Need sharp and strong pins
 

I love sharp strong pins for piecing and can't find a brand that stays sharp very long. I have used the flower pins, but they dull quickly. Any suggestions? What brand do you like? Thanks for your help and love this board. You all are so very nice and talented quilters.

I use Clover Patchwork pins, extra fine. They are sharp!

That's what I use too and you can sew over them! I got mine from amazon for $8.11 for 100.

I got some long thin pins from Clotildas , not sure of spelling. I got them years ago and some have bent. About time to get more. Most are way too thick for piecing.

I use one by Dritz. I'm at work, so don't have the box with the number. They have a glass ball at the top, are very long, and quite thin. As for strong ... they will bend, but they do hold a sharp point.

Just a note - you can sew over any pin until you hit one!! If you have a computerized machine you really don't want to take the chance as anytime you hit one you run the risk of throwing your machine out of time - which means a trip to the repair shop.

Thanks for this thread. I was just pinning things last night and my pins were so dull and wimpy I couldn't shove them through. I'll look into these suggestion.

Surgical steel pins that you can iron over and/or sew over (slowly). Found at most quilt supply places. Mine have a white or red head on them. Watch out, they are very sharp and will stick into fingers as easy as the fabric!!

Clover and Dritz both have some supersharp / superfine pins. One has glass heads in yellow and blue and the other has plastic heads in red and white. I never remember which is which, but I really like them. A tip for keeping your pins sharp -- use a pin cushion that has emery in it (like the little strawberry used to have in it) or crushed walnut shells. I make my own and buy the crushed walnut shells at the pet store. And to help the pins glide through fabric, I have a pincushion that I made by wrapping a bar of soap with a layer of batting, then tying a strip of fabric around it. My next project is to make a pin cushion with a bar of soap wrapped in fabric with an inch or so of crushed walnut shells on top.

I lose more pins for them to ever get dull. They just disappear. I'm always buying more. F&P glass head pins are very thin and sharp. I have many brands of pin and my favorite is the Clover Patchwork pins when using in piecing. IBC (Imported by Clotilde ) are strong and sharp and good all around utility pins.