Have you ever been asked- “Do you pin?”
I have and I thought it was a weird question. For of course the answer is: “Sometimes yes, sometimes no.”
I come from a family of sewers; my mom sewed, my aunt sewed, my sister and I sewed, some of our cousins sewed…. but no one quilted. We made skirts and tops and costumes- once my mom made my sister and me the BEST prairie girls dresses and bonnets for Halloween. But that is another story!
Many years ago, I remember cutting out a skirt at my aunt’s house- she used 4 pins to my 16! I was a pin addict! Every few micro inches I would place a pin. And when I started quilting, I pinned like crazy.
Now, not so much. I still pin, but now there are now many more times that I don’t pin. I want to show you my favorite way to pin- then I have to get back to packing, painting, the moving van comes tomorrow!
These days, when I do pin, it is usually because I am sewing a long stretch of fabric like a border. Or a crazy point!
But this is how I pin- I love this method. I don’t remember who showed it to me (sorry, or I would give credit!)
I place the pins at about a 30 degree angle (did I know before today it was a 30 degree angle- no! I had to check!), with the pin pointing towards the edge of the fabrics.
I make sure it is pointing up when I go to sew.
I usually place only a few pins- one a few inches from each end and one in about the middle, but I placed a few more so you could see. Though, sometimes my old, pin crazy self takes over I pin every few inches, but …
Then, as I start to sew, I can just drag the pin head with my finger
and move the point out of the way of the needle.
The pin does not usually even come out of the fabric, I just drag it away a little.
Sometimes, the pin is already far enough away I don’t even have to move it!
It really speeds up the sewing process, it holds the fabrics together AND it saves my needles (and my pins) since I no longer sew over pins and ruin them!
Love this!
Now, back to packing. 🙁
Happy quilting,
Kate