Pins to the Point

As quilters, we collect all of the notions we need to produce perfect patchwork. But as we're beginning, selecting the correct pin for the job is always a question, which set of pins, which style of pins do I want in my sewing room? And as a quilter who came to quilting as a garment-sewer, I was used to the really short little tinny pins, and they had a plastic top, and they were really, really short. And I thought, quilters aren't using those. What are they using? So let's investigate. There are a plethora of things to look at and different sizes, so you may want to try out a couple of different kinds. But one of the most important things is to pick a pin that has a glass head. That means that when the iron gets near it, we won't have any damage to the pin itself or transfer of color off the head of the pin. So I've got a set here that, these are all glass head or a flower head pin style. But these are glass. They have a variety of colors. Some people like to have that variety of color. It's easy for them to see. So, but these, if I take one out, you'll see are fairly short in length. This is close to the kind of pin I was used to using as a garment-sewer. But as I got into quilting and realized that going through layers of fabric in order to line up my seams, the longer the pin, the better chance I had of keeping that joint seam nice and neat. So the shorter pins have kind of gone by the wayside. So I'll use these on occasion, maybe when I'm doing applique, and we'll approach that later. Now the brands out there, there are many companies that make pins. Clover is one, Dritz makes them, Fons & Porter offers one, there's one called a Magic Pin. So there are many, many brands out there. Some people are very familiar with the traditional silk pin, and it has, basically, a metalhead and is fairly thin, but not quite what quilters usually want. We are always in a hurry. We're always wanting to take pins out as we approach them as we're sewing. And those tiny little metal head pieces make it very difficult to grasp easily, unless, of course, you've got a fingernail that you can get ahold of them, and they're harder to locate because without a color at the top of that pin, we've got all metal going on. So these silk pins, let's leave those for crafting and put those in the back of the drawer. Some of my favorite pins I'm gonna bring out here are, they come in different kinds of containers. They come in different lengths. So this is an older style. I'm not sure if this one's still available, but this is the first really fine pin that I started working with. They're a little bit longer than those garment sewing pins. They have the glass head so they're easy to locate, and they're very fine. They have almost a bendability to the metal so that when you're going through layers, you can bend just a little bit to get things matched up nicely. So the glass head pin in a fine one like that is great. We can go down to extra fine, and as I lay that out, you may be able to catch that, in the camera, that the metal portion of the pin gets just a little bit narrower here than in these, and these are a little bit longer yet. So those, again, glass head, a really fine metal so that you have that ability to kind of flex a little bit when you're putting pieces together. And then there's those that some of us might say are kind of like a sword. When I first saw these, I thought, I will never use pins this long, and never say never. These are probably my go-to pins now. They're a longer metal so they can take a bigger bite into fabric, and I have a little bit better, a easier time grabbing a hold of those to put them in. These, of course, are not gonna be used for applique or anything that, where you have a thread that would get in the way and get tangled up around the metal. So different lengths of pin in a finer metal. I can even show you here, probably the camera can kind of pick it up. There's a flexibility to this so that it snaps back, and it will help in times when you're putting layers together. For example, let's slide the boxes out of the way here, when you get to that finer metal it can slip through layers of fabric very easily. So we've got two layers here. These slip through very, very easily. There's no drag, no pull on the fabric as it is inserted through the fabric. Now we do have pins that are thicker. I'm gonna bring out the flower head pin. These are used by some, especially those who may have an issue with dexterity, because it has a larger head, something bigger to grasp as you're taking them out, and I totally understand that. They do come in somewhat flexible metal. They are a little bit thicker. So going down through that fabric, it pierces a little bit more going through than the really fine pins, these are an extra fine, these are a fine, denier one. So you may give up the thickness of the metal, that little bit thicker, for something that's easier for your hand to grasp. We all understand that there are times when being able to grasp something and remove something as you're sewing is important, but they do take just a little bit more to get through the fabric when you're inserting those. So that's the flower head pin. Sometimes they come in a variety of colors. Some people even like to be able to take a permanent marker and label those with arrows, or ABCs, or numbers. There are even sets out there, of course, that already have numbers and arrows printed on them. So you may find those as you are shopping. So the flower head pin has its pros and cons. There are then, of course, companies always have to have something fun. This is a little bit heavier metal, but it has a glow in the dark tip head on it. So it has a bead that's easy to pick up. So if you were to spill your pins in your sewing room, how many of us have done that, on the floor, you can turn off the light and be able to locate those by the glowing dot on the end. These are a little bit shorter in the metal portion of it, but there are always, always fun things to shop for. Now we have also the company that's come out recently, it's called the Magic Pin, and they have a little bit different shape to them than what we kind of consider to be the standard sewing pin with a round glass head. They have come up with a pin that has kind of a barrel shape on one end, a little bit longer. It also is grooved so that if I, might be able to pick up the sound there. So they has a little bit of a groove there for your finger to grasp. They're a fine metal, they are an extra fine, so they also have that little bit of bend in the metal, but snaps back nicely. So those may be an option for you. They come in different lengths. I believe there are at least four different lengths. This is one of the longer of the styles. They are all color coded by the length so you may find them in pink, or green, or yellow, or the blue, so make sure that you read the packaging for the different length on the Magic Pins. And so that's kind of all the rage right now, is the Magic Pin. Then we have two other styles that I wanted to show you. Now when it comes to those shorter pins, when a person is doing applique and they've laid a small design on top, and they're going to be sewing around that, if you have large, long pins in the way, of course, your thread is going to get tangled around that. So, of course, there are applique pins, and I do not have an example of just the all metal style, but here, these are very short. They have a tiny little white tip on them so they can at least be found in your sewing. But, by being short like this, as you put it into your applique, the thread that you're stitching with has less chance of being wrapped around the pins that are holding your applique pieces in place. So the applique pin can be handy. They are very short, so you kind of have to get used to working with them because they are so tiny. They come in a little snap box like that to keep together. The last style that I wanted to show you is called a fork pin, and it is very different than any of the other pins I was showing you. It actually is a U-shaped piece of metal, Sharp tip here, then it has a bent end so you have something to grasp, and then back to the point so that, as you insert these on through the fabrics, you don't have a shift in the piece as if you were to put one pin in place. It's kind of a double, kind of a twin pin because when you put one pin in, you always have that possibility of a bit of a shift back and forth. But when you put in the twin like this, the fork pin, the amount of shift is very, very little. So the fork pin could also be used at intersection of seams if you want a pin on each side, kind of two at once, for example. So the fork pin is a possibility there. The last thing that I wanted to talk about was that your pin cushion, no matter what style you use, can be used, kind of, to divide up those pins. So I have my longer pins that are my go-tos grouped together. I have a few of those flower head pins if I wanna maybe denote the rows in when I'm marking my quilt blocks for rows, maybe I'll use those. There are some crafting pins because we are always off doing a craft, also, that are very heavy. They have a thicker metal. They're a lot harder to insert through the layers, so leave those craft pins for crafting instead of quilting. I always, of course, have a couple of T-pins and a corsage pin around because those are far hanging things on the wall, not for quilting . When you go shopping next time and just try to decide what to select for pins, look for the different styles, maybe try out, at least, a couple to find your favorite. Thanks for joining me.