Tools of the Trade
Day Ten: Nävlinge Lamp
A few years ago, I spent each day in January writing about a different tool I use in my maskmaking. As I am currently redesigning my entire website in the new year, I thought it might be nice to revisit this project. Each day in January 2021, I’ll share a different item that I use in my studio. I hope some of these can help other people who are interested in making wrestling masks.
I like to have a lot of light when I’m working on a project. Like, a LOT of light. On my sewing machine alone, I have five lights, with a sixth that I can train on either my sewing machine or my cutting/gluing area. My favourite light is the Ikea Nävlinge LED Work Lamp. These things are inexpensive but super-useful. (Although the price seems to have gone up about 30% since I last bought them!) They consist of a nicely weighted base that keeps them where you want them on your desktop, a long and thin but sturdy gooseneck that allows you to get the light right where you want it, and a very bright directed LED light. The gooseneck is very flexible and stays right where you put it, so you an just pour light onto the area under your needle, or bend it so it’s coming in from any angle.
I think I have five or six of these puppies. I just love them. I do a lot of pattern cutting at my computer, so I have one there, one on my cutting/gluing table, and another on my leather worktable. Since the gooseneck is magnetic, I also attach little notes to them with magnets. You can also get the lamp in a number of colours and configurations. For example, there’s a clip-on and a floor-based model. On my cutting/gluing table, I have the Nävlinge on one side, and the gorgeously retro Ikea Forså on the other side (except mine is a lovely mint colour.)
BONUS TOTT
Since I’m talking about lights, I figured I’d show you a selection of the other lights I use that I think some other folks might benefit from. First is this floor lamp. The overhead light in my sewing room doesn’t throw out nearly enough light to suit me, so for years I’ve been using one of those halogen torchieres that are apparently illegal or something now. (They throw out a lot of light, but also ridiculous amounts of heat and can explode.) I finally stumbled on something called a “corn bulb”, which is designed for use as an overhead light in a garage. So I bought this 80W LED Corn Light Bulb and stuck it in a cheapo $8 floor lamp from Walmart, and it’s wonderful. It’s an amazing 8000 lumens, and lights up the room nicely.
Lastly, I wanted to show you the other lights I have on my sewing machine. Clockwise from the top left we have 1) The Uberlight 1000TL is a bright LED sewing lamp that bolts into the table. The head swivels easily, so it’s easy to move it from pointing at the sewing area to my hands when I need to rip out seams. 2) this magnetic gooseneck LED lamp lives on the back of my machine and shines light on the material behind the needle. 3) This is another of my favourite lights. It’s an LED strip that attaches magnetically underneath the machine, right next to the needle arm. It lights up the sewing area really well. I got mine from Keystone Sewing. 4) Last is nice Ottlite floor lamp that shines a general light over the whole work area. I think I got it at a thrift shop,
Here’s another lighting idea that I don’t use myself, but I thought other folks might find useful. They’re a set of LED lights embedded in an adhesive strip that you can put on the underside of the arm of your sewing machine. It looks as if they would do a great job of lighting up your work area. There’s a number of people selling different types on Amazon.