By chance I came across the final of the very first Great British Sewing Bee programme the other night. The first challenge was to make a man’s shirt, and it was whilst they were doing this that a reference to turning out the points on a collar that I picked up on, Ann Rowley the winner of that first series said that she used a pair of dolphin nosed surgical forceps and that they were excellent for getting the corners turned out neatly.
Going way back I happened to mention just how useful surgical forceps were to our sewing, they have so many uses, and for those who haven’t heard of them before they are roughly 13cms long although they can come in many sizes. I have been lucky in that I have a very obliging chiropodist who will order these for me, failing that there is always a chance that a local pharmacy will order but I have never tried.
You can get these surgical forceps in straight tops - they look just like a pair of dolphin nosed scissors, or you can get them so that the tips are curved – still dolphin nosed - excellent for getting into awkward and small spaces and for me a must have when threading up the overlocker.
Most of mine are the 13cm length, and I have one much smaller pair that came over from Canada and are kept with my embroidery equipment.