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."
I just showed it to my grandmother and she said she has some of them and they do work. If two out of two experts in the field have devices like this, the USPTO is apparently as bad at evaluating sewing inventions as it is at evaluating software inventions. <sarcasm>So obviously we should do away with sewing patents all together.</scarcasm>
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."