How to Sew a Wrist Rest
Use a wrist rest when you type on a keyboard or use a mouse to help prevent strain and repetitive stress injuries. Using a wrist rest can also make typing more comfortable. Unfortunately, commercially available wrist rests tend to look very plain and not very stylish. If you care about computer comfort and style, you can quickly sew up a wrist rest to use at the keyboard. Use a fabric with a fun or funky print to jazz up your work station.
Things You'll Need
- Ruler
- Scissors
- 1/2 yard fabric
- Polyester batting, sand or white rice for stuffing
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
- Hand sewing needle
Instructions
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1
Sit at your computer station and position your hands as you normally would to type. To figure out the depth of your wrist rest, look at where your palms stop at the base of the keyboard. OSHA recommends that you rest your palms on the wrist rest, not your actual wrist, in order to avoid injury.
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2
Measure the depth from the base of your palms to the keyboard as well as the length of the keyboard.
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3
Cut out two rectangles of fabric that measure the depth plus 1 inch by the length of the keyboard plus 1 inch. If the depth is 2 inches and the length 15, cut two rectangles that measure 3 inches by 16 inches each.
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4
Place the two pieces of fabric on top of each other with the right sides facing in. Pin around three sides, then stitch along those three sides, leaving a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Turn the fabric right side out.
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5
Stuff the fabric with the batting, sand or rice. Make sure you stuff enough into it, but don't overstuff. You want the wrist rest to have a bit of softness to it. It should also be a bit round on the top.
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6
Fold the edges of the open side in toward the stuffing about 1/2 inch, so that the raw edges are concealed. Pin the opening closed. Thread the hand sewing needle and use a running stitch to sew the opening shut.
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References
- Photo Credit wrist fracture image by Dr Cano from Fotolia.com
