I have the same one as Katrine and ditto everything she said! I love it - I use it to baste for hand quilting too and never catch the thread on the tacks, also for stacking fabric for stack and whack, for holding sets of identical patches together that I've cut for a project, for making up quicky practice sandwiches for FMQ, it has lots of uses beyond sandwiching. I'd say that the special tool for removing the tacks is essential but it's only a couple of quid (bucks in the USA!).