I bought those "quilter's must have" yellow quilter's pins many years ago and never used them. I've been quilting steady for years now. They are so long and unreasonable for piecing 1/4 inch seams. So what are we supposed to be using them for, does anyone know? I use them now to hold fabric to the back of my little fabric bolts.

I use mine - but then again, I don't think I pin the 'normal' way.

I sometime use them when machine quilting to add extra pins just before the pressure foot. Especially when the fabric looks like it will bunch. Have to be careful of the points.
There is a product on the market now that looks like plastic ear plugs that the "inventor" show how to use the longer yellow pins to baste and protect the point by pushing the ear plug on to it.
Otherwise they are useless to me.

I use them to hold together my top, batting and backing when I quilt.

I have some too that I don't use for quilting...maybe to pin borders onto quilt...but not for any piecing. Lately I have been using some to apply glue for some projects and throwing away after (instead of using toothpicks)...at least then I don't feel the guilt of just throwing them away.

I don't like the round yellow head pins called Quilter's Pins. they are too thick and not very sharp. I use the glass head pins, very thin and sharp and some have yellow heads but you can tell the difference by the price. Fons and Porter has short and long glass head pins that are great. Clover pins are excellent too. Once you use a great sharp pin you won't reach for the yellow headed pins again. I do like the yellow flower head pins.

I use the white glass head pins.
They don't melt under the iron.
Their extra fine.
I got them at jo-anns.

I like them, but find I use them mainly when doing large piecing & even use them for regular sewing instead of normal straight pins. They don't get lost like the small ones do. I find the flat flower head pins are nice & really like the small glass heads for small piecing & curves. For smaller quilt projects, like tabletoppers & bench covers, the yellow head pins work to hold the layers together better than safety pins & because the heads are large, they are quick & easy to remove while machine stitching. So I'd say having an assortment means you'll have the right one at the right time.

they're great for frame quilting

If it's the flower head pins, they are great for pinning a pattern or whatever you need to cut around & still be able to use the acrylic rulers. They lay flat & your ruler doesn't teeter totter back & forth when you are trying to hold it down. As for ironing with them, no, they melt!

A machine needle can sew through the flower heads with ease. I have had to remove a few stitches from them before!

I use mine to pin my quilt tops and backings onto my LA rollers. They work great!

I love mine.. they are super thin and I do use them for piecing but pretty much useful for anything.. Then I bought what i thought were the same ones- since I used them for everything and wanted more on hand- but they were 'thicker' and I didn't like these new one ones at all.. made to big of holes in my fabric..

This is how I use those yellow quilters pins. Rather than having the pin hang out of the edge, I put them alongside where the stitching line will go. Then I don't have to worry about running over them with the sewing machine and because they're long pins, they cover a good size area.

I use them on my design wall to pin up notes, directions, or large heavier fabric if needed.

I use them all the time. They work well for me.

I only use the yellow head pins for one thing, when I am down on the carpet layering the three parts prior to basting. They are great to hold all layers taught whilst I baste. I do not use them when actually sewing the quilt, I prefere to use ordinary dress makers pins foreverything else.

Gal

There is more than one size of the yellow head pins. I don't use the heavier ones, but I use the thin ones all the time. I also use very fine silk pins that I can even sew over when I don't want any shifting when sewing over seams.

I used to use them all the time , till I started sewing on Batiks. they are too thick , and leave holes in the finely woven batik fabric. After having discovered really super fine pins it felt like I was driving nails into my fabrics.
I have them on a seperate magnet , and use them on my desing wall and pin in what will be the seam allowance.

I have a few with needle holes in them too LOL
I do like them, because they lay flat :D:D:D

love your pin cushion :mrgreen:

I use them for holding binding and to hold the sandwich together when I tie my quilts. Use the finer pins for piecing.

Yeh, I started with these too. Now as mentioned I use them to pin my wrapped fabric. I also use them to pin my backings to the frame.

I threw out my yellow head quilting pins after I discovered the glass head silk pins.

I use them for living up the OBW's because they don't move and they keep the fabric from slipping.

They are for securing your back and batting to the front but I like them for everything even seamstress work.

Being disabled (only my left arm works) I tend to pin EVERYTHING (or scotch tape) they're my second hand. PP the church block was a real challenge I could not have done without pins & tape.

I use my yellow headed pins for everything. But recently, when in a hurry I grabbed a package and when I got home, found that I had bought the ball point pins, which are really not good for anything but sewing knits.

I use mine.

Never used them before I got my Millie (long arm), now they are my best friends! used for pinning on roller bars and they bend easily around the rollers if they have to.

I use them a lot. I like the fact that I can pin my blocks together very close to the seam line and the machine will roll right over them. They're also easy to see if/when I drop them on the floor.

I use the tiny applique pins. They are never in the way and you can sew right over them with no problem. That's what works best for me.

I use them for everything....can't stand the shorter ones with the tiny flat heads. When I'm piecing, I just pull one out at a time ahead of my sewing.... They are easier to find when there is a stray than the others too. I put them in at a right angle to the seam I'm sewing (with the yellow head sticking off the fabric and then pin double stuck into the fabric) so if I miss one and sew over it, no big deal.

The so-called "quilters' pins" with the large yellow heads are not meant for piecing at all - you should use a finer and more flexible pin for that job. The yellow ones are really meant more for the layering and basting process.

Ditto.

I only use them when I'm working on heavy things , like when putting polar fleece on the back of a quilt or something that is thick. Making bags of heavy fabrics.

I use mine for when I am matching seams. Like where you have one seam going one way and the other the opposite. I put one on each side of seams then they dont move and I don't have to rip.

I use them to pin through so my corners match up better. I pin the entire length of both seams when piecing patches

The only pins I ever use are the glass head pins that are very thin. The yellow ones are too thick for me. I have some, but never use them. They are pretty if you make a pin cushion and give it away with a few pins on it.