pin tips

Do you know that pins can be cleaned and sharpened? Not something I'm likely to do. Just thought you ought to know. I keep an old drug store prescription bottle handy to dispose of bent pins, cranky safety pins and dull needles. I cleaned up a garbage can tossed by marauding dogs one time and nearly cut off 4 fingers with a sharp can lid. That made me forever careful of how I throw away anything. Polly

"Taria" Throw away dull ones. Pins don't last forever and you really can throw

Keep an old prescription bottle on your sewing table (black out the info if you wish)!!

It's a great way to dispose of bent pins, broken needles. You only have to throw 1 pin in the trash -- and reach down to gather the trash and get poked to realize how much smarter it is to dispose of them this way! One bottle will last you a year (or years!!)

Ah me, LOL, Kate. We don't have to black out information in the Swamp. Gators can't read or falsify identification. They just like anything that tastes like chicken. Polly

"Kate G." Keep an old prescription bottle on your sewing table (black out the info if

"Taria" Throw away dull ones. Pins don't last forever and you really can throw

Some people might not realise the great variety in pins - sizes and types. Really beautiful fine pins are a joy to use. I have some 45's which I use for initial piecing. When I get to joining seams etc, I have to move up to the 50's or 55's (because the fine 45's bend). They also come in different lengths. . In message , Polly Esther writes

I don't use them much, but when I do, they need to be great pins. Real glass heads (so you can accidentally press one and it won't melt). And they do need nice smooth heads (maybe not bodies too like Polly's pins :-), but something you can snag out from under the presser foot with your thumbnail at the last moment.

The magnet p>I'm thinking there are enough newbies among us that our tricks with pins

I make my own pin cushions the size of an index card, or larger, so it is easier to find them, and stuff them with other small, soft pieces of knit. I have 3 or 4 and a couple are made from two different colors to help separate the pins, straight pins on one side and needles & safety pins on the other. I used a ribbon to tie one pincushion to my mechanical SM to keep it close. Barbara in SC

Remember your Granma's, Mum's, old black sewing machine with the sock or some other soft fabric sewn around the neck (near the Head)? It was for pins. I use the empty pill bottle for those dead pins and needles. Bonnie. in Middletown, VA

As I've mentioned, I am in a Bee that meets once a month to make a Quilt of Valor. We sew, laugh, snack, and learn (about quilting & about life) together! A recent 'tip' was from the other Pat, who brought a magnetic bowl for pins. She bought it at an Auto Supply Store. This bowl has a strong magnetic base so it will stay on a car body in just about any position without spilling the contents. It works nicely for our prep work, but we DO keep it away from the computerized SM, of course. BTW: I like flower pins, as those are long, slender, and have easy to notice heads. PAT in VA/USA

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I guess, my pin tip is to buy glasshead pins, the really good ones, and try to keep up with them cuz they're expensive. :-) I personally like Fons & Porter's. After using cheap-o pins, I actually had to learn to use the good ones, I kept jabbing my fingers because they glide through the fabric so easily.

Sherry

Yes, (grrrrr). My beloved 15-91 still had the fabric sewn around the neck when I got it. When I removed it, I found that the paint is dreadfully scratched underneath that fabric from years and years of using it as a pin cushion. :-(

Sherry

Hmmmm... I rather fancy the idea of putting a pincushion there. I do not care for the magnetic kind, and I am prone to scattering freestanding pincushions about when they are sitting near the machine. I wonder if it would be hard to adapt a wrist cushion to the neck of a machine?

NightMist

This is a "use of pins" tip that I got from someone on this group.

I used to have a problem with matching seams. They would be matched before I sewed, and not after I sewed.

Well, someone [who?] here told me what to do. After you match with one pin, put a pin tight on either side and remove the single pin at the seam. I have had much less of problem matching since I did this.

Martha

Well, I didn't admit that I *did* use the makeshift pincushion at first. It is a REALLY handy place for one. Then I decided to change to a different fabric, and that's when I found all the scratches. :-) The wrist cushion Idea sounds good to me. The only drawback might be if the pins stuck up too far the thread coming from the spool might get caught. Or if we could get some of that magnetic stuff that looks like rubber sheeting, and use it as a backing for a homemade one. The magnet part might help hold it (tho it probably wouldn't hold it alone). But I bet it would keep a pin point from every actually touching the paint on the machine.

Sherry

I used to have a pattern for pincushions that had template plastic on the bottom. It was layered - wool, plastic, stuffing, wool. Could you do something like that so pins wouldn't poke through?

Donna in SW Idaho

Well, I didn't admit that I *did* use the makeshift pincushion at first. It is a REALLY handy place for one. Then I decided to change to a different fabric, and that's when I found all the scratches. :-) The wrist cushion Idea sounds good to me. The only drawback might be if the pins stuck up too far the thread coming from the spool might get caught. Or if we could get some of that magnetic stuff that looks like rubber sheeting, and use it as a backing for a homemade one. The magnet part might help hold it (tho it probably wouldn't hold it alone). But I bet it would keep a pin point from every actually touching the paint on the machine.

Sherry