Quilting Pins📍What Are They?
It’s important to have a quality pin when pinning your fabric to quilt. You want to make sure your pin is long and strong. It needs to be able to pierce through all the fabric you are working with without causing harm to your fabric and keep put until you are able to return them to a cushion or tray.
There are several different kinds of pins for sewing and quilting. The majority of pins have the ability to allow stitches while still in the fabric. If possible choose flat-headed pins to sew over. Always check the care instructions for the pins if they are safe to sew over as well as if they are iron-safe or not.
Glass Headpins
For any regular project these kinds of pins are fantastic. Thanks to their popularity these can be easily found and and most often used for everyday tasks. These pins often come in various widths and lengths. It’s recommended to use shorter pins for the more delicate fabrics and if use multiple layers of heavy fabric to use the longer thicker quilting pins.
Flower Headpins
These pins normally have a colorful and flat head. They are generally used for pinning seams when creating patchwork and are pinned perpendicular to the fabric you are working with.
If you have the need for pins that are long, hug your fabric, and flat then these might be the perfect pins for you. Since you can stitch over them you can remove them easily and cause minimal or no damage to your fabric. At Myers we sell Dritz Flat Flower Pins and Clover Flower Head Pins. Both of these are a great quality brand.
Applique Pins
Pins like these are great for (you guessed) applique! Anytime that you are pinning small fabrics there are gonna be your go to since they are super small. If the need to piece manually arises they can be used to heavy pin curved seams.
Curved Safety Pins
With the use of curved safety pins they can be curved in whichever way you like because of their nature. Oftentimes quilters will use these to pin the top, back, and wadding of a quilt before the quilting process is finished. They are so easy to use and can be removed without an issue. Note of caution that when basting a quilt with these, it’s not uncommon to prick your fingers, these are safe to use but can be painful.
Ballpoint Quilting Pins
If you have the desire to use jersey material or knit fabrics then these are the pins for you! The feature of ballpoints is that they allow you to keep your fabric undamaged. Since they are rounded points they push the fibers in the fabric to the side instead of piercing them like sharp quilting pins do. Then once you are finished with the pins the fibers can move back into their original position.Silk Pins
If you are using delicate fabrics like satin or silk it’s hard to go wrong with silk pins because they are fine-tipped. Most of the time they don’t include heads though some do exist. The silk pins available at Myers are Clover Glass Head Silk Pins.
Now that we know what makes a quality pin and the kinds available for quilting let’s discuss some great contenders for ones you should purchase.
1. Dritz Quilting Crystal Glass Head Pins
If you are looking for quality pins then look no further! These pins have a great length which allow you to grip easily, are very durable, and the heads because they are made of glass are heat resistant in case you accidentally iron or steam them. Not to mention of course they are easy to find because of the glass heads since they sparkle! So if you lose them in the carpet or your quilt locating them shouldn’t be an issue.
2. Clover Fine Quilting Pins
These pins are basically identical for all intents and purposes when compared to the Dritz pins, you can use them interchangeably without an issue. The major difference between them is that these can come in varying lengths. While longer ones may be easier for some to push through fabric they have shorter ones as well. Use which length works best for you!
Best Way to Keep Track of Your Pins
Now that we have some absolutely wonderful options for pins, how are we going to keep track of them all? It’s so easy to place a pin down on a surface and have it roll off and fall somewhere funky or on the floor waiting to be stepped on. Thanks to the Zirkel Magnetic Organizer we don’t have to worry about that anymore! Thanks to this little colorful magnet we no longer deal with those issues! This bad boy is basically indestructible and you can toss a handful of pain at it from at least 5ft feet away and it’ll snag them no problem. If you want to throw other metal objects like your scissors or tweezers it can hold those too no problem!
The other benefits of this organizer is that it does a great job at pushing the heads of the pin to the outer edge of the holder making it easy for you to pick up. While it can be very tempting to purchase a cheaper version of this magnetic tray these will often fall apart on you and scatter your pins throughout your home or studio. Quality products like this are worth any unfortunate mishaps in the future.
Some common questions when it comes to pins:
Are these pins thin enough to sew over with a sewing machine?
You can totally sew over these pins, people do it all the time. Over the course of time you will probably end up bending a few. Now it’s also possible that you could break a needle by sewing over a pin and metal fragments could fly, so if you want to wear goggles as a safety precaution it won’t hurt! The other possibility is that if your needle nicks the pins there is a miniscule affect on the timing of your machine. It’s also possible to do damage to your bobbin system with a bent needle.Will these pins work through multiple layers of denim?
Yes these will pierce denim without an issue.If I have this magnetic organizer next to the computer will it harm it?
Your computer won’t be affected by it sitting close to it! No worries!
