Getting a Grip – Rubber Tipped Pliers
Do you do beading? Have you tried to sew through the many layers of a stiff built or a heavily padded bra, only to have your needle get stuck somewhere on it’s slide from one side to the other? Even if you push really hard with your thimble, sometimes it’s nearly impossible to get a grip to pull on the other side. What do I do? I use a pair of rubber tipped pliers!
How do they work? You can use pliers to grip even a short length of needle tip. The rubber gives you adequate grip to really pull the needle through, and since you’re using your entire hand to grip the pliers, it’s more comfortable too.
The pair I own comes from Fons & Porter and I picked it up in the quilting section of the JoAnn’s near my home, but you can find other brands from different outlets. I use them in conjunction with a metal thimble – for maximum push – and bees wax to condition and smooth the thread.
Rubber tipped pliers allow me to stitch through more complex beading. One of the ongoing projects I’m working on is adding appliques to an already beaded bra. This would have been an impossible sewing job if not for these pliers.
Check them out on the JoAnn’s website here.