I have to admit this year already seems to be spinning faster than the flywheel of my high- speed sewing machine! I’ll readily admit I’m not much for setting, or sticking with so called resolutions. However, I am happy to hop on board the New Year – Fresh Start bandwagon and put plans in place for my sewing related adventures this coming year. Today I hope to encourage and enlighten you to do the same!
In my title you can see I mentioned new pins. This is the first step in my plan for the new year. I've developed the habit of purchasing new pins at the beginning of each year. It’s a tip I got long ago from a wise sewing sage and I really took it to heart. Such a practical tip, start in January with fresh pins and relegate the old ones to a storage box, or perhaps even . . . GASP . . . throw them away!!! I know, as a sewing enthusiast you are probably like me, a re-cycler, a saver, and an all around waste not type of person. Many of us save dull denim sewing machine needles to use for picture hangers and keep patterns for decades even if it's just for sentimental sake. Then of course there’s the infamous scrap box. Sewing often means saving and most of us love to re-new, re-use, and re-cycle, especially when it involves sewing.
So, when it comes to something as basic as pins I just think it makes sense to start the year with pins that are perfect. Funny how we don’t think twice about changing the sewing machine needle but we balk at pitching pins. Sure, you may not need to refresh every batch every year, but certainly pins that have been used over and over again could, and quite possibly should, be retired. Are you ready to toss out the old and treat yourself to new pins? If you are, I’d like to share my list of favorite "must have" pins.
In my title you can see I mentioned new pins. This is the first step in my plan for the new year. I've developed the habit of purchasing new pins at the beginning of each year. It’s a tip I got long ago from a wise sewing sage and I really took it to heart. Such a practical tip, start in January with fresh pins and relegate the old ones to a storage box, or perhaps even . . . GASP . . . throw them away!!! I know, as a sewing enthusiast you are probably like me, a re-cycler, a saver, and an all around waste not type of person. Many of us save dull denim sewing machine needles to use for picture hangers and keep patterns for decades even if it's just for sentimental sake. Then of course there’s the infamous scrap box. Sewing often means saving and most of us love to re-new, re-use, and re-cycle, especially when it involves sewing.
So, when it comes to something as basic as pins I just think it makes sense to start the year with pins that are perfect. Funny how we don’t think twice about changing the sewing machine needle but we balk at pitching pins. Sure, you may not need to refresh every batch every year, but certainly pins that have been used over and over again could, and quite possibly should, be retired. Are you ready to toss out the old and treat yourself to new pins? If you are, I’d like to share my list of favorite "must have" pins.
Common Quilting Pins with large yellow heads are indispensable. My new box has 500 of them so it may make sense to divvy it up for this year, and the next few! But I'm sure I'll need quite a few as these are my go-to pins for everyday sewing situations. They work for many fabrics and a wide variety of situations. They are easy to pick up and locate on any flooring surface.
Glass Head "Silk" Pins. This may well be the perfect pin and I can't do without these. For fine woven fabrics like the silk cotton blend in the photo they are simply the best choice. There is nothing else that I can count on for pinning fine woven fabrics without fear of snagging the fabric. They are strong too, but they do bend more easily so they're not suitable for thick layers. Another bonus, they do not melt if you are ironing around a pinned project. Be careful with synthetics though. If you heat up a pin it is possible that the heat could transfer to the synthetic and mar the fabric.
Flat Flower Pins are next on the list. These are also known as lace pins because the heads won't get lost in lacy or open weave fabrics. Specifically, I like the quality of the Clover brand and I buy them in two styles, standard and super fine. The super fine are rather delicate so you’ll want to use those for thin layers. Why are these a must have in my pincushion? Three main reasons, they are long, they are strong, and yes, they are flat. Their flat feature means I can pin layers together, place a rotary ruler on top, and use a rotary cutting tool to slice through layers accurately and effortlessly. Another bonus you get from the flat feature is the fact that these pins don’t distort the fabric like large headed pins do. Each pin “bump” raises the fabric just a bit and cause fabric layers to draw up or shrink slightly.
My final favorite pin is the small but mighty Appliqué pin. Appliqué artists love these and so do I! Since appliqués are often made up of small pieces it is important that the pin does it's job but also stays out of the way. Because they are short they do not distort the fabric layers and cause the shrinkage I described above. I used them on my Wrapped In Embroidery projects for securing ribbon trims in place. If you look closely at the photo where this blog begins you should be able to spot the tiny white pins. They are mingled with a few of my favorite tools and items I used for making the nine wraps. See if you can find them :-)
My final favorite pin is the small but mighty Appliqué pin. Appliqué artists love these and so do I! Since appliqués are often made up of small pieces it is important that the pin does it's job but also stays out of the way. Because they are short they do not distort the fabric layers and cause the shrinkage I described above. I used them on my Wrapped In Embroidery projects for securing ribbon trims in place. If you look closely at the photo where this blog begins you should be able to spot the tiny white pins. They are mingled with a few of my favorite tools and items I used for making the nine wraps. See if you can find them :-)
Ball Point Pins – I always use this style of pin for knits and for sewing elastic too. Just like a stretch or ball point needle, these pins are designed to push the fibers aside and prevent damage to the structure of a knit. In simple terms this means they will not leave holes. These pins are great for synthetic knits and natural fiber knits like the blue jersey swatches seen above. I reach for these pins anytime I use a fabric that has lycra, even if it is a stretch woven fabric.
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