Terrific Tool Thursday: Pins

  Often Tuesdays and Thursdays sneak up on me and I'm brainstorming for a tip or tool. So, I'll send out texts to quilty peeps to see if they have any ideas. Tonight I texted my friend Amy and she suggested PINS. I know that you're probably thinking, "Really?? Pins. Does that really qualify as a TERRIFIC tool?!" Well, if you've ever taken a class from me, you know I'm big on using the RIGHT pins.(Amy has been exposed to my thoughts on the subject.) There are no bad pins but there are pins that aren't good for what you're doing. No matter what, you want a cute pinnie:) For Quilting: You want a sharp, super fine pin. It should slide into the fabric like butter. Seriously, no effort. You want glass head so the iron cannot melt them. My favorites are these long ones from Clover and these red ones! These are the pins I use the most. If you've never tried them, do it! You'll never look back.For Bags/Interfaced Fabric: I tend to use Clover Wonderclips more, but if you're going with pins, opt for a thicker shaft. This will prevent bent pins. Iron safe is a bonus here as well. I like these cute button head pins from Dritz. The flower head pins also go in this category. I know they say "quilting", but if you try the super fine quilting pins, you'll notice the difference. For Appliqué: I love these from Clover. They're short and strong. And perfect for appliqué. I also use them to pin ribbons in my stash:)For Other Pinning Needs: I use these dressmaker pins from Dritz to pin my stash to comic book boards. (Google it, there are a million tutorials.) They're great for that, but not great for quilting/bag making/appliqué. They're also great for...dressmaking!You have to find what works for you! If you're pins are blunt, toss them. It's not worth damaging fabric to keep a crappy pin. Happy pinning!xo LC