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Today's confession topic: straight pins. We've talked about them in some ways before - pins versus pattern weights, sewing over pins, etc.
But my question today has to do with replacing pins.
For some reason, I had this idea that, when you start sewing, you pick up a package of straight pins and that's it. You're done. You have spent your life-time pin budget of $3.60 and you never have to look back. (Ah, the innocence of youth...)
But my pins - brace yourself for a nasty shock - appear to be getting dull! The nerve! A short 9 years of pinning together dozens and dozens of garments, being forced into sequined-glued spandex (teenage niece - not me!), being run through the sewing machine - and they are starting to wear down... What is this world coming to?
So, it appears that I may have to shell out ANOTHER $3.60 for more pins. You know, spread across almost 10 years, that's like 3 cents a month, just for pins! ;)
Okay, seriously, in hindsight it's kind of funny that I change my sewing machine needle after every project, but somehow expected my straight pins to last forever. Doh!
And I'm curious about your experiences. Do you replace your pins? Do you have some kind of schedule or system, or do you just do it when it seems to be needed? Do you throw out individual pins as they become dull or do you just replace an old package with a new package once in a while? About how often do you feel that pins should be replaced? I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say! :)
Photo credit: LynnBsCountryCottage
15 comments:
I replace the entire old package with a nice new package when I reach the point that I don't have enough pins to go around. I throw away (into an old spice bottle or Rx bottle) any pins that get bent or dull as I encounter them. There was a time that I had all-purpose pins, plus ball point pints and silk pins and maybe a few others, each type stored in it's own container for it's specialized use. Now-a-days I have just the all-purpose ones and they serve me fine.
Lois K
I usually get a pack of pins as a christmas present from someone. I usually loose quite a few during the year so the new pack of pins are always welcome. :)
I'm sort of like anonymous above. Pins get bent and are automatically thrown away and eventually your stash dwindles away. I do have enough in my notions drawers to keep me going for quite some time though so I don't think I'll need to actually make a purchase any time soon.
Pins get thrown out as they seem dull or get bent. Since I usually don't use them for pinning and cutting they last quite a while.
I tend to either bend them or lose them a lot. So I pretty much get new ones when I don't have enough left to handle a project!
I also throw out pins as they become bent or dull. And I use several different pis. I like pins with glass heads that withstand the heat of an iron for the majority of my sewing. But for fine fabrics, I like a slim, small head silk pin. Then there's very long pins with flower heads for bulkier fabrics. There are double-pronged pins for fabrics that don't pin easily. And for applique or other embellishing, there are 1/2" long silk pins.
i am picky about my pins and get rid of them as i use them. bent? tossed. dull? tossed. little burr? tossed.
for me, they have to be IBC glass head pins. when i order them (clotilde or nancy's notion), i order 4 or 5 boxes (1,000-1,250 pins) at a time.
I use long quilting pins with yellow plastic heads. I'm currently going through a box of them which I got a few years ago.
When any pin has a snagger on the tip, I push it in and out of an emery strawberry a few times. When any pin is bent or broken, I put it into a film canister with a lid for later disposal.
I toss pins when they either lose their little coloured head or get bent. I don't set out to replace them, new packets just seem to come my way. However, I had a small epiphany recently when I picked up some gorgeous Clover fine glass headed pins. They are just fantastic but there is segregation in my sewing room. The Clovers don't fraternise with my other generic pins!
A lose a lot in the cracks in the floorboards. My sewing room is open to breezes and a surprising amount seem to go rusty. Some get bent. Lots get left in fabrics that I have draped around me as a try to decide what to make, and end up in the cupboard still attached. Then when the pin cushion is bare, I put some more in it.
I did buy some great pins for knits a few years ago, which were sharper than regular pins. I would like to come across more of these, as I seemed to use them out of preference.
I couldn't begin to guess how old my box of pins is ! Recently, though, I started paying attention and as I found bent, burred or dull ones, put them in an Rx bottle. There were a LOT - LOL.
Now I've since bought another box of all-purpose and a box of fine ones - and will toss as necessary - those old pill bottles come in handy.
I'm with the others - dull, bent, etc. - the pin goes out. Once the supply dwindles, I'll buy a new box. I prefer the longer quilting pins with the yellow or brightly colored heads. They're longer, usually thinner and I can find them in the fabric much easier than a short metal head pin.
Currently, I use two types of straight pins: the long, quilting pin with yellow head which works with wool, cotton, etc. and a glass head pin--shorter and finer and I can press over them when pinning up hems. If the fabric resists the yellow-headed quilting pins, I use the finer glass-headed pins. Each type has its own Grabbit magnetic pin holder (the pins that come with the Grabbit are a bit short and thick for me and often resist the fabric). I no longer use the traditional style straight pin as they seem to tear up my weak finger nails. That said, I may purchase some for really fine fabrics. Anything dull or bent gets tossed and when I get down to 20 or so pins on the Grabbit, they go into the recycle bin and I take new pins from the pins in storage. I keep looking at flat-head pins but have not purchased any yet.
I don't know that pins survive long enough to get dull in my sewing room; they just seem to disappear. Oh, there are a number who've lost their heads or gotten bent in the process of, say, trying to pry the metal staple off the back of a button card, that have been tossed (in the prescription bottle w/broken needles), but between hauling the sewing gear around for costume sewing at school and church and the appetite of my pin-eating carpet I usually just grab a box when 1)I notice I'm using the same two dozen pins over and over or crawling around on the floor pulling pins out of the carpet and 2) Hancock's is having a 50% off all notions sale...
I like the big yellow pins for general sewing and glass head pins for pressing purposes...I recently restocked, so I should be good for a while now. At least until the next time I haul machines and notions to church or school...
PS> Nobody is allowed to go into my sewing nook without shoes! LOL
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