I do a lot of small projects and working with that crazy bias binding can be a real pain. You're right, you need to slow down a little and pin, pin, pin. I even have smaller pins (about 1-1/4" long) I use and they work very well for these types of projects. Plus, with practice, you'll refine those little things on the project that aren't turning out the way you had hoped. Smaller projects aren't as forgiving as a large quilt. Just have fun with it and enjoy the process.