Quiltingboard Forums

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)
-   Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)
-   -   How do you tame your straight pins? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/how-do-you-tame-your-straight-pins-t307267.html)

Onebyone 10-04-2019 04:34 PM

I use pins for my design wall. I seldom use them when sewing. I use Wonder Clips the most. I have more Wonder Clips then pins. I have a big shoe box bin full of the clips.

dunster 10-04-2019 05:17 PM

I have some in pin cushions, some in boxes, and quite a few on the floor. I try to keep them separated by type, but they get mixed up and I have to straighten them out periodically. A magnet on a pole helps pick up the ones on the floor.

pocoellie 10-04-2019 05:22 PM

My pins are all thrown into a small bowl, I like looking at pin cushions, absolutely hate using them, much prefer my bowl. Also absolutely hate the clips also, tried them, gave them to a buddy and she gave them to someone else.

cathyvv 10-04-2019 07:02 PM

I only use large pins with large round heads. My spirit is willing to use smaller ones, but my hands are not. There are 6+ pincushions around the sewing area (my whole house), each full of pins. And I put a quilted "bigger than a table placemat" placemat under my sewing machine, so that is also full of pins. And very convenient.

We do what we have to do, right?

Murphy224 10-05-2019 12:29 AM

I have the yellow flower head ones on two magnetic pin holders - one at my machine, one on the cutting table. I refill/relocate the pins as needed. Also have one magnetic pin holder with the long glass head pins that I like for piecing as they don't distort the fabric so much. Wish I knew the brand of those as they are near perfect and are getting old and bend very easily. On the search for more now.
But like Onebyone, I use wonder clips 90% of the time for everything.
As a side note.....my 9 year old OCD granddaughter sat one day and arranged all the pins on the magnetic holders with the heads all going in the same direction. I didn't know she had done it until after she had gone home. I can't wait until she comes back and does it again for me. I will request it this time, and possibly pay her somehow. It was great and lasted only a short time until they were a jumbled mess again.

Battle Axe 10-05-2019 02:31 AM

Oh no, now I have to staighten my straight pins. I have one magnetic holder next to the design wall and pin cushions at the sewing machine. They seem to migrate to the sewing mahcine.

SuzzyQ 10-05-2019 03:39 AM

I keep my flower head pins - aligned - on a magnetic pincushion for quilting. Right now my DGD has over half of them with "her" machine - I may have to arm-wrestle her to get them back...
I also have a box of long thin pins for sewing and a box of regular pins for my 4-Hers to use. And I have a push-type container that I used to use with the fine pins when I did mostly sewing. If I ever go back to doing a lot of sewing I will use it again. It nicely pops one pin at a time - just have to make sure the heads are "up" when I put pins back. I think that's where I get the having the heads aligned on the magnetic one come from.
And when I'm in "work" mode I have a magnetic dish to catch pins and needles and sewing machine feet, paper clips, tacks....

Barb2018 10-05-2019 04:14 AM

A while ago I switched over to using nothing but very fine glass head pins and then bought a Zirkel (?). It's one of the best things I've done for my sanity. All my cats think that a pin cushion is a toy. One cat would pluck the pins from the cushion and then drop them on the table. I lived in constant fear and got tired of needing a ladder to retrieve my pins.

oksewglad 10-05-2019 05:57 AM


Originally Posted by cathyvv (Post 8309709)
I only use large pins with large round heads. My spirit is willing to use smaller ones, but my hands are not. There are 6+ pincushions around the sewing area (my whole house), each full of pins. And I put a quilted "bigger than a table placemat" placemat under my sewing machine, so that is also full of pins. And very convenient.

We do what we have to do, right?

Okay there has to be more of us around here! I spend enough time sorting bits of fabric; keeping my pins in line? Hahaha! Seriously, I like the flower head pins, and like you cathyvv, I have trouble picking up pins especially when they are in a bowl, so the magnetic bowls do not work for me. I have pin cushions all over the place and the only kind that is in one particular cushion is the corsage pins used at the LA. My little sewing Grands all like the flower head pins as well.

Snooze2978 10-05-2019 07:19 AM

I've used an old Altoids box for years. I only buy the straight pins with the yellow bead on top. Any that I've accumulated by other sources are in a separate Altoid box and I use them when I fold up my fabrics on comic book boards. I've even made 8 sets of alphabet pins using baby bracelet beads and keep them in another separate box. Once the pin gets bent, it gets tossed in the trash. I have magnetic bowls at each end of my quilt frame holding these yellow beaded pins also. I keep 1 Altoid box at my sewing machine, 1 on the cutting table. Once 1 gets full I switch them out until they get full.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:10 AM.