April 06, 2010

Pins

I need new pins.  You all have seen mine in action, I use them a lot, and they are dull, bent up and not gliding very well.
So I'm looking to you to tell me your favorite pins.  Why do you love them?  Where did you find them?

I finished my blocks last night, should be a quilt top today and then I get to move on, oh, and write instructions. . . :)

Serious where'd you get your pins!?

Amy
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44 comments:

gale said...

I'm totally picky-after using pins that didn't glide through fabric easily enough (dritz, singer, among others) I only use clover brand pins. I have the extra long ones with the green and orange heads and the slightly shorter ones with white heads.

Amber said...

I need some new ones too - I've sewed over too many of mine :-)
I just buy mine at Walmart - the longer ones with the yellow flower-like heads.

Mandy said...

My pins are a variety of different types. I have some medium length glass-headed pins for dressmaking. These are in good condition and bought from my local outdoor market. There is a really good habadashery stall there. They are my newest set of pins.
The long flower topped pins I generally use for quilting and applique were from a Quilt stall at one of the shows I have been to over the years. I shall have to replace these soon since some of the heads are starting to fall off and the pins are getting rather bent.
I have a further set of short glass headed pins. These also need to be replaced. They came from the Habadashery stall too. She hasn't had a similar set in for some time, so I may have to look further afield to replace these.
My last set is a very long thin set of pins which I again use for applique. These are far more resilient than the flower-headed pins, but I cannot recall where I got them from.
All my pins reside in their own mostly home-made pin cushions.
Sorry about the lengthy post. I am writing from the UK.

JariJari said...

I prefer Clover pins and my favourite for piecing is Clover fork pins as it's useful for matching up seams of different pieces.

CraftyMummy said...

I use the long Clover pins with the flat flower heads. I like the way they sit flat on the fabric, especially as I often have to put projects away for a time between sewing sessions. The flat heads mean no lumps and bumps in folded or piled up fabric.

Three Birds Inspired said...

I use flower head pins from Clover. They are more expensive but they have a little "bend" to them so I don't remove them as I am sewing and they are incredibly sharp. I buy them from the notions wall at Joann when I have a coupon.

Unknown said...

Amy, Here is the link to my absolute favorites...
http://www.clover-usa.com/product/69402/2509/_/Quilting_Pins_%28Fine%29

They are clover and are fine and long. They glide like butter and don't distort your fabric. I have several packs of them. They may be just a little pricier, but well worth it!!

Emma said...

I love the flat flower-head pins. I also have some super-fine clover flat flower-head pins which are perfect for pinning labels while I handstitch them (bigger pins are harder to push through and leave visible holes) and on fine fabrics.

audreypawdrey said...

I need new pins too, so I will be looking to see what the everyone says! Great idea!

Leslie said...

i use the little pearl beaded ones...you know the ones with all the pretty colors in the pin box. i confess that is the only reason i bought them, cause they were pretty

Kathryn said...

I just bought these Clover pins and love them. They are very thin 0.4mm had have a glass head.

http://www.clover-usa.com/product/69402/2507/_/Patchwork_Pins

Unknown said...

I use the glass headed applique/silk pins. They have much thinner shanks and are super sharp. And the glass head can take the iron if necessary. I'm pretty sure I got them at the quilt shop.

Pat said...

This is a great blog topic today. I have several different kind of pins but like Amy, they are bent and definately need to be replaced. I have not tried the Clover pins but seem to be a favorite among everyone so I am heading to Joann's today with my coupon to buy some. Thanks everyone for your comments.

lesliequilt said...

I use different brands, but only buy the glass head silk pins - it's all about gliding:) I have recently bought the Fons&Porter pins at Joanne's and really liked them.

Unknown said...

I'm loving all this info! Thank you all :)

Lizzie said...

My favourite pins were some Russian ones a friend shared with our small quilting group. They were so fine BUT they were were only an inch long which was really irritating when quilting. I love the extra long quilting yellow headed pins from Jo-ann and Wal-mart. But I've recently started using the shining coloured headed pins. Perhaps because they are the newest they glide into the fabric, better than my old long yellow ones which are well bend out of shape but I can't bring myself to dump them until they are totally mangled. Good luck choosing some new ones.

wishes, true and kind said...

I use glass head silk pins. The head won't melt under the heat of the iron and the narrow pins don't distort the blocks you're trying to pin together. And I leave them in when I sew! I can be a rather impatient sewer, but I'm obsessive about carefully pinning seams.

Live a Colorful Life said...

I use the really fine silk pins with barely a head--sometimes they are kinda hard to pick up but they are great. I also want to try the fork pins for seams. That seems like a good hint.

lisa said...

I have dritz that I buy at JoAnn's with my coupon (as stockign stuffers for myself usually) in white, green, pink, and blue. No reason for the colors other than to mix it up a bit! I keep thinking when I have more than one project going at a time I should use them as color codeing but it never happens!

Craft-aholic said...

I use the same brand of pins as yours, only mine are the multi-colored ones. I use them and then put them right back in the little plastic box they came in. Mine have been in use for a year now. How often do people replace their pins?

sandi s said...

I buy mine at the quilt shop. They have little glass heads and come in packages of mixed yeallow and blue. They are very fine. I love them. Sandi

goldilocks said...

I love those long flower-head pins. They are skinny and glide easily thru 3 layers of fabric. Also, the flat heads are not in the way when I accidentally run an iron over them.

Heather said...

Clover and Dritz. But I will say that I didn't know their brands until you asked.... :)

Megan said...

Yeah I just go to Joanns. hahaha I found some really cute heart pins the other day. but yeah. I'm not that good of a sewer to need really good pins yet!

Kimberly said...

I use the same ones a lot of other have mentioned. The longer ones with the flower head. I didn't buy the Clover ones but the generic.
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat2276&PRODID=prd34527
or these:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat3433&PRODID=xprd274616

I love that you can iron them and they do not melt! Fabulous for quilting. Plus they slide in like butter on warm bread.
(Okay, now I want toast.)

Trudi said...

Only ever use Clover Flower Head pins! Get them from any good quilting outlet. Love how sharp they are, the length (I have been And they are so visible, both in the sewing, in the pincushion AND on the floor! Good luck with the pattern writing!

Unknown said...

So now I'm curious to know why some of you are ironing with pins?

Audrie said...

I'm not even sure where my pins are from but I do need new ones because mine are also bent and don't glide well. I don't understand the ironing with pins thing either hehe

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

I use pins with a very fine shaft and white heads. I feel the fine shaft makes them easier to sew over. I'm not sure what the brand is, but they're great to use. I got them at Quilt's Etc. in Salt Lake City. Also I have a little pin cushion filled with tiny wax pieces so the pins glide smoothly. A friend made it for me from wax melts that were made for the melting pots that were popular a few years ago.

Chris {frecklemama} said...

I love my flower head pins because they are long, thin and sharp. They glide very easily. I always thought I "should" use glass-head quilters pins but never liked them because they were too fat.

I probably picked the cheapest ones although be careful you get ones that don't melt near the iron. Might be worth paying more. I've only had one that ever melted a little.

Unknown said...

Well, for quilting I usually use the flat headed flower pins that Clover sells; however, I purchased them from my fav LQS. For paper-piecing and other times when I need the pin to take up just the tiniest bite of fabric, I use the thinnist steel with the sharpest tips so they will glide very easy...also from my LQS. For dressmaking, I purchased the fine steel with the white heads from JoAnns and none of these are cheap; because I need comparable equipment to use with the fine silks and cottons... lol..but armed with coupons and shopping at my fav LQS on discount days and such, I seem to be able to get them for less than the listed retail!
hugz

Allie said...

I recently got myself some flat-head butterfly pins - I LOVE them! They lay better than the ones with the yellow head, that I have used to stick things to the wall and sewed over [gasp]. They're a wee bit less strong than the yellow ones - they tend to bend easier - but I like them much better and I don't sew over them ever.
I got them at Joann's, with a half-off coupon, which makes it even better, lol!

Monica said...

I hear ebay is the way to go

Jennie said...

I use the Clover Fien Flower Head Pins. I get them at Joann's when they are 50% off- I absolutely LOVE them because they are so fine they don't distort the fabric like a lot of other pins do!
~ Jennie

Lisa @celebrate CREATIVITY said...

Oh my, now that's a lot of pins-lol.

Love the photos.

GerryART said...

I, too, use the Clover Flower Head pins. I usually use my JoAnn's 40% when replacing those bent and dull pins.

Hugs,
Gerry

Polly said...

As I always sew over pins, I use only the flat flower head pins. You can get them anywhere... Joann with a coupon is good! Polly

Meghan said...

Wow, now I want to buy pins :)

I have some pearl pins that come in a pack with different colored heads. I bought them, like someone said above, because they were pretty. I won't buy these again, though, because the heads are plastic coated in paint, and the paint comes off. I keep finding flecks stuck to fabric or to me after sewing, and I would hate these to accidentally get ironed on to something!

My next purchase will be some of the flower head pins. I read a great tip in a quilting magazine about these. Since they are flat, you can write on them with a fine-tip sharpie, which I think would be helpful in keeping rows organized.

I've also read some great things about the fork pins and am dying to get some.

Karen said...

I am loving my new Clover pins. They are very sharp. I have the wounds to prove it. I pin cushion filled with emery is also great for keeping needles and pins sharp.

Copper Patch said...

I have to vote for the thin but slightly more expensive ones by Clover. Well worth it. I love the flower head ones because they are thin and sharpe.
Abbe

Lisa Chin said...

I'm anxious to hear what everyone has to say as well because I too am in need of new pins. I like the look of the flat headed pins especially because they can stay in while I sew but I wonder if anyone has a brand of them they love. Will you be posting the results of everyone's comments?

Danielle said...

I'm very serious when it comes to pins. I keep about 4 pin cushions on my sewing table, each serving a different purpose with a different kind of pin. My favorite pins for piecing are Clover silk pins. The glide so well, without disrupting the fabric placement. Once you use these, you won't be able to live without them. The down side to them is that they are so fine that they bend easily, so keep your old yellow ones on hand for situations where you have many layers or thick fabrics.

Cathy said...

Hi there
I love the clover glass head quilt pins - the only draw back is they are sooooo sharp I wear band aides
:)
cheers
Catie

Kathy said...

I have peviously used the yellow ball shaped pins as you show in your photo. I liked them well enough that I still have them in my magnetic grab it pincushion. However, I have converted to the Clover Yellow Flower Head pins several years ago. I started using them when I learned about using Golden Threads Paper for marking quilting designs. They lie flat and are easily removed while free motion quilting. Yet they don't get in the way of the quilting foot. When I sew at my friend's house, I am able to use her blue glass head pins. They are a real treat too because of their slender size. I would like to get some to hold applique pieces down. They will be great for tacking down any pieces that have fusible web when I make applique blocks.