Thread: Pinning to the quilt frame - hat pins vs T pins vs ...?

Originally Posted by cindi

There are quilting pins you can buy. I use ones with a flower head. They're long and the head is flat, so they don't cause a lump when you roll the quilt (not that that's a real bother). I took a class at one of the quilt shows with Linda Taylor, and she used what looked like corsage pins. They worked really well, too. Just make sure you get LONG pins, not short pins, or you'll be pinning for days!

Yes, I use the flower pins....but I do know of some who staple onto the leaders, then use one of those staple pullers from office supply to remove........then there are those red snappers.......... I personally couldn't get the zipper concept....I am old school and use the pins......for over 10 yrs.... Your fingers will naturally try to stay our of the way...put your left hand behind, do a two in/out moving fingers as you go....no bleeding.

Haven't got a long arm but I did watch a You tube video where the young lady had resorted to small magnets to hold the backing fabric along the metal roller. She had tried the zipper and other methods but now found the magnets worked fine. She was very competent too.

I use corsage pins in a magnetic dish which I can move along the rails of the frame as I pin. Thinking of investing in red snappers soon.

When I rented time on a shop long arm, I had to use zippers--and always had trouble getting them on right! The person I purchased my long arm from used corsage pins--and I got tons when I bought it. It took me a long time and many retries to load when I first got it--but I'm getting much faster now. I pine the back and batting togehter on the take up bar, pin the back only on the backing bar, pin the top on the top bar(bottom) and float it at the top. Like Quilted Dove I sew a line across the top of back/batting and then sew my top at that same line. I don't always baste down the sides--I sometimes need to be able to "adjust" the edges! When I do baste, I make sure that the right side is a bigger basting stitch in case I need to unsew and make that adjustment.
I'd like to eventually get a snapper system--but need to start making some money from quilting before I can order them!

T-pins? I've never figured out why those are called "quilt" pins--they are so darn thick and not very sharp--only time I've ever used them were to stick straight in when doing some upholstery projects.

T pins are useless for this purpose. I use the long flat flower pins.