How to… Pin Fabric!
Surely there’s nothing to it, you just stick the pin in the fabric right? Over my time dressmaking one of the things I find myself constantly reviewing and improving upon is my pinning technique!
I think the first thing I learnt from my mum was to use pins instead of tacking - I am NOT a fan of tacking for too many reasons to get into now (I blame high school) so wherever possible I pin instead of tacking.
There are occasions where tacking is the best method though. I always tack in my regular zips as I’ve come to the conclusion after trying out so many methods (including using double sided tape!), that it is the best method!
And when fitting a closely fitted garment it is a good idea to baste or tack your seams as no-one wants pins sticking in their ribs!
How to improve your pinning techniques…
My first rule of thumb when pinning garment pieces together, is to put the pins in perpendicular to the fabric with heads sticking out. Some people who are left handed may find this awkward but I find this is the best way to keep the layers together right until the point of stitching, pulling the pin out just before the stitch, and i can swipe the pin out easily and flick it toward my magnetic pincushion which sits just to the right of the fabric in front of my machine.
The direction that you put your pins into your fabric is very important - always think about what you want the pin to do. For the Everyday Amazing frill sleeve I find angling pins differently to hold a particular bit in place very useful- especially the awkward point and the frill placement in the dart. Angle your pins according to the bit you are securing.
Pin tethering is the technique of not pinning the actual seam you are sewing but using the pin to hold it down by pinning over it - as shown in the video below. It’s useful when securing bulky fabrics. You’ll need nice long, strong and sharp pins.
Matching seams with pins, use the pin to align the seams by pinning straight through and ensuring the pin aligns with the seam on the top and bottom wiggle the pin to align the seams.
Rather than starting at the top and working to the bottom, when pinning a seam I always start by matching and pinning any seams which need to be matched, then the notches, then each end of a seam before filing in, working from the centre of each section outwards.
Use a ton of pins to anchor gathering or easing. I always sew 2 rows of gathering stitches then use as many pins as I can find to hold those lovely gathers in place before sewing. I love the look of neat gathers and this is how to achieve that. Take a look at this post for more advice on gathering .
There is of course the option to not pin at all!
You can use pattern weights instead of pinning the paper to the fabric when cutting out. This works really well when using a rotary cutter.
Once you are confident handling different fabrics you can get away with just pinning the top and bottom and notches of seams or for shorter seams on stable fabrics, not pinning at all. It’s how they do it in the factories! But if you are a beginner, stick to using at least a few pins to control your fabric before and as you sew it.
Enough about pins…
How do I choose the right needle from my fabric?
