Do you remove your pins or do you sew over them on your machine? I use the fine glass headed ones and sew over them. Sometimes they do bend. Am I causing any problems for my machine? Thanks

I sew over mine all the time. When I am approaching a pin I just slow way down and usually just stitch right over it.

Everyone says to remove the pins because when you hit one it can break your needle and sometimes throw your machine out of time. But if you are careful you should be able to avoid those problems.

Kathleen, I do not pin very often and I ALWAYS remove my pins before I get to them. If you sew over a pin and your needle hits it, it can damage your sewing machine motor and can be expensive to repair (don't ask me how I know!! :wink: )

On the 70's machine I used for years, I could go right over them, but have broken needles on newer ones. I seldom pin, either, except for curves.

Wow........I do both....depending on the situation....if I pin to keep my seams to marry so I have nice points...don't make much since in taking them out....I have hit many with different results...broken needles and bent pins....I have used my machines for 20+ years and no problems....and I have sewed many things from quilts to cloths and crafts.....I took Home Ec in schoool some odd years ago and it was taught to us to sew over them......But now my quilting girls has a hissy when I don't take my needles out and I'm a pinner....so in my judgement for whatever it is worth.....do what works for ya.....juat change your needle more often.....:-).....

I seldom use pins. If I need to pin fabric before sewing I use glue.

I am one that sews over her pins!! :D As I am doing that, I always do slow down & ease the needle over the pins. It seems to work great for me.
Hope this is of some help to you.

I have two 30+ year old machines. I sew over the pins. If I had a newer, more delicate (read "pricey") machine, I'd probably reconsider. In home ec almost two decades ago, we were told to just sew over them slowly.

we really shouldn't sew over our pins. it's dangerous. if you don't wear glasses anyway, then you should put on some safety glasses to protect your eyes in the even a needle breaks and that little tip goes flying. and if you've ever had to dig a bent pin out of the feed dogs, you'd know what a pain that can be. every time it happens to me i get knots in my stomach because i won't know whether or not i've done damage to the machine until i get the pin out and try sewing again. so far i've been lucky. one of these days, though, my luck is bound to run out. :lol:

now that i've said "shouldn't", i'll confess that i have yet to learn my lesson. i still sew over them. sometimes i'm sensible and pull them out as the foot gets close. mostly i risk wreck and ruin by leaving them in. when the day finally comes that i have to write a big fat check to the repair shop, i promise i won't ask for pity. :lol:

Like most everyone else in Home Ec class I was told to sew over then I thought man what a smart machine to never hit a pin,but years later taking up sewing again I was told never to sew over pins,for all the reasons Patrice mentioned, most of the time I do not pin but when I do I remove the pins

I use to sew over the pins and break needles. Never had damage to the machine, but finally decided that I was buying too many needles, so now remove the pins. Once in a great while, I'll take it very slow and easy over the pin, but I usually chicken out and remove the pin before the needle gets too close.LOL

On my old machine, if I sewed over pins it would mess up the timing (whatever that is) and I'd have to take it to have it fixed. So, after about 3 times of that happening, I learned to never sew over one!
:D

I TRY not to sew over pins but sometimes it happens :oops:

I used to sew over pins but stopped doing it when I started using the fancy yellow topped long pins. You just cannot sew over them like you can the old round head pins.

OMG~This has happened to me. While sewing away
and over the pins the needle hit a pin .The needle
broke and a piece of it bounced off my glasses.
I don't sew over pins anymore. I cringe to think of
what would have happened if not had glasses on.
I've also run over pins and had them jammed in the
feed dogs along with whatever I was sewing and that
is NOT fun trying to get it out without ruining the fabric.
Yes the repair shop bill will be hefty these days.

I always try to remove my pins as I sew. I was just taught that way.

I used to sew over pins and never had any trouble beyond an occasional broken needle until one day when I hit one that messed up the timing on my machine (fortunately this was before I had the pricey computerized machine - it was the old workhorse). But it was expensive to have it serviced and a pain to be without it for a week, so I don't sew over pins anymore.

I was taught to pin, pin, pin, for accuracy and to stop before you get to the pin and take it out. I use applique pins to pin, if you do happen to go over one, it doesn't seem to get hit with the needle, but there short and they can get loose and get caught in your feed dogs.

Keep it rock'in,
simple quilter

I do sew over pins and try not to hit one but it does happen it can break your needle. I do try to pull them out before the needle gets near them though.

I always remove them!!

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! [u]DO NOT under any circumstances sew over the pins. They have been know to break and could possibly fly up in the face.

Also, a lot of pins are bent and have to be replaced.

Please, please be careful.

Thanks everyone, I've ended up with a few "L" shaped pins. I need to either start squaring up after each step or pull them out right before I sew over them. For you talented quilters how do you not pin and end up with nice seams?
This is part of my D9P. It doens't lay completely flat (and I believe it is because i'm stretching my blocks when I iron). I pin it to death and still it ends up "wonky" (haha. learned that word on this board).

I have something dark behind my fabric. That is why it looks that way. I used my scanner.

have you tried a little spray starch before ironing. And, don't iron it to death. Just press. There is a difference in ironing and pressing. Let the starch dry really well before pressing.

I remove mine. I just slow my machine down a bit so I can grab the pin.

You might want to try "true-ing" blocks to size and shape before sewing them together. Sharon Schamber has videos on http://www.youtube.com that demonstrate how to either shrink or stretch a block to size. If you do that, your blocks will no longer be wonky and your top will lie flat of its own accord.

It does sound as if you are stretching the blocks out of shape when you iron. Also, unless a pattern is very complicated (involving arcs or circles), it's usually unnecessary to pin a lot to achieve sewing accuracy. It sounds as if you may be stretching your blocks out of shape when you iron.

Mom said I could sew over the pins if I went really slowly...that was when I was 8.

Last year when I bought my Bernina...the techie said..NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER to sew over pins......so I try to take them out before I get to them now.

One thing to remember, when we were in Home Ec, pins were made much stronger back then. They were made from a high percent metal not the diluted alloy most are made from now. Pins and machine needles will break and fly apart a lot easier now days.

I don't pin much except when I have to make sure my joints match or my points don't get buried. After reading this I will be more careful.

I never sew over my pins, I think for the cost of any repairs, possible part of a sewing needle stuck somewhere on my face or body, it is not worth it. I do not want to damage my machine no matter how old or new it is. If I have seams to match up, I put pins in them and when I get close to it, I remove the pin and use a stiletto to guide it through under the presser foot. It has worked for me and if it works, don't fix it.

I don't like to sew over pin afraid of tearing up the machine

:shock: I DO both, sewing over them and pulling them. I went to Home Ec. so long ago (yes, we had electric plug in machines, but electricity was new to our area :lol: )

However, I'm getting away from using the pins except for basting. I broke 5 needles ( :roll: ) on the guilting of my great-niece quilt and didn't hit one pin. Something is off somewhere!! I had just had it cleaned, oiled, and checked over by my favorite sewing machine repairman, so I don't know what I was doing. Probably pulling from the back. I do try hard to keep my left hand beside the machine because I try to hurry things sometimess. :wink:

Hugs,
Sharon

I'm like crashnquilt. I sew over my pins all the time and just slow it down when I get to the pin. The only time I use pins if I need to "marry" the seems. Other wise I don't pin.

I figure if you need to pin why would you take them out before you get to them. Never had a problem with needles or the machine.

Tell us about using glue! I just read about a way to use glue for binding and it sounded great. I'm wondering how you use the glue for piecing.

I have sewn over pins for 40+ years. It was never a problem with my mom's Singer 301 (which I am currently using for piecing). I did lose a machine (15 yo inexpensive White) when too many broken pins/needles killed the timing.

~monica

I use a Singer Featherweight 221 machine and silk pins. Sew over them regularly. Sometimes they do bend or get marks; but, my machine needle never breaks. The thicker glass headed pins I use to match points; but, on either side of the point I use the silk pins and remove the glass headed pin as I go over the point -- most of the time my points are perfect. I do have to replace some of the silk pins as they are bent or rough.

I have a newer machine also but tend to use it less frequently. My friends at the local quilt shop that I bought the machine from agree that the newer machines aren't quite as forgiving as the older ones.

Linda
W. PA, USA

PLease remove your pins or you might do harm to your machine.ialmost learned the hard way.an my machine cost me a pretty penny i got it after my dad passed away .i know it would have benn something he would have approved of with all the sewing i do.

I was watching Alex Anderson one day and she said she sewed over a pin with her Bernina and it had to go back to the factory for repair... ouch.
I haven't even thought about trying it since I heard that. Quilter 1234

this is always a question which seems to depend on personal preference, but , being a "safety comes first" type of person...i always tell everyone to remove those pins...ever hit one, break your needle and have half a needle flying through the air at your eyes? not a very good scenerio...has happened to me...luckily i was wearing my glasses and the broken needle bounced off my glasses...it was a lesson which i have never forgotten, it's either remove the pins or wear safety goggles :? also, sewing machine repairs can get pretty expensive especially when you throw out the timing...the thought of my machine being out of commission for days, or weeks is too much to even think about.
safety first...then its more fun! :)

If you are sewing together blocks try a piece of scotch tape with one end folded over to make an easy tab for removing the tape. when paper piecing or putting together seam binding, i never use pins, they distort the fabric.
a little 2 to 3 inch piece of tape can be used about 10 times before you need another short piece. Don't sew through the tape, place it so the 2 pieces of fabric are held in alignment.