Talk Back Thursday

Thanks so much to Kasey, Lisa Laree, Donna Hodgson, Lindsay T, Galen, Summerset, Becky, Mamafitz, Christine, Caity and Vicki for "talking back" to my Friday Confession last week! I confessed that I sometimes sew over my pins, and asked about pin usage more generally...

Who would have thought that something as little as a pin could generate so much discussion? This is a good illustration of the fact that "small" doesn't necessarily mean "unimportant"!

So, on the topic of whether or not to use pins at all, people were pretty evenly split. Five argued for the control that you get with pins - especially around curves. Three reported either rarely using pins or are trying to reduce their pin usage - especially on straight seams.

As for how to use pins, almost everyone who mentioned an orientation described inserting their pins perpendicularly to the seam for sewing. When it comes to cutting, Summerset inserts her pins parallel to the edge of the fabric and Mamafitz described sticking her pins through the pattern into the cutting board, so they stick up like in a pincushion.

Finally, on the topic of whether or not to sew over them, most people congregated on the "nay" side. Five reported trying very hard not to sew over them and four reported very rarely or never sewing over them. The common concerns mentioned were broken needles and messing up the machine's timing.

Probably the scariest story was Caity's, who once broke a needle, threw off her machine's timing AND damaged the bobbin case when she tried to sew over a pin. Needless to say, she NEVER sews over pins anymore!

The funniest story was Summerset's, who used to have a cat that UNpinned things that Summerset had pinned together! The cat used her teeth and worked her way systematically along the edge of the fabric pulling out each pin one at a time... Maybe the cat was advocating for sewing without pins?

Thanks again, everyone, for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with me! :)

PS - I "borrowed" this picture from Christine's blog. I hoped she wouldn't mind, as she made the pin cushion and shrinky-dink pins as a gift for me! Isn't it adorable?