Blind factory workers stitch perfection

ALBANY, NY — Sewing, ironing, and stitching at an industrial level is work most people would find difficult under any circumstances -- but try doing it with your eyes closed.

It's a challenge most of the workforce at an upstate New York manufacturing facility undertakes every day.

The majority of the employees there are blind and carry out the detailed work with precision and pride. Like a well-oiled machine, skilled workers are the backbone of the Albany manufacturing facility.

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At the front of the assembly line sits a skilled seamstress named Diane Hubbard.  She couldn't imagine herself doing anything else. "I like to sew. That's the thing. I enjoy it," said Hubbard.

As her nimble fingers work quickly around the needle Hubbard is able to produce 100 safety vests a day. With no sight, she is able to feel her way through each perfect stitch. "We can not have errors or mistakes."

The only thing helping her is a small piece of adaptive equipment. "A low profile fixture right next to the needle on the sewing machine that is just enough to allow an individual to line that zipper up," Chris Burke, the executive director at the North Eastern Association for the Blind told WTEN.

Burke's mission is to create as many jobs as possible for people who can't see, a community that has a 70 percent unemployment rate.

"When I got here they said well blind people can't iron," said Burke.  Turns out, it was just a matter of ironing out the details. "I think mainly just getting over the fear of working with the iron -- as hot as it is -- just learning where my hands need to go," said Lynette Stevens.

Alongside the safety vests, the factory is making neck tubs for women's military uniforms. "We do them for the Navy, the Army and the Marines. They're all made in Albany on this floor," said Burke.

It's a point of pride for Stevens, who said it's "A way to honor our service people ... I mean I'm doing something to help someone else. Actually I'm helping many people."

With full benefits and opportunities many once thought were reserved for people with sight, the factory is changing lives.

"That's why this is kind of important because people find out they can work," said Hubbard.

"We change people's lives every day," said Burke.

CNN/WTEN