NJ Quilter

I pin perpendicular to the seam edge as I generally sew over my pins. No need to remove them this way. I will sometimes remove them but not generally. So far, no horrible events by sewing over pins.

feline fanatic

I pin perpendicular for piecing. I do it this way to align intersecting seams and usually put two pins at the intersection. I set my needle to stop in the down position and just before getting to the pin I stop and remove the pin, the needle down helps to prevent the fabric from shifting as I remove the pin and also allows me raise the presser foot if necessary. I do sew over them on occasion but I have hit pins dead on too many times which can cause multiple problems like broken needles or worse case, throw my machine out of timing. I never pin parallel to the seam.

krafty14

I pin perpendicular to the edge for two reasons. One - I am right handed so I pin with the heads to the right and I can pull them out as I am sewing without stopping. Two - When you pin parallel it bends the two layers of fabric causing the under space(distance from where pin enters fabric to where it exits) to be shorter than the top space. May not seem like much, but 20 pins later, things don't match up at the end.

AliceQ

Wow! What interesting answers! I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear that I was talking about piecing and other sewing like hems or making curtains. When I'm ready to quilt I use large safety pins. You are all so talented and you've brought up different issues to consider when I pin next time. Thank you!

popover

Heehee, any way that seems to work well at the time.

madamekelly

I pin according to what I am doing. Cutting out a pattern for clothing I pin parallel, sewing smaller pieces like for a quilt, I pin perpendicular so I can pull the pins as I sew. I do not sew over pins ever! (Last one I tried to sew over, was hit with the needle, and the only reason I still have a right eye is because I wear glasses. (Scared the ---- out of me!) Please do not sew over pins.

Kassaundra

I agree w/ MadameK, never sew over pins!!!!! I avoid pinning except when absolutely ness. If I am regular piecing I pin perpendicular for easy removal while sewing and least distortion. If I am pp I pin parallel on the sew line so I can pre flip the fabric to make sure it covers edges and for most coverage and to best keep anything from moving, if I am pinning edges of pp sections I pin entirely different to make sure all points match (not parallel or perpendicular).

Sewnoma

I rarely use pins anymore - for basting quilts I'm a huge fan of Elmer's, and for holding seams together temporarily I'm a huge fan of the red Clover wonder clips. I bleed a lot less now!

But sometimes a pin is just the ticket, and in those situations I almost always pin perpendicular to the seam. To me, that makes it the easiest to slide the pin out after I've sewn right up to it.

Shorter seams I usually don't pin at all, unless there's a curve involved; or sometimes I put in a pin just as a reminder of where to STOP sewing. Those are almost always perpendicular to the seam as well.

quiltingshorttimer

I basically do the same except at the start and end of a long seam--I'll put a pin in parallel at each end so that I don't even take it out as I sew past it--holds the ends from sliding apart.