I brought this up on another thread and thought I would post it again. This topic may have been discussed before...if so, I missed it.

About 15 years ago I was making a costume for my DD, my pincushion wasn't handy and as I removed the straight pins while I was sewing a seam I put the pins between my lip. I know we have all done this! Well -- I sneezed -- the pins went into my mouth and throat and I totally freaked out! I couldn't breath very well and I was home alone. Thankfully I got them out by myself with my fingers and tweezers. It really hurt and scared the you-know-what out of me. I have never put pins or needles in my mouth since. Please don't it -- I think I was lucky they didn't go further down my throat.

I try not to put them in my mouth, but every once in awhile I do and I think that it's probably not the best thing to do.

Oh, that would have been scary. Good thing you were able to get it out and everything was ok.

Thank you for this reminder... I think many of us do this from time to time, even though we DO know better :roll:

wrist pincussions, sleeve, anything but mouth.

I used to do this!
but solved the problem
A few years ago I got bifocals, well I cant find my mouth with them on!! LOL I have to take off my glasses to eat!
a friend of mine has the same problem and his wife is always yelling at him to not forget his glasses when we leave a restaurant.
the first time I tried to stick a pin in my mouth (after the bifocals) I stuck my lip and bleed like a stuck pig!!
never again!

That is a habit I have to break myself from. I know better and your story make me really work at it harder. I'm glad you were OK but that had to be scary.

Oy. I constantly have pins in my mouth when I'm sewing. This scenario has never even occurred to me. Thank you for the warning. I only hope I can break my habit.

I also did this. The solution is to use a magnet on your shirt. The soft craft kind. You cut two pieces, one under your shirt and the other on top to catch the pins. Works great.

I think I had an instinctual fear of swallowing a pin. I now have a habit of sticking pins in the front of my shirt/dress if I am not near the pin dish. Yes, I ocassionally forget to remove them & stick myself later.

This is always a good reminder. I know someone who actually inhaled the pin and ended up in the ER to have it removed...I try to always remember not to but once in awhile...
Hugs
April

That is a fabulous idea! thank you.
hugs
April

How frightening for you, Im glad your okay. Thanks for sharing your story to help save the rest of us.

eek. I do this ALL the time. I need to make myself a wrist pincushion I guess. I have allergies too. yikes. I do usually only put in a few at a time and grab them out if I think I'm going to sneeze but there have been times I sneezed without warning.

Thank you for this reminder!
Glad you were ok.. I'm very guilty of this. :oops:
Just last week I had a pin in my mouth and my DS snuck up behind me (as he always does to scare me), well, I almost swallowed it. :shock:
Did I yell? Yep, better believe it. But I shouldn't have a pin in my mouth either. :roll: Bad me!!! :evil:

Me, too.

Better than down my throat, though.

I was taught when I learned to sew that you were never to put them in your mouth. I still did it, all the time. I didn't stop until I started teaching my granddaughter to sew. I didn't want her to learn from my bad example. Your story makes me glad I stopped doing it. Glad you were okay.

I too stick the pins in my blouse/shirt/dress front, as well as any trimmed threads. Just sew much easier than looking for a place to put threads or pincushion. MANY times I have gone out of a class or my home covered in "designer accessories" LOL

Ummm - me, too.

Thanks for the reminder.

Wow, thanks for the warning...I'm guilty of sometimes putting them in my mouth. I'm really going to try to remember not to from now on!

If that had not been such a frightening experience it would have been an excellent funniest home video. You must have been frightened! I would have been.
When I was a child I swallowed an open saftey pin (small one). The xray showed it in my body. I remember getting lots of attention for awhile.
I am glad you are okay. /Regards, Dorothy

I did the exact same thing many years ago...was pinning up a hem for someone and had a pin in my mouth. Must have breathed the wrong way or something and one went straight to the back of my mouth. I couldn't talk and was too scared to move. The lady I was pinning for had no idea what had happened as I wasn't game to try to tell her. Luckily I was able to reach it with my fingers and remove it. Never put a pin in my mouth since that day

I have never thought about this scenario. I am guilty of holding pins with my mouth too. From now on I am going to try to break myself from doing this! Thanks for the warning!

the pin habit is bad and also if you are biting threads to cut them, stop it. my dentist identified me as a seamstress years ago by the grooving i caused to my front teeth.

Try this: Pin in right hand, pin into blouse/top and bra - left boob. Opposite if you are left handed. Very easy to reach, very convenient - just hope to heaven you don't deflate. I have been known to go to the store with pins in my boob! It works! Edie

My goodness! This has never happened to me. I think I would have panicked if I had pins in my throat. I have done it rarely, but now, I think I will stop all together.

Oh my gosh, that must have been so scarry! I remember in 7th grade one of the boys in Home Ec swallowed a pin...at least he SAID he did, we wondered if he just wanted to go home, lol!
After that I was always too scarred to stick any in my mouth!

Thank goodness you got them out--I am bad about this.

Walmart has 5 yards of fabric for $5.00. They are on 5 yard bolts and you have to look through them.

I do it all the time but after reading this I will never do it again.

I toss mine in a magnetic bowl I keep next to my machine.

I admit it...I was guilty of this bad habit. If the prospect of swallowing pins isn't enough to break the habit I offer this observation. If you ever sew with another person or group (like a bee or at a retreat) and you borrow pins or share pins you might just be putting pins in your mouth that have been in someone else's mouth and visa versa. This mental picture has just about broken my habit.

I have a friend who was vacuuming and came across a pin, picked it up, stuck it in her mouth. Continued cleaning and when she was done, wondered where the pin was. Long story short, she ended up in the ER, xrays, $$$$, etc. To hear her tell the story (now that it is over) is hilarious, she even made a quilt replicating the story.

I do the same thing DonnaJean---stick them in my shirt. Got that one from my Granny

I do this all the time! Learned it from my Grandma. Guess I'll be making a wrist pin cushion this weekend. Thanks for sharing!

I went to a quilt show last fall and was talking to the elder quilter. She asked me if I was interested in her lastest hint. I said sure. She reached in her bag and gave me a small pincushion. It had velcro on the bottom. (Both pieces) She told me to stick it to the side of my machine. She told me I was going to be surprised at how much I would like this hint. I did stick it on my machine. When I got a new machine it was moved. It is so handy.
How nice was she?

You just gave me an idea for a funny falsie insert-able pincushion. :mrgreen:

I did this all the time till one day I was taking care of my grandson and he picked something up off my sewing room floor and looked at me and he had the straight pin in between his front teeth. Boy that was the end of sticking pins in my mouth after that

Pins--I have strip of mole foam (the stuff you put on your feet) stuck to the side of my sewing machine, as I take a pin out it gets stuck into the foam. Works for me and I don't have to worry about pins in my mouth.
Ps be sure its mole foam not mole skin.

Pins--I have strip of mole foam (the stuff you put on your feet) stuck to the side of my sewing machine, as I take a pin out it gets stuck into the foam. Works for me and I don't have to worry about pins in my mouth.
Ps be sure its mole foam not mole skin.

Re sticking pins in clothing. Years ago had a home ec teacher that had had a mastectomy. She would freak out all the new pupils by taking out the pins as she sewed and sticking them into her boob. I guess they were made out of foam or something back then, but I still remember her doing that and about fainting. grin. At least she taught us to have a sense of humor if life tossed one lemons.