Thursday, April 17, 2014

Sewing Over Pins

Okay, I write in my tutorials all the time that you shouldn't sew over pins.  When I teach classes I tell my students not to sew over pins.  But I admit it, I sew over pins. Not all the time, but I do it.    I am one of those "do as I say not as a I do" kind of gal when it comes to sewing over pins.  And then this happens.


The pin was so lodged in there so tight I had to get a pair of plyers to get it out.  I am lucky I didn't break anything in my bobbin casing.  So ya, maybe I should do as I say as well ;)


Just thought I would keep it real this morning.  So how about you???  Do you Sew Over Pins???  Any of these type of experiences to share . . . Come on, tell us all, no judging here as obviously, I am the kettle :)
Pin It!

64 comments:

  1. I do my best to pull the pins as I get to them, but it doesn't always happens. I've been known to break a few needles when the two meet.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha ha ha. I sew over pins all the time. In good cases, they bend just a little and I use those pins in combination with something like Pinmoors pin anchors, and the work really great. Like you, sometimes, they hook very well in my bobbin case, having to fight hard to remove them. I try to use thinner pins, they seems to get avoid by the needle a little bit more.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Melissa! I sew over pins all the time, but I have to admit that it always makes me tense up a little when I do. If I slow down as I go over the pin, it usually works out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always try to not sew over pins. On occasion, I have but never on purpose. It only takes a second to remove a pin. If I sew over a pin and have to take my machine in for repair, it would cost more and take more time away from sewing than the second it would have taken to remove the pin. That's my philosophy any way, for what ever its worth.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I used to sew over pins, but then one day I broke a needle and a small piece of it flew up into my face. That scared me enough to make me remove the pins as I come to then. I enjoy my sight too much to take a needle piece in the eye!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank goodness you didn't hurt your machine (or yourself for that matter) -- I try to not sew over pins because usually when I do my machine will break a needle and that shard always manages to take aim for my face and a couple of times came dangerously close to the eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My mom was an amazing sewist, and always sewed over pins. Because of this it never occurred to me not to, until I get yelled at by my sewing machine repair man, so now I don't do it any more.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I sew over pins all the time. At times I'll stop to take them out. I worry that one will break and flip up in my eye. But usually I just slow down and roll right over it.:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I sew over pins. But I definitely slow down!
    I recall when I bought my Singer in 1991 one of the reasons I choose this model was because it said it was made/equipped to sew over pins. As a 22 year old quilter I was determined to not deal with steps that slowed me down!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I sew over pins but slow down considerably as I do it. It's been quite some time since I broke a needle although now that I've said that I suppose I will break one :) I did have a pin fall into my machine once and I wasn't able to find it :0 And I do find that it roughs up my plate a bit. I don't do it to save time but because I find it really improves how well my points line up.,

    ReplyDelete
  11. The old singer I got from my mom (made in the 1960's) sewed over pins just fine - it was the kind I learned on in Home Ec back in school and the teacher said it was fine to sew over pins. When I got my new "modern" machine I had to stop - it always breaks the needle and the pin! The end result is I hardly ever pin because I hate pulling them out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Better a pin than your finger! I do try to remove pins, but one time I had to use my finger to keep things together at a crucial point - and sewed right through my finger - nail bed, bone and all! Now I'll leave the pin in, if I have to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ouch! I feel your pain. See my reply below. Wazoo Quilter

      Delete
  13. I must confess... I sew over pins all the time. I know I shouldn't and it's dangerous (both to me and to my machine), but I'm lazy like that sometimes. Glad to see you didn't get hurt or hurt your machine!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I sew over pins all the time and just like you.........I have had to get the small plyers out to fix "the situation". I will probably always do it... takes too much time to remove - plus scared of getting my fingers caught!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have sewn over pins, but not with your result! The worst thing I have done is sewn over my finger. What a horrible day that was. A tetanus shot and removal of the blood from the quilt cured me of using my finger to guide the hopping foot...yes, it was a longarm machine needle. They make a big hole, in case you're wondering. So, don't sew over fingers, either. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's hard for me to admit it, but I'm a pin-sewer! I've had my share of traumatic needle breaks with shards flying and pins stuck down in the bobbin case! I tell myself never again, but then I just get so impatient removing pins, that pretty soon I'm sewing over those pins again. I think it's a sickness. :) I do try to go slower over the pins, which helps, I think!

    ReplyDelete
  17. No, I don't sew over pins unless it is by mistake. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I sew over pins all the time. When I learned to sew in home-ec in middle school they said it was OK, so I do it. Thanks for showing why it's not a good idea (I'll prob still do it though...)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes I sew over pins all the time. I slow down at the pin and cross my fingers that what happened to you doesn't happen to me. I've broken a couple needles and bent a few pins, but never had one stuck! I'd like to say your lesson will teach me to rethink sewing over pins. But I'd be lying! I will still do it because I certainly don't want to sew my finger like one of your other commenters....ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I sew over ins all the time, on purpose even! If I break a needle, it was probably time to change it out anyway! I don't change my needle near as often as I should. And bending pins is an accepted part of sewing, I have spare packages of pins... I think I might be a hoarder? I'll add that I use the finer pins and my needle will 99% of the time slide off them. Those yellow headed, big pins get bent a lot!
    Melissa, I've got my Steps To Tranquility quilted and bound. No pictures yet, it's so big! Where would I send them once I get them?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't sew over pins--because, I've done what you just did! I do know, however, that if you sew over pins VERY slowly, (which for a "pedal-to-the-metal-type quilter as I am, doesn't happen often) you won't have a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Uhhhh! I never sew over pins (anymore) but last week my daughter had changed the stitches on my machine and I was using a 1/4" foot (with a small hole in the middle) and when I started sewing the needle went to the side and came down on the foot and broke and the machine got the mad HUMMM.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I rarely use pins because I know darn well I would sew over them. My punkin would kick my butt from here to Timbuktu if I broke my new sewing machine lol.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I used to sew over pins but now that I've got such a nice sewing machine ~ Bernina 750 ~ I don't anymore. I've had scary things happen sewing over pins. One time a pin flew up and hit my glasses ~ thank goodness I was wearing glasses!

    ReplyDelete
  25. sigh.... I am a bad girl, I sew over pins. the BEST straight pins EVER are Bohin. made from piano wire. they are expensive but boy oh boy. they are a life saver when you sew over pins......

    ReplyDelete
  26. I never sew over pins... because I've had that happen to me... with an industrial machine... and it was scary as hell. Learned my lesson. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I sew over pins ALL the time. Let's just say I buy sewing machine needles in bulk. :-( I need to be a quicker learner...

    ReplyDelete
  28. I don't pin. I'd rather it be a little off or unsewn a few times as to forget there is one in there and lose an eye. I'm kinda fond of them, you know? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I avoid sewing over pins like I would avoid the plague. I have had to replace one bobbin casing and it wasn't cheap.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I try not to but one slips by now and again. I've had to perform extractions a few times. I took out my bobbin carriage a week ago and a piece of sheet metal fell out. I thought a piece had snapped off my machine but on closer inspection it was a replacement thread cutter. I purchased my machine slightly used in 1995 and had them replace a non-functional thread cutter at the time. Could this have been floating around loose in there for almost 20 years?

    ReplyDelete
  31. I do, but because I don't have the patience to stop (or slow down) and pull them out as I go.

    ReplyDelete
  32. yup, I used to sew over pins too but I did the same thing you did so now I don't sew over pins any more. Would rather slow down than lose an eye to the broken needle. So you see - many are bad, some continue to be bad!

    ReplyDelete
  33. My 1/4" foot won't let me sew over pins, even if they are the thinner ones. It's a good thing, the pins dull the needle. I have gotten my finger in the way before too, NO FUN! I was sewing on a White Blessing outfit at the time and DH had to use pliers to get the needle out of my finger. NO pictures to show for it, thank heavens.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I sew over them all the time but only while matching seams... No problems except for a few bent pins. I'd never broken a needle until the other day I was using a twin needle on knit. I accidently sewed over a pin and bam, broken needle!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I sew over pins all the time. I do use finer pins though. Like you I pin with the head of the pin to the left of the needle.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I sew over my pins, but like the commenter above, I use glass head pins which are a little finer. I have tried to pin a little farther away from the edge too, so my stitching line is about where the end of the needle is, instead of having the end of my needle on the edge of my fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I do, but I tend to keep the ends back from the stitching line if I can

    ReplyDelete
  38. I don't sew over them on purpose, but it happens once in a while.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I used to sew over the occasional pin with my old sewing machine. Then my hubby bought me a beautiful Brother Innovis and you can be darn sure I don't sew over pins with that one!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I use the thinnest straight pins I can find when I piece. That way, if I happen to hit a pin while piecing, it's not so devastating!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Lol!! I always MEAN to stop before the pin, really i do!!!

    ReplyDelete
  42. I no longer sew over pins, after breaking a few needles, having a major jam like that, and losing one in the bottom of my sewing machine, which taught me how to take my bobbin case out and clean the inside of my machine. No more, I say! I really try never to sew over pins now, even to the point of stopping dead to remove the pin that my needle is about to hit.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I used to sew over pins. But since bending the drive shaft and breaking the bobbin casing in one fell swoop I don't any more! The machine cost less than repairs so I didtched it and bought a new one.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I sew over... and have done that several times. I have even thrown timing off doing that, but I continue to sew over unless it's something that needs to be super precise because sometimes the pins make the seam off just a tad because they dont sit flat like a seam without a pin.

    ReplyDelete
  45. When I sewed garments and used a longer stitch length, I sewed over pins. My stitch length is quite small when I quilt so it's hard not to hit them and I find that pins interfere with how the fabric feeds. I pin to the left of the needle and remove (or pull them out of the way) as I sew.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Well, funny you mention this....kust a few nights ago, I was sewing together my hearts and pinned the locked seams together just in the center, and had just changed my needle. Clang clang clang. I hit the next three pins and ruined the tip of my fresh needle. I changed it, and did it again! My husband, on the computer next to me, chuckled and said "maybe it's time to say goodnight!" when I'm sewing locked seams, I still like to pin them, but I go slowly as I approach the pin, sew 1-2 stitches after the point where the seams intersect and lock, then stop and take my pin out, so my seams don't shift. Apparently that wasn't working the other night!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Clover make extremely fine patchwork pins that are "meant" for sewing over - slowly, of course. That's what I use and I sew over them all the time, with rarely a mishap. Try them - you'll love them! They also do a fork pin which is perfect for double seams and again, very fine and easy to sew with.

    ReplyDelete
  48. ALL TGE TIME! LOL j know we are such rule breakers! Oops! I probably change my needle more for breaking them than because they are dull! (Oh no did I just admit... this gal is NOTORIOUS for sewing with a dull needle! MONTHS before I change it shhhhh don't tell!)

    ReplyDelete
  49. I have the really thin bendy clover pins which I sew over very slowly when I'm matching patchwork seams. The needle pushes them to the side if it touches it. Sometimes they bend a little, but if I take them out before the needle gets there then the seams never match up! I don't sew over them aside from that though.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I try not to but it happens occasionally. My worst transgression in the pin department was when I first got my longarm machine and hit a T-pin. By the time I extracated it from the bobbin assembly it looked like a paper clip! UGH! That was the end of T-pins I was told to use and I changed to a thinner pin. It is still hanging on my board to remind me!!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. I have found it easier to sew over the fine quilter's pins by Clover, but not the large silk pins, and I go very SLOW. This helps a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Yep, I've done it too! I still sew over pins, but when I get close to the pin I slow down and "walk" the needle over the pinned area by turning the wheel with my hand.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I do not sew over pins, but sew up close to them (very close) so that the pressure foot going over the bulk of a seam (sometimes one has bulky seams, right?) bends my pins. I am trying to winnow those out of my supply.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Just wanted to add this note... that when a needle gets broken or jammed... the result can be burrs/scaring on thread plate or bobbin case, which will cause thread shredding/breakage... may mean replacing more parts. I no longer sew over pins!!

    ReplyDelete
  55. sometimes I sew over pins, though I sew very slowly and try to take them out as I go... as in gathers in a skirt, when you are already going slow to make sure the gathers stay straight. I rarely sew over pins when quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  56. It hard not to sew over pins.but we do it some how bad thing to do to your needle

    ReplyDelete
  57. Early in my sewing years.... I learned that lesson very well! I had sewn over a pin and the needle broke, with the tip of the needle landing into my glasses.... I pulled it out and Thanked God for my glasses... otherwise I would have had major injury to my eye....so from that point on.... I do not sew over pins.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I have been known to sew right over needles, usually right after having it serviced! I do try to be diligent in removing them, but sometimes I am working on a piece that needs closer together pins. That is when I go really slow to avoid the breaking needle.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I buy extra pins and needles so I can sew over them. I also use seam rippers way longer than I should, just so I don't have to break down and bust out a new one. Rebels together!

    ReplyDelete
  60. I don't sew over pins unless I don't have a choice - curved seams or a matched seam that doesn't want to match! I once hit a pin at speed and it shattered my needle - I got a pit in my glasses from the flying needle bits! When I do sew over a pin, I "walk" the needle over it very slowly so the needle can deflect the pin without assaulting it! I try to pin from the left side of the fabric towards the edge to be sewn, leaving 1/2" between the point of the pin and the edge of the fabric so there is no chance for the needle to hit the pins. Using super thin pins also helps!

    ReplyDelete
  61. YIKES! I sewed over (and broke) lots of pins when I first started quilting. But now I just don't even use them unless I absolutely have to and I've learned that my needles are too valuable to risk, so I try to pull them out when I can. Although every time I do, I pop them in my mouth and it immediately reminds me of the lady who swallowed one of her pins doing that... Hmm. I guess there is more than one bad habit out there...

    ReplyDelete
  62. I used to sew over pins all the time but ruining my old Brother machine taught me a lesson. I actually threw the machine out of timing so it would sew at all. Now I remove every pin!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa