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I try really hard not to sew over pins. I usually put my pins in parallel to the fabric edge and pull them out as they advance toward the needle. But sometimes - like when I want to hold cross-seams open or when I'm aligning the tip of the collar onto the neckline - I put my pins in perpendicularly to the fabric edge and sew over them.
So far, it doesn't seem like anything too terrible has happened... (Although, I can't vouch for all of the butterflies flapping their wings over in the Pacific Ocean...)
So, what's the story on pins and sewing over them? I've heard that it's bad for the sewing machine and that pins should be put in parallel. Yet, I've also seen recommendations that pins should always be put into fabric perpendicularly. I've even run across at least one blogger who recommends against using pins at all!
How about you? Do you use pins? In what orientation do you put them into your fabric? Do you sew over them? Does any of this even matter? ;)
12 comments:
I heard a good saying once, "any machine will sew over pins, but not through them".
I try really hard to not sew over pins, and preach it all the time to my dd when she is sewing. I have fears of one breaking and flying into an eye!
In my sewing world, pins always go in perpendicular to the seam, with the head to the right so that it's easy to remove just before the foot goes over it.
I actually remember to pull the pin out about 60% of the time....
Oh, and I should have mentioned that I really don't pin things a lot; one or two key ones in a simple seam is all. If I have something that needs more control I will put more in, but I try to sew as pin-free as possible. ;)
I am just like Lisa Laree except I remember to pull pins out 100% of the time. I never sew over pins. My feeling is IF it's going to damage the machine, I don't want to risk it. And like Lisa, I try not to use them unless they're really needed.
I pull them out.
One of my teachers at the ASG conference was a big advocate of not using pins at all. "There are no pins on the factory floor!" she kept admonishing. I am trying to pin less and use my hands more as she showed us, but pinning is a hard habit to break.
I do use pins and I pin in whatever way seems the most natural for what I'm doing. The big issue with pins is the damage that can be done to the machine when you hit one. Not only will needles break and fly, but you can knock your timing off and then be out of commission for a while. g
I use pins and I sew over them. I pin parallel to the edge for cutting out the pattern pieces, but perpendicular for pinning together for sewing. Sometimes they get pulled out before they go through the machine and sometimes after. It depends on how fast I'm sewing and if I really need that fabric to stay in place while sewing. I have hit a few pins in my time, but nothing machine breaking. BTW, I used to have a cat that would unpin things I had pinned together. She'd start at one end and pull out the pins with her teeth, moving along the seam and dropping the pins as she went!
I use pins, and generally perpendicularly. I usually feel like I have more control over the ease then, especially for things like sewing together curves where it's easy to get puckers. And I try not to sew over them, because I've broken needles on several occasions doing so (even perpendicularly!) So most of the time I get them. Also haven't forgotten with my serger yet-- at the class I took at the store on how to use it, they really emphasized that because of the cutting blade.
i use pins (quite a few, actually), always perpendicular to the seam, with the heads to the cut edge. i always pull them out.
for cutting, i pin the pattern to my cardboard cutting mat, so before i cut, i've got all this pins sticking up like a pincushion. ^_^ (i've tried weights and rotary cutters. don't like either for cutting garments)
I pin perpendicular to the seam. Lately I have been pinning just to get it over to the sewing machine but I usually pull the pins out way before I get to them. I hit a pin once and it snapped my needle, but I've also missed a pin or two and not realized it until after I've finished the seam.
YES It matters!! I pin where it needs to hold. However, I always use pins with glass heads or the Clover Flower head pins (sold for quilting, but superb for sewing because they're fine and long.)
I throw out pins as soon as they get blunt, too. Nothing worse than snagging fabric!
As for sewing over them - rarely. Very occasionally I will sew super s-l-o-w-l-y over a pin, but I never ever ever let the needle hit the pin.
Because once you've paid for a destroyed bobbin case (or race, in a top loader)and to get the timing reset on a machine once - because you've stitched over apin which has broken under the needle and been forced downwards through the feed dogs - YOU WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! Ask me how I know...
I pin a lot sometimes,but if it's a lot straight seam or simple curve I'll just line up my seam ends, hold them, and let the machine feed them. I mostly use a Pfaff with the built in walking foot, though, so I don't get a lot of seam slippage.
I put them in perpendicular and usually take them out as I reach them. But...I have been known to sew over them!
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