I've confessed this before...I am an overpinner. I pin a ton. Yes, I pin the ends of 2 inch squares together. Why? Well, that's important to me! There is a reason.
Here you see my piece going under the presser foot. Notice the pin at the end.
The value of this pin? Think sailing for a moment, or any boat for that matter. The way you turn the rudder or a sailboat, or the engine on a motor boot affects the direction the boat goes. I use this pin as an engine/rudder for guiding my piece under the needle. Sometimes at the end of a piece it can veer left or right. I find this annoying as it really affects accuracy.
Here you can see me maneuvering the pin left and right. It really helps me guide the piece.
I generally sew until the pin is right under the presser food and then I left the fabric be pulled by the feed dogs into the machine and off of the pin. In this way I keep complete control of all the stitches all the way to the end of the piece.
Here I still have control of the pin with my finger and the piece is completely sewn. I now can pick up the pin and put it on the pincushion.
I hope this tip helps you with accuracy. Yes, it takes time to pin all the pieces, but it's something I find relaxing to do in front of the TV at night when I'm too tired to do anything else.
I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy
Thanks for your pin tip. I too have the problem of my fabric pulling at the end of seams. I'm going to try this tip today!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the tip. I always have problems with piecing and things just not lining up. I will try pinning more!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tip! This will definitely solve that veering problem at the end!
ReplyDeleteI pin like crazy too!
ReplyDeleteI tend to pin alot, also with one at the end, since most of my stitching is done on a hand crank sewing machine. With only one hand to guide the fabric, I need those pins to keep everything in place.
ReplyDeleteOh I like this tip. I'll definitely try it.
ReplyDeleteI often veer off at the end, I will try this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tip. I'm definitely going to try this. grinnie1961 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip. I am always fighting to get the end of the fabric to go under the needle straight. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for keeping those seam allowaces perfect. Thank you
ReplyDelete