, but they don't look like they'd say on very well..

Thoughts?
Thanks!
Kim

quilttiger

I don't use those gloves and I am very careful when I use my rotary cutters. Fons and Porter use those gloves on their quilting series, though. Those shows are on PBS and you would need to check your TV listings for the days and times of their shows. Then you can see how they wear and use the gloves.

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I've never used a glove but probably should. It doesn't seem all that difficult to cut yourself. I've nicked rulers badly so I could've gone up and over the finger.

Let's just hope that tomorrow your throb level is down to tolerable.

BellaBoo

I always use a safety tool when using my rotary cutter. I have them all from the stick on plastic guard to Gypsy Grippers to Rule Steady and the Klutz glove. This is the one I use the most: http://quiltersslidelock.com/ and I have both sizes.

Many will say it cost too much but what is it worth to not have a bad cut right now?

I use a cut resistant glove when I go to classes/sewdays. I bought this one: Victorinox Cutlery Performance Shield Cut Resistant Glove, Extra Small at Amazon.


I learned my lesson when I got my first cut. It scared me thinking how bad it could have been so I now use safety tools and will buy any new ones that come on the market.


One ER visit cost will buy a lot of fabric!

EasyPeezy

If it was me I'd try it first. If it's good...I'd start using it right away.
Why wait for Christmas? Consider it an early Christmas gift.

DOTTYMO

Tell your husband to visit a poundstretcher or similar. The handles for disabled access, or visit a car shop. Forgot name.
Both of these have big rubber stoppers on the handle one from car shop I was told pulls out dents. Cheaper than quilt shops.

Zyngawf

Don't have the gloves, but I did the same thing with the rotary cutter two days ago. Iv' also run over my finger with the sewing machine needle more than once.

Nilla

Ouch! Just reading this thread makes me cringe. I've not hurt myself like this, but I am something of a clutz, so it could happen sooner or later!

Gail B

I wear the Klutz glove every time I use the rotary cutter. After reading too many posts about people cutting themselves I decided to try the glove. Love it.

margee

When first quilting the lady at the LQS told me that the rotary cutter blad was "Go to the hospital sharp" I try to make sure that the guard is on when I set it down. Also, I bend back my index finger a bit and check placement before i start cutting. I have nicked the ruler a few times. And oh yes, I have sewn thru my finger at least twice with the sewing machine needle. And just recently I was using the walking foot and got my thumb too close and slice off part of tip of my thumb. Now that hurt. Don't think I have ever moved so fast. Scared my cat and dog too.