

Breakthrough in sewing needles - ThomPete
http://bitsandpieces.us/2010/03/16/breakthrough-in-sewing-needles/

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synnik
There is a reason that this wasn't invented 50 years ago -- most people who
regularly thread needles have been doing it for so many years, that this is a
non-issue.

That being said, I asked my wife (who makes her living with needles and
fibers) what she thought, and she said that she has seen similar designs
before, and thinks they look great, but just never tried them.

This is actually a great product design insight -- what looks like an amazing
product isn't solving the problems that the serious "users" actually
encounter. It is solving the problem that the casual or new users encounter.

Which shouldn't diminish the fact that it is a great idea. It just probably
will have a long ramp-up before it "takes over the world."

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ThomPete
I think that is a good way to look at it.

Give her one show at Oprah though and she will definitely "take over the
world"

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theNeedleLady
Hi guys, I am the inventor of the Spiral Eye side threading needle. Your
conversation is very interesting to me. It is from a very different view point
than what I usually hear. My needle is new, but I have been selling them for
over two years, on line, in some stores and at state fairs and events. There
is a huge market for them. A needle is the most ubiquious of tool in the
world. It is used in surgery, to mending, crafts, to fishing. The design I
came up with has a very precarious geometry to keep the thread inside and not
snag the material you are sewing. The technology to make it did not exist
fifty years ago. I also have just been written up in a newspaper in Denmark
and my website sales have gone through the roof. Maybe the Danes sew more than
the Americans.

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tomerico
The last line in the article sums it best: "Why wasn’t this inventer 50 years
ago?"

Exactly my thought, this is a bit like inventing a better cd/dvd case now.

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barrkel
I was wondering, what do you personally do when shirt buttons come off?

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tomerico
Good point. I'll answer with a question - what do you personally do, when your
shoe need repair?

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LogicHoleFlaw
Two-part epoxy.

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froo
I've gotten away using a tube of silicone sealant and a hammer (don't ask)

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zck
I imagine this might have an unplanned benefit to sewers -- you can use a
smaller needle for the thickness of thread you're sewing with. Even using a
threader requires you to pull the string through doubled. However, it looks
like the eye of the needle is thicker than other needles of the same size. I
can't be sure, because I can't tell how big the needle in the picture is.

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shadowsun7
This goes to show that innovation exists for even the most mundane things.

I didn't even see the problem until this article came up (much less the
possible solution). I'd always assumed that there would be children on-hand to
thread needles for their parents, the way I was when I was younger.

In retrospect - really dumb of me.

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Mystitat
Yes, it looks fantastic.

Still, needles are not _that_ hard to thread. It's not like there's a great
nationwide backlog of sewing that can finally recommence because people can
finally thread their needles again.

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cstross
Needles _are_ hard to thread, if you've got no binocular vision (like me). In
fact, they're friggin' _impossible_.

(I have a hell's brew of retinopathy (it's dormant, but I've only got half the
visual field in my right eye), a fovea in the left eye that's held in place by
a clip (say goodbye to fine detail!), myopia, astigmatism, _and_ now a forty-
something's presbyopia. My vision for close-up detail work is terrible, I have
to rely on paralax for judging distances when driving (guess who doesn't drive
at night?) and threading a needle has been impossible for me since I was 25.
Even the diamond-wire needle threaders barely help. This is the first thing
I've seen that might actually work!)

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billswift
Actually binocular vision doesn't help - I almost always close one eye when
threading needles. I need to wear reading glasses now though, getting too old
to see small stuff clearly enough. (I cheat - I got some extra strong reading
glasses for close work like threading needles and removing splinters (3
diopter, normally use 1.0 to 1.5 for reading) - they are a big help.)

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ThomPete
It's quite extraordinary that this hasn't been done before.

I guess most people have thought about it but probably thought, there probably
is a reason for this.

Just goes to show, never assume things can't change.

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DougBTX
They though of this:
[http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/06/self_threading_nee...](http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/06/self_threading_needles_by_clov.html)

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jcl
Moreover, the first comment on that page points out that the self-threading
needle is ill-suited for typical sewing because the eye is so big. And the
side-threading needle in the article seems to have an even larger eye.

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pascalchristian
It reminds me of surgical needles, which actually is still continuously
innovated until today!

