I've been doing a lot of beading at the moment and it's been taking its toll on my hands.

I find that I push against the eye-end of my needle always with the same part of my ring finger and it splits over time.

Then the tightening of the thread using tension against my smallest fingers has caused my hands to cramp and be painful.

So I have gone back to my cure for all these issues - tape. I use a lightweight, lightly adhesive, breathable tape and it does me the world of good.

It doesn't look attractive, but copious amounts of tape are what keep me beading. They stop the fine thread from cutting into the same part of my hand and the sharp needle from cutting away at my finger.

I've been taping my hands for a number of years and though it always feels weird when I first do it and looks ridiculous it keeps me going and that's what counts.