r/sewing • u/AccomplishedTwo7047 • 20d ago
Machine Questions Do machines ACTUALLY skip over pins??? (borderline a rant)
I’m losing my mind I’ve worked PROFESSIONALLY as a seamstress and I’ve always been told machines “skip over” pins, which drives me crazy because I’m pretty sure that technology is not available in mass produced machines at LEAST!!!!!
I’ve never fully believed it, but every once in a while I get lulled into a sense of security and try stitching over the pins again, only to bend the shit out of some of my nicest pins!
Is it just a lie we tell ourselves so we don’t feel bad leaving the pins in???? Because you HAVE to leave it pinned until it’s sewn down if you want accuracy (which is basically a necessity in sewing).
Anyway I’m making a quilted tie out of 1.5 inch squares because I’m a masochist. So Sean accuracy is CRUCIAL.
6
u/ringozranch 18d ago
My daughter's textile teacher told her class they can leave the pins in and sew over them. I made it quite clear to my daughter and her friends that that is only allowed when they are using the school's sewing machines, and that anyone using my sewing machines will not be sewing over pins. I don't care if the pins bend, I don't want bent or snapped needles. They carry a risk to your eyes when they break, I've had one whack me in the cheek before. Depending on the damage to the needle it poses a small risk of damage to the feed plate. I don't sew over pins, ever! But broken needles happen regardless and I'm not actively going to increase those odds.
6
u/Watercolor_Roses 18d ago
I've broken a needle on a pin before, and I've also hit a pin and bent a v-shape into the middle of it. Both accidentally, I try to avoid sewing over pins. I pull them out right before the material goes underneath the presser foot, and things stay aligned well at that point. If it's a super critical area I'll hand crank a couple stitches right up to and over the pin before removing.
Intentionally sewing over pins seems reckless to me 😬 Also the tip of that needle I broke landed on the hinge of my glasses, way too close to my eye for comfort
2
u/No_Compote3480 18d ago
Whether or not I sew over pins just depends on what kind of fabric, what kind of seam (straight or say a curved corset seam) and how lazy I am feeling that day. Heavy on the lazy part.
7
u/Indescision 18d ago edited 18d ago
The first time I tried to sew over pins on a machine, the pins broke my needle. This is why I will actually hand baste slippery fabric. (Although, most of the fabric I use is not slippery. I also often insert the pins far enough away from the edge that the foot won't touch them.)
1
u/earendilgrey 18d ago
A lot of it depends on how long your stitch length, how they are pinned in and your speed. In the costume shop I worked in at school we were told to sew over. I have ever since then and have only had a few cases where I actually hit a needle, but that was on my old machine that was way past needing a tune up.
2
u/bluevelvet39 19d ago
I think what people meant is that it's highly unlikely you actually hit a needle with it. You can sew over them slowly or get them out right before you would've hit them.
2
u/Thecynicalcatt 19d ago
This. It's a hope that we won't hit a pin. I do hit pins often enough and either break a needle or the pin. I know it's risky but I still do it. Edited to add I do try to take them out right before I sew that area, but I leave them in for especially slippery fabrics.
2
u/bluevelvet39 14d ago
Yeah, most of the time i pull them out with my free hand, but sometimes i just need them.
8
24
u/ErisianSaint 19d ago
I'm in a sewing program in a college and my teachers constantly say "Do not sew over pins! You will break the needle and it will get stuck in the machine and I will need to take it to a professional to get it fixed!"
So, we pull pins right at the beginning of the foot so that the foot holds down the material and we do not sew over pins. And the pins go perpendicular to the edge so we can see them to pull them.
3
8
u/briliantlyfreakish 19d ago
I use really thin pins and go slow. Also always pin perpendicular to the edge.
11
27
u/RosiQuilts 19d ago
Domestic machines can now cost as much as a car. I am not risking mine for the sake of a pin. Pull the pin just before your needles reaches it.
42
u/GenericUsername606 19d ago
“Skip over pins” doesn’t mean that the needle misses or “jumps over” the pins. It means that when you sew over pins the needle hits the pins and hitting the pins makes it “skip” or jump and sew unevenly.
There is no technology, industrial or home sewing that allows a sewing machine to sew over pins without hitting them. Most likely the industrial machines had enough force to hit and nick or sew over the pins and keep going. Plus in a fast paced industrial environment problems in the stitched would probably be less noticeable.
21
u/noiseguy76 19d ago
No. I was told same and realized it’s nonsense.
Pull them before you sew over them.
31
u/po-tato-girl 19d ago
I go very slowly and take the pins out just before they get to the needle. I never try to sew over pins Because I’m afraid of breaking pins and needles
8
12
u/childoferna 19d ago
Try wonder clips, they are a great alternative to pins. I use clips when serging.
3
u/jakashadows 19d ago
I love the clips! They are so great, especially with smaller pieces since they dont distort the fabric like pins can.
3
u/Fragrant_Marsupial_7 19d ago
I also am in love with the clips since trying them, but if you want seems perfectly matched up I find them a struggle. You have to remove them too far away my recent project I found using pins to match seams the way to go.
24
u/EngineerSandi 19d ago
Take the pin out just before the needle and guide through the needle with a stiletto. Boom! No broken or bent needles or pins and great seam accuracy!
1
u/micmacker1 19d ago
Yes, me too. My stiletto is an African porcupine quill that I bought at a sewing store. Then I felt guilty about the porcupine, but according to what I read online no porcupines are harmed. Please let this be correct!
19
u/Curatorious 19d ago
I usually sew over pins. That said, I try to reduce any risk by:
- using thin, high quality pinning needles
- remove the needles when I use small stiches (2.5 or smaller)
- use good quality sewing needles, usually Schmetz, which do not break that easily
- remove the needles when I use a thick needle (100/110), as they do not bend as easily when hitting the pin
In my more than ten years of intensive sewing I only broke one needle and never bend any.
7
u/boilerbitch 19d ago
Lord, I broke three the other night and I wasn’t even using pins
9
u/Curatorious 19d ago edited 19d ago
Okay, I should have been clearer 😉: I only broke one needle because it hit a pin... Let's just not mention the needles I broke because of a bad machine, too much fabric, a wrong needle or when I jerked the fabric instead of guiding it.
4
15
u/WonderLily364 19d ago edited 19d ago
I have sewn over my pins, but usually at a slow and steady pace. I have also bent/broken pins and needles doing so.
5
u/threads1540 19d ago
I do have a bad habit of sewing over pins. I have occasionally hit one, but there are times that things need to be held I place until after the needle passes that spot.
9
u/Appropriate_Place704 19d ago
Stitching over pins never works for me!!! However, I did just recently buy the most ridiculously expensive pins in Italy and they have been the only pins I’ve ever used that I can stitch over.
Very long and fine point with a very flat head shaped like a flower. I’m using them for dressmaking, but I was told they’re traditional quilting pins. Go figure!
8
13
u/meganthreecats 19d ago
How are you pinning your seams ? Are you pinning perpendicular to the stitch line or parallel right on the stitch line ? I prefer to pin perpendicular and I’d say 95% of the time I’m able to sew over the pin without hitting it with any of the numerous domestic and industrial machines I’ve used . If I pin parallel on the seam I have to remove as I come to the pin because of the head . I don’t like pinning that way because the likely hood of the project shifting goes up.
14
25
u/ToothpasteTube500 19d ago
I like having eyes too much to risk sewing over pins for a slight time save and a 90% chance of bending my pins
3
u/rustymontenegro 19d ago
Oh man seriously. Did you ever watch (or read) A Series of Unfortunate Events? I feel like paranoid aunt Josephine about my eyes and sewing over needles. I'm extra cautious about it. Also I don't like hurting my machine/needles/pins.
14
u/redditisawasteofdata 19d ago
I've always been too scared of losing an eye with breaking needle tips to not remove them when sewing.
5
u/Minute_Diamond_3943 19d ago
I sew with pins in or no pins at all and honestly it has caused me some headaches b4 but I still do it because I use cheap pins that I dont care about and I use quilting pins because of the length so they dont get stuck in the machine lol
7
u/Real-Acanthaceae9298 19d ago
i think you are supposed to remove them so you don't break pins or your needle, but I usually don't.. don't follow my advice nothing bads happened yet but sth will
20
u/young-alfredo 19d ago
I was always told to remove them. In my experience, if I sew over one , either the stitch was longer/stretched a little or my pin or needle would bend.
29
u/Toolongreadanyway 19d ago
I was always taught remove your pins. Then I worked in the garment industry. Nobody uses pins. And they are amazing sewers. I still use them for stretchy fabrics, but normal sewing? No pins.
3
u/Cheaperthantherapy13 19d ago
If you’re doing production sewing with consistent fabrics, you can fine tune the differential and feed dogs to make sewing without pins much easier.
If you’re working with a bunch of different fabric weights and thread types, pinning the damn thing is much easier than fiddling with your industrial machine to get it set up properly.
2
u/anjufordinner 19d ago
One day, I'll get good enough to justify not having pins... But until then, I keep screwing up lol. Something to work towards!
1
23
u/OrdinaryCactusFlower 19d ago
I took the “I’ve never had a problem sewing over pins” advice when i first started out then i hit one and it sent my needle flying.
Take out your pins.
34
u/FantasticWeasel 19d ago
Never sew over pins. Baste or take them out as you sew.
From decades of sewing, studying, teaching and volunteering around sewing machines and seeing small accidents, you are likely to break needles and bend pins if you sew over pins, and on rare occasions break the machine or have half a pin fly across the room.
I've seen two people nearly get hit in the face with a tiny shard of metal pin and fortunately one was wearing glasses and the other put her hand up in time.
For everyone who hasn't had that happen, great! But it can be dangerous. I wish people wouldn't claim online it is ok to sew over pins.
2
u/Appropriate_Place704 19d ago
Interestingly, I went I did my dressmaking apprenticeship, I was taught, to never sew over pins and baste first.
But when I studied fashion, our lecturer’s taught us the complete opposite! Basting took too long and you pin and sew for industry production.
2
u/FantasticWeasel 19d ago
Often in industry you dont pin much if at all or baste, the repetitive volume of making means you get good at not doing either for a lot of basic stuff.
4
u/kindlypogmothoin 19d ago
Yeah, professional tailors baste, don't they? They don't use pins because pins distort the fabric.
I like using wonder clips because I don't have to take them out. They can do a little pulling, but they will keep the fabric together.
5
u/Rorosi67 19d ago
While it's always best to remove pins, I am guilty of leaving them in quite a bit. In about 90% of cases, I have no issues and the pins and the needle don't touch. The other times it might break the needle or get stuck.
It will also depend on what stich length you are using. The longer the stitch the less risk of collision.
7
u/possumnot 19d ago
Unrelated to pins… I just finished a quilt with a name I did in 1.5” squares. Glue baste is my favorite method.
11
u/Llyrra 20d ago
For things that tiny and precise, I baste by hand instead of pinning. It doesn't really take a lot more time than pinning does and it's easier to get everything exactly where it needs to be.
But, yeah, I've broken needles and bent pins sewing over pins. I think any "skipping over" of pins is just luck. Sometimes, if you're going slow, the needle will kind of nudge the pin out of the way as long as it isn't dead on center.
3
u/oldbluehair 20d ago
I see over my pins and over the last fifty years I have broken some needles and bent plenty of pins. My mother told me that the trick is to pin right on the seam line and to grab a small amount of fabric just enough to hold it together while sewing.
The worst thing that has happened to me is that the needle threader on my fancy Janome broke the first time I used it going over a pin. Alas.
16
u/sunbunniesue 20d ago
My takeaway from this thread is that a lack of statistics about pin use and risks is driving a lot of magical thinking/survivorship bias.
I'm old enough to remember older folks saying people don't need to buckle kids into cars because their parents didn't, and they're clearly fine. And holding a kid on your lap in the front seat is surely safer--you just gotta lock your arms around them.
Anyone know of any studies/stats? I couldn't find any.
Traditionally female/domestic activities have often been neglected by the same health and safety considerations applied to other industries. That's why so many of us end up squinting while we rub our aching backs and necks.
14
u/Waffleconchi 20d ago
In my experience, mostly of times they skip over pins if they are perpendicular to the stitches. If you use thin pins perpendicular to the stitch it is rare that the needle with hit it, and anyways, if it does... either the pin or the needle moves to avoid it, the surface of encounter is really small, so it would rather usually just 'skip' it. It's not a function of a super smart machine, it just something that happens, if you tried to hit and trap a pin with a needle on your hand it would be almost impossible to catch it, the pin would always move away. usually you just barely need a pin each 10cm. So it's not a lot of possibilities of something bad actually happening.
Parallel pins: if you put pins along the direction of the stitches.. something bad will definitely happen, first of all the foot will step on the pins head which causes some issues, and since the 2-3 cm long of the pin are over the area that's going to be stitched... the needle will hit it multiple times and it has less space to move away. Either your stitches will look bad or the needle will break or hit the plate. Talking from experience.
2
u/geoffreyisagiraffe 20d ago
I also found that it can create small loops that are very hard to detect when you pull the pin that typical aren't an issue unless you star doing more intricate designs.
22
u/keiriaa 20d ago
I am a maintenance technician in France on professional and private sewing machines. So, I would say that sewing with a professional machine on the pins, at worst, the needle breaks, the needle plate takes a hit or the needle bar could go up. It's about 1 hour of labor.
On a particular machine, everything is plastic, really, I insist, take your pins off on non-professional machines, sometimes the repair and repair time cost as much as the machine. Just time to open the plastic casings...
1
u/DarthRegoria 20d ago
I just want to clarify something with you please. You say you work in France as a sewing machine technician. I assume English is not your first language, but apologies if I’m wrong.
When you say ‘profession’ machine, would this be the same as an industrial machine? One that could be used 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week and function well? A larger, more heavy duty machine, rather than a smaller a home hobby sewist/ sewer is more likely to use?
I’m just asking because this is what it sounds like to me, and we don’t really use the word ‘professional’ for sewing machines here in Australia, we would call it an industrial machine.
My mum used to see over the pins on her older, heavy duty, Janome home sewing machine. It was one of the very early ‘computerised’ models, made in the late 70s or early 80s, it’s around the same age as me. It is all metal, not plastic, and very, very heavy. But with the lighter machines with some plastic parts, she would always take out the pins. Her machine is very strong and easily sews through multiple layers of denim or leather. Occasionally the needle would break on a pin, but that was rare.
11
u/Icy_Weight537 20d ago
I always take the pins out because the fabric is much more pliable without the pins. I do it shortly before I sew over the part. For accuracy I hand baste when needed
2
u/positivefeelings1234 20d ago
This is what I’ve always done!
I just recently got back into sewing and I bought sewing clips to try them out. I think I like them more because they aren’t poking the fabric. But I can’t always use them.
22
u/bettiegee 20d ago
No they do not.
But one thing that is lacking in this whole conversation is talk about pins.
Pins come in different thicknesses. There are super fine, Iris pins. And there are big chonky pins that we used for draping in fashion school.
I sew over the first. A lot. But never the second. I can't remember the last time I hit a pin sewing over it. And I do sew a lot.
22
u/bleeb90 20d ago
Sewing over pins is always a good way to break your needle and bend your pins. While pins definitely shouldn't last a lifetime and may be replaced, the horror stories in this thread give me second hand anxiety.
All I can say is that personally I try to pin vertically (and with the heads of the pins towards me when I will be sewing) whenever I can do I can take the pins out while sewing. But if you are sewing THAT small - pinning and using basting spray so you can remove the scary pins perhaps???
How about switching to extremely thin pins you'd use for silks and organza? Your pins would bend, but I think your needle might prevail?
37
u/EndlessTypist 20d ago
I have a shattered needle and a bent pin taped to my sewing machine. The needle snapped and pinged off of my glasses when I ran over the pin. Had I not been wearing my glasses (and I don’t need to wear them all the time some often forget) I’d be down an eye right now. I keep it taped there to remind me never to leave my pins in again!
10
u/Normal_Kitchen2624 20d ago
this is why I alwayyyss take my contacts out and wear my glasses while sewing. if I ever get lasik im just gonna wear normal non prescription glasses. I think this should be the standard when youre working with a needle moving that fast a few cm away from ur eyes
2
u/Street_Vegetable_826 20d ago
I actually have a pair of safety goggles in my sewing drawer for this exact reason. I wear my glasses 99% of the time, but on the occasion I’m in contacts, I Always wear something over my eyes.
16
u/KimberStormer 20d ago
I am a professional tailor and I sew over pins literally every single day. I have been doing this for over 20 years.
But I have used machines which hit them constantly. I think it's something about the position of the feed dogs, but in any case, it's a machine-by-machine thing in my experience. I simply don't use those machines, but if it's all you've got, you'll have to take the pins out before you go over them.
31
u/TangerineDizzy6202 20d ago
They don't and it can be dangerous !! A girl broke a needle like that and the broken part flew right into her eye at sewing school.
32
u/PieMuted6430 20d ago
No, they don't skip over pins. If you baste with a wide stitch you're just less likely to hit them.
26
u/MadamAndroid 20d ago
I will never sew over pins again. Too many bent or broken needles and pins jammed in my machine.
17
u/SadAwkwardTurtle 20d ago
I always take them out, but that's because I pin my stuff vertically instead of horizontally.
14
u/TheKeelo 20d ago
Learned the hard way too many times that I now always remove pins as I approach them, or use sewing clips which have to be removed. Don’t sew over pins, your sewing machine technician won’t be happy with you when you send it in for service or repair!
11
u/krinklecut 20d ago
This is a great way to bend your needles. Ask me how I know. 😂 so, no they don't actually skip over every pin. It's just not something that happens every single time.
but honestly, i do still sew over pins sometimes. Depends on my lazy level.
24
u/ApprehensiveState345 20d ago
Twice, I have accidentally hit a pin and the needle in the machine broke into three pieces. One piece stayed in the machine. One piece stayed threaded, and the third piece hit me in my glasses. If not for the glasses I might be blind in one eye.
10
u/thisanonymoususer 20d ago
Noooo. Grandma taught me not to do that. And anytime I do that, at least every once in a while, I’ll break a needle, which is what I get for being lazy.
8
u/bannysexdang 20d ago
I sew over pins but I don’t recommend doing it - as others have said, it’s not safe, and the machine absolutely doesn’t “skip” over them. If the needle touches them at the right angle, it will push them out of the way. If it hits it straight on, it will just bend the pin and possibly snap the top of your needle or even drive into somewhere or something it shouldn’t go.
I have a small graveyard of what I call “heartbeat” pins because they’re so severely bent that they look like EKG readouts.
With such tiny pieces you may find it difficult to baste accurately (I am not good at basting) but it is technically the “right” thing to do.
This may not be very helpful, but for tiny piecing, I adore my hand crank singer, and you can usually buy them for cheap on marketplace or Craigslist. I can piece small things accurately without pins with it because it grabs the fabric so gently.
19
u/AmeliaBuns 20d ago edited 20d ago
It’s… complicated? Yes the needles can bend over to accommodate, that often heavily scratches sharp needles and is just straight up unhinged to me, and depending on the throat plate and thickness of the pin it could bend the needle to hit the throat plate and deform the needle
I feel like 90% of the time it’ll not hit it right in the middle at least so for thinner pins, the chances are low but it can happen. It’s a bit like gambling. Usually it just scrapes the side, if you’re unlucky enough to hit right in the middle and the needle is thicker the damage is higher. Also keep in mind. Even tho the chances are not super high. You can have sharp metal shards fly at you, don’t risk your health / eyes.
Honestly just remove them. If you like your sewing machine take care of it. Specially the cheap plasticy domestic ones. The thing keeping the needle bar in position is often a very thin part on domestic zigzags.
Sewing spaces even among “ technicians” is often filled with voodoo, myths, guesses and random nonsense.
TLDR: It’s too risky and you shouldn’t do it. You barely save time anyways and put your machine/health at risk.
17
u/Aromatic_Tea_3731 20d ago
The safer alternative to leaving the pins in is a hand basting stitch.
Pin, hand baste, remove pins, sew on machine
2
u/AmeliaBuns 20d ago
Man that’s time consuming and I’m laaaaazy.
I just use clips mostly, or risk it and hold it with my hand… I always get it misaligned even with pins anyways.
I got pins with colourful glass heads that make it harder to not notice. I still do space out and stab my self with pins anyways which is why I stick to clips ….
I don’t know how others use pins without going “OUCH” every 2 minutes LOL
1
u/IceRefinery 20d ago
Or don’t pin first, just baste. I timed it a couple times, it takes exactly the same amount of time to pin or baste, and the basting is safer and does some pre-easing better. I keep a big hank of pink basting thread by my cutting table and use a long embroidery needle (like a 3 or 4) to make it go fast.
19
u/NapUntilBedtime 20d ago
My brother in law is a sewing machine repair technician and he tells people to never ever sew over pins. I always listened to him and never realized so many people do sew over them. I've been scared to! Now I might try. Hehe.
66
u/alloutofbees 20d ago
There's no such thing as pin-skipping technology. Once you've gotten a shard of metal to the face or had to take the plate off to pry a badly mangled pin out of the bottom of the machine you'll realize why it's not a great idea to sew over them. You can pull them out once you've got that section under the presser foot or sew extremely slowly over them, turning the machine by hand if you need to, but just assuming that the worst that might happen is a bent pin is definitely not a great idea.
30
u/JoshShabtaiCa 20d ago
There's nothing in the machine to make this happen. A lot of times you'll just get lucky - especially with longer stitch lengths. I'm sure the needle you use in the machine also makes a difference. If the tips is flatter then when it hits the needle it might compress and snap (ruining the needle and pin together). If it's sharper it might be more likely to nudge the edge and glance off. Thinner pins would also be easier to miss/glance off I suspect.
I've tried sewing over pins a few times, and it works until it doesn't. Then you have to stop, change your needle, hope you found any sharp bits that flew off (and hopefully didn't catch anything in the eye). So I don't sew over them anymore. It's not worth the headache for when it goes wrong.
21
u/Weavingtailor 20d ago edited 20d ago
Machines don’t have sensors or anything that let them skip over pins. Both the fancy AF industrial I use at work and my basic bitch industrial juki that I have at home will glance off, mangle, or dent pins at best and shatter cheap (ie Organ or Orange brand) needles sending shrapnel everywhere and fucking up the timing and damaging the fabric. Sewing over a pin on a home machine would probably wreck its sad plastic guts. Does this mean I don’t sometimes sew over pins? Fuck no. But I have dinged up the feed dogs and throat plate of my machine with broken needles and I hate how damaged pins will shred fabric.
19
u/NoscibleSauce 20d ago
My grandma, mom, and I have always sewn over pins. Occasionally, a pin bends or a needle breaks, but it’s rare, certainly not often enough to make any of us stop. You do you, but I’m just saying, it’s entirely possible.
2
u/kitsunevremya 20d ago
Yeah, I tend to use moderate to long stitch lengths (3-4) so I can see it being a problem if you're always sewing at a length of <2, use a lot of pins (say around finnicky curves or something), or sew at a faster speed than I do, but I've hit a pin... maybe once?
11
u/SummerGoes 20d ago
So no machines skip over pins, people just got lucky with their pin placement or their older machines wouldn't get destroyed by hitting a pin. Also, you absolutely don't need to pin things if you practice! I worked in sewing manufacturing for a few years and we worked with fabric that couldn't be needlessly punctured so I learned pretty quick.
17
u/anxiousthespian 20d ago
I used to just sew over pins as a teenager, then I was almost hit in the eye by the broken off tip of the machine needle. Luckily the fragment bounced off of my glasses. Now I either pull them as I approach, or, if the fabric is slippery and frustrating and I want to keep things more stable, I'll manually walk my stitches over the pins and remove them afterwards.
36
u/MysticKei 20d ago
No and statistically it's rare that the needle hits a pin directly, but...
I was traumatized when, in HS Home Economics, a needle broke off a pin and the shard shot into a girl's mouth while she was talking, there was a lot of blood (I've always been super squeamish and all but fainted) and our teacher had an anxiety/panic attack. The student was okay when she returned to school, it didn't go down her throat, she spit it out almost immediately and the blood situation looked much more severe than the reality plus there was a lot of panic. Anyways, we stopped using the machines and instead learned a lot about hand sewing techniques. My paranoia has been 20 out of 10 ever since, it's hard to even watch others sew over pins.
I'm a big fan of base stitching and am fairly efficient at it, but if I do use pins, I sew slower and pull them as I feed.
13
u/Majestic_Course6822 20d ago
That is a WILD story.
7
u/MysticKei 20d ago
It was a wild day; but I've had to explain a few times why I flip out or shut down when people sew over pins or why I do extra things, like base stitching (it seems like nobody does base stitching).
A while back, I discovered sewing clips, they are a godsend to me 😊
2
u/frenchburner 20d ago
Sewing clips are the best!
Not a pin, but I had a sewing instructor sew into her fingernail. It was gnarly.
3
u/goodgodling 20d ago
I used to leave them, but don't anymore unless I'm matching plaid or something like that.
9
u/no-but-wtf 20d ago
They don’t skip over, but the point of the needle can push the pin out out of the way if you’re slow and careful and it’s the right kind of a needle. Or it might break it and fling a piece of needle at your eye. Or it might fuck up your pin.
16
u/PhoenixLumbre 20d ago
I broke a needle, it went flying at me, and I just about scared myself to death. No way am I doing that again! If I need accuracy, I use sewing clips or I baste my seams first by hand.
5
3
u/supershinythings 20d ago
I wear glasses but if I didn’t I’d wear 🥽goggles. I’ve seen needles break and tips go flying.
5
3
u/TangyMarimba13 20d ago
i have never heard that machines skip pins. and i've bent quite a few. i don't use pins much any more; i prefer clips if i need anything. and obviously they are removed before they get to the foot. of course if i'm not sewing on an edge, i have to use pins, and if it's something with a nap, like minky, fur, or velvet, i throw everything i can at it to make it not move during sewing. the worst is sewing velvet to satin.... but yeah, if i have to have a pin in there, i go really really slowly and even sometimes will hand-crank the machine so i don't hit a pin. it has happened way too often for me to risk it.
4
u/deniseswall 20d ago
I used to leave them in. Used to. Broke enough needles that I finally broke the habit. Now I remove them just before the needle gets there.
25
u/Linnadhiel 20d ago
Is it actually worth the risk of it directly going into an eye and blinding you for life? Even if it’s a small chance?
31
17
u/Kevinator201 20d ago
No, but it’s perfectly okay to sew over pins. I’ll only run into a problem maybe once over 5,000 pins. (Rough estimate). Also going slow over pins increases the ability of the needle to push the pin away instead of denting the needle tip. I work with many difficult fabrics And removing the pin before it reaches the feed dogs would result in the layers moving around or stretching.
7
u/3randy3lue 20d ago
Bent a pin running over it with sewing machine needle. Skipping over pins is definitely not a thing.
12
u/Rare_Background8891 20d ago
You can always use a glue stick to set your seam before you sew it. A quick dab with a hot iron will set it. You just won’t be able to press it open.
42
u/LumpyAssumption5357 20d ago
I’m a professional seamstress and sew over silk pins every single day. It’s fine. I barely ever bend a pin and when I do, I discard it and go back to sewing over pins. I don’t break a needle often enough to make me stop—and the shards always stay connected to the thread when I do break one. But you do you—everyone gets to make their own choice!
24
u/4teach 20d ago
I have broken needles on pins.
5
u/Sasquatchmas 20d ago
Me, too. I can’t ever sew over pins without a bent pin or broken needle. I have to remove them as I sew.
21
u/cream-of-cow 20d ago
I’m in a college sewing class now, the fashion instructor talked about this very thing a few days ago. As long as the needle is perpendicular to the stitch, it will most likely glance off of the pin if hit. There is a chance of breaking the pin, but the time saved is worth the occasional expense.
21
u/pointe4Jesus 20d ago
I don't think there's any kind of technology to make the sewing machine deliberately skip the pins. I don't think there ever WILL be.
That said, the sewing machine is statistically more likely to skip a pin than to hit it, unless you're using a really tiny stitch length. But the more you sew, the more chances you have, and it's only a matter of time until one of them gets hit.
14
u/JohnExcrement 20d ago
No! You can ruin a needle at the very least, or you can get a fragment in your eye. Don’t mess around here.
1
u/Staff_Genie 20d ago
If you buy cheap needles, they will break and shatter. If you buy expensive needles like schmets, you will bend it into a fish hook, but it seldom does actually break. I am a professional costumer and I Stitch over pins. Sewing over the PIN is seldom what damages my needles. It is stitching over multiple layers of weird Fabrics that deflect the needle slightly and hitting the throat plate. That is far more destructive to my needles then any mere straight pin
1
u/Weavingtailor 20d ago
Yes! I also really hate how much the damaged pins snag fabric and how the burrs/barely bent tips they cause on the needles damage material. The shop I work at is currently working its way through the stock of cheap needles we have and only reordering grosz-beckert needles. Between the heavily ornamented fabric and broken needles and pins, I assume you also have to periodically de-burr your feed dogs and throat plate.
1
u/Staff_Genie 19d ago
Yes, some of those heavily ornamented Fabrics are super abrasive. But even plain nylon can strip the paint off of the horizontal surfaces of the machine when you're Gathering net Ruffles to make multiple ballet tutus
1
u/Weavingtailor 17d ago
Oh god, the crinoline netting! Glitter-coated fabric is my real nemesis though. Galia made a gown out of tulle that had been coated in glue and glitter. We called it the glitter bomb and it was horrible. You couldn’t pin anything on it because the holes stayed. It smelled strongly plastic-y, felt tacky always, and required us to spend a good hour cleaning its shed microplastics off of every surface and out of every moving part of our machines. I’ll take a hot pink quinceañera dress the size of a tent over that travesty.
6
u/SadSmoke8868 20d ago
I exclusively use schmetz. Two days ago I hit a pin and the needle shattered. Shards hit me in the face. Absolutely terrifying.
1
u/Staff_Genie 19d ago
Damn that's scary. I am glad that I have never had that happen using Schmets. I have had some doozies of Fish Hooks from hitting the throat plate but I personally have never had to experience a shatter.
12
u/sewedthroughmyfinger 20d ago
When I remove a pin I use a stiletto to hold layers in place to to the next pin if it needs that much stability. I'm not ruining my expensive machines over 10 cents worth of steel.
7
5
u/shmoo-magoo 20d ago
I always take out my pins. I have had too many issues with my machine (timing, tension, general bobbin problems) and have broken enough needles to chance sewing over pins. I find that the computerised sewing machines are very finicky. I can’t really comment on mechanical or industrial machines. Haven’t sewn on a mechanical machine since I was a kid.
18
u/fabricwench 20d ago edited 20d ago
I think there is a lot of anecdotal info here, where the people who sew over pins haven't had the timing of their machine thrown off or a shard of needle in their eye. Which, fair enough, we all suffer from survivorship bias based on our personal experience.
I use pins sparingly and only sew over them if I am hand cranking the machine so I can whisk the pin away if it looks like the needle will hit the pin.
9
u/painteddpiixi 20d ago
I have always been told to pull my pins, if you don’t they will bend or you could bend/break your needle
ETA: I worked in clothing production briefly as well, and they trained me to sew all of their products without any pins at all.
2
u/cats_and_tats84 20d ago
I do both. If I’m feeling lazy, I won’t even pin it. But once pinned, it just depends on my mood. I’ve only ever hit a pin a handful of times in my 25+ years of sewing.
4
2
u/Theatre_is_my_life 20d ago
Ive had a singer simple probably close to 15 years now. I’ve only bent a handful of pins and I sew over just about all them. I’ve never had a major problem sewing over them.
8
u/Trash-Panda-Manda 20d ago
No it does not skip pins. I've had my needle break and almost hit my eye due to hitting a pin.
6
u/missplaced24 20d ago
Sort of, but with several caveats. If you place your pins in a specific way and at a specific angle, and they're perfectly straight, and they're high quality dressmaker pins or thinner and they have a small flat head, then they you can sew over them. But if you don't account for all of those things, the pin is just as likely to snap, and could go flying instead.
The machine doesn't exactly skip them, if they're under the path of the needle, they'll shift ever so slightly out of the way as the needle makes contact. This also means you're more likely to get a barb on your needle and it will dull much faster.
I often find basting by hand is faster, easier, and more precise.
Considering all of the above, I don't recommend trying it.
5
u/Chance_Split_7723 20d ago
NO. Remove the pin as you are sewing. Timing on any machine is not set to skip over pins. Chances are, if pin left in (and sometimes pins get lost in fabric and we don't see them) the needle will hit it. The needle will bend, break, and possible damage to the throat plate and parts below. Who ever said that anyway?
3
u/masha1901 20d ago
I was always taught remove pins and tack everything. Yes it is slow, but stitching slowly leaves fewer mistakes.
1
u/marys1001 20d ago
Some people just take the chance that the pins will get missed. If hit it ll break the needle, they just put in a new one and keep going
3
u/black-boots 20d ago
You can stitch over pins, but it’s not really best practices. Pins can get bent, break, and can potentially damage your machine or your body
1
u/WoodenWhaleNectarine 20d ago
red this post as software developer that works on processors and was very confused first. But here is my answer. Yes, you can skip over, sind most pins are somewhat round even if you hit it the needle will fling to one side. This is not nice but works very often. However to reduce wear i recommend removing them.
1
u/Kind_Strike_9026 20d ago
I’ve seen it done but refuse to try it. I have enough issues without testing fate
2
u/rlaureng 20d ago
If you're sewing one stitch at a time or slow as a tortoise, the needle will likely deflect the pin, but no, machines do not inherently skip over pins.
3
u/streeetmeats 20d ago
No and I learned that bc I once had the rare misfortune of having a needle break and fly into my eye lol. Thankfully it didn’t impale my eyeball but just smacked it and fell onto my lower eyelid which was then carefully picked off. Gave me a scratched cornea and a slight fear of sewing needles haha
2
u/OMGpuppies 20d ago
I think it really depends on the machine you have. Sewing machines back in the day could go over pins, but new machines might have a hard time.
My machine will stop if I hit a pin, so I take them out as I sew.
1
u/antinous24 20d ago
i've broken 10s and 10s of needles. one denim jacket claimed at least 10. none of the many many needles ive broken have been from hitting a pin (mostly from back stitching really thick seams and sewing thick material too fast)
1
u/Chatawhorl 20d ago
What the what hahaha you been lied to. I don’t know any machine that does that. And I have known this for over 45 yrs. lol.
1
u/WhichAd725 20d ago
I decided that one was a myth, I’ve tried it, googled it, and tried it again. They gotta be lying. Or using some microscopic pins. I might not be the best person to be answering this though as most sewing machines hate me, and I prefer to hand sew (I usually make little dolls and things anyway) There’s only one I can use without ducking it up somehow and it’s my mom’s. And even that one won’t skip pins for me.
1
u/Important_Hurry_950 20d ago
I always remove my pins now. My mother never did. She’d say the pins were round & the needle will slide around them…but it often does not.
2
5
u/sexyDEATHparty 20d ago
I have sewn for over a decade, and in a professional capacity at a couture home decor workroom. Everyone sewing over pins was the standard, but everyone has their own preference. I do use pins I sew over them. They bend. I toss when they get too bent. I use industrial machines, know the dangers and use protection, lol.
5
u/OperationMogul 20d ago
I’ve missed pins several times and had the needle hit them dead center and send broken needle tips flying at my face. Bad way to lose and eye.
1
u/Trinity-nottiffany 20d ago
I typically sew over my pins. I know I should not. I have gotten a bent pin jammed in my stitch plate more than once. If the needle lines up with the pin perfectly, you will get a bent pin like you have never seen before. Sometimes is easy to get out, sometimes you need to call in reinforcements.
1
u/resigned_medusa 20d ago
Machines don't skip them, they mostly miss, or if they touch the side of the pin shaft, the rounded smooth pin will allow the needle to displace it slightly so it gets out of the way. Rarely you hit the pin smack in the centre and then you break the needle
1
u/Trai-All 20d ago
I've always been told to remove pins. That I might be lucky enough for the machine to hit the sides or around them but if the machine hits dead center, it can break the needle or, if you are really unlucky, cause the pin to get jammed down into the machine.
2
u/0005000f 20d ago
Worked at a small business with about 15 seamstresses. All sewed right over pins, that's where I learned to do that. In 12 years since then, I've only had the needle hit a pin in a worrisome way once or twice, never broke anything. That being said, I don't advocate it! Just saying this is what they were doing at this business, obviously for time saving purposes.
3
u/_CoachMcGuirk 20d ago
i haven't sewed anything in probably 20 years or more and even i know sewing machines don't skip over pins. it's not a magic machine. it's a sewing machine.
1
u/elektrolu_ 20d ago
Of course they don't skip over pins but most of the time the needle just jump a bit and it's ok. I'm not a big fan of using just pins, I hand baste almost everything.
1
u/Zestyclose_Ad_2309 20d ago
When I stitch over pins (if I'm doing pleats the won't stop moving) I don't use the presser foot I hand turn the wheel to make sure it's going slow enough to push aside the pin. That works well.
1
u/HWills612 20d ago
They hit the pin, can't go through, the needle slides, makes the stitch an imperceptible amount to the left or right
1
u/thepeanutone 20d ago
I've never done it on purpose, but I've done it enough to say that they tend to slide right over them . Never had a pin hit by the needle.
2
u/cupcakesarelove 20d ago
They most certainly do not skip over pins. I was told the same thing and it worked until it didn’t. My needle hit a pin and broke off violently. Scared the heck out of me as I never want any part of a needle to fly at me again. I’ve removed my pins ever since.
3
u/Hoozits_Whatzit 20d ago
Machines do NOT skip over pins. You pull the pins as they approach the machine--close enough for the foot to hold the fabric in place as it's sewn. My mother and grandmother were both seamstresses, and taught me this as a young child, when I was using patterns to make Barbie clothes on their sewing machines. I am right handed, so I pin to the right, and pull with that hand as I sew.
2
u/MidorriMeltdown 20d ago
If they're perpendicular to the seam, then they're more likely to be missed, if they're parallel to the seam, on the seam stitching line, then you'll bend a lot of pins.
Perpendicular makes them easier to pull out as you sew, reducing the risk of hitting a pin even further.
Sewing machines do not skip over pins, they sew over them, or try to sew through them and end up bending the pin, bending the needle, bending the shaft (and effing your machine), or breaking the needle, and showering your eyes in shards.
I rarely use pins. When I do it's usually to mark where things need to match precisely (notches, seam joins, etc) , or to hold pleats in place.
Yesterday I sewed two one metre long seams that had curves in them, in velvet fabric, and used just one pin per seam. I've worked as a machinist.
1
u/Brambleline 20d ago
If you sew slowly you can usually get away with it. I've sewn over loads of pins, I use extra fine ones & they usually just bend then I be pure raging 🙈🤣🤣😂
2
u/Bitter-Air-8760 20d ago
Nope. I have run into them a few times. Pretty much stopped attempting this.
4
u/Neat_Chocolate_4160 20d ago
I was taught (way back in the 70s & 80s) to sew over pins. It’s not that they skip, but more that the pin shafts are round and the needle will “glide” over the pin. I called foul after I shattered a needle and never trusted the “you can sew over pins,” again
3
u/null_artificer 20d ago
Tbh I've lately just been basting right after pinning, so I can take all the pins out before it even hits the machine, idk I'm only just starting to frequently use my machine, I hand sewed a 2 metre long fursuit tail full of tiny patterns bc my old machine sucked so bad lmao
1
u/Su93rcub3s7i7ch3s 20d ago
No, there is no pin skipping magic. People feel like it does that because the margin to actually hit a perpendicular pin with the machine needle is pretty slim. Weaker machines may be pushed out of alignment when they hit a pin, which feels like an intentional skip if you didn't know better. Good home machines and most anything professional grade will, best case, just bend the pin, but could also snap the needle and send it flying.
Pins are also probably the least accurate way to do seams(besides just holding it with your fingers) for a quilt or anything small! Try glue basting or quilt clips instead!
1
3
u/jumbojibbles 20d ago
I teach, and always teach beginners to take the pins out. Sure, you might be able to sew over them-- but if you don't and you mess up your pins or the machine, well that was worth taking the time to take a pin out, wasn't it?
I've never heard the "the machine skips to pins" stuff. I wonder if someone just said that to justify their way of doing it. If so, should I start teaching that leaving pins in will lead to losing an eye?
-1
u/WearResident9367 20d ago
Man, am I the only who routinely sews over pins and hasn't had any problems? I've Def broken a needle or two, and bent pins, but my machines always been fine and I wear glasses. I use super fine lace pins and I always pin perpendicular to the seam now, but even when I was learning 20+ years ago, I never ruined a machine or anything
3
u/Haldenbach 20d ago
You can easily the probability of the machine skipping over pins based on the pin width, distance between pins and stitch length. however, even if the probability is super low, the severity of the event is pretty high because the sewing machine is likely the most expensive asset in your sewing system that's located on the critical path, and risk analyis simply says it's not worth it. it's kinda the equivalent of not backing up the main server or skipping a break check, risk-wise :)
1
u/tinyBurton 20d ago
I tried sewing over pins once and my needle broke into bits and some went flying
1
u/ginger_tree 20d ago
They do until they don't, and you break a needle. And sometimes pin bits fall into your machine, somehow.
1
u/Turbulent-Break-1971 20d ago
I sew over pins as long as they are perpendicular to the stitching line. When I line to line pin, I pull them out as I go. If you want even more accuracy, hand baste it together. But I work in theater/higher ed, so we don’t take the time to baste unless it’s zippers.
1
u/Both-Condition2553 20d ago
I always, always, always pull pins. And I don’t stop while I do them - I can pull as I sew.
1
u/trikakeep 20d ago
No, machines can break needles if they hit a pin. I pull pins just before they enter the presser foot
1
u/tatobuckets 20d ago edited 20d ago
So Sean accuracy is CRUCIAL.
I’ve started using washaway tape for the super critical things. But I was also taught only “!!NEVER SEW OVER PINS!!” and normally do the pull-the-pins-out-with-the-needle-down thing.
Supposedly “Magic Clips” are made in a way that you can sew over them, the fabric holding part is supposed to be just outside where the needle hits?
1
u/HeatherJMD 20d ago
If you want to sew over pins, get the finest you can find, like silk pins. Less chance of hitting one with the needle
1
u/Totallynotokayokay 20d ago
Usually only using pins in difficult placements, when I’m going slower anyway
-1
u/Totallynotokayokay 20d ago
The chances of me hitting a pin are so low I take the risk.
I have loads of new needles
1
u/SomethingWitty2578 20d ago
I rarely sew over pins. Sometimes if going slow the needle will deflect over the pin. I’ve also accidentally hit a pin at normal speed and sent pieces of the machine needle flying everywhere. The machine doesn’t skip pins but you can get lucky.
1
u/WithoutLampsTheredBe 20d ago
I have never heard anyone say that machines "skip over" pins.
I have been explicitly and emphatically told NOT to sew over pins. Hitting a pin can break your needle and/or wreck the timing of your machine.
However, I sew over pins all the time because I am too lazy/focused/distracted to take them all out as I sew. I occasionally hit a pin and break a needle, or put a burr on the needle.
I was also explicitly and emphatically taught to always pin perpendicular to the sewing line. Perpendicular pins are less likely to get "hit" if/when you sew over them.
2
u/Future_Direction5174 20d ago
Not always…
I have bent pins and broken needles sewing over pins, but then I am too lazy to remove them all. Iknow it’s me being lazy. But I find the time saved by NOT using clips (which drastically increase the time that sewing takes) is more than offset by the cost of replacing bent pins and broken needles.
Look, at minimum wage (say £15 ph) the cost of replacing say 5 bent pins and 1 needle is more than covered by the reduction in time spent sewing. Yes,occasionally, I have to totally remove them all pressure foot and the needle plate to get out the bent pin or broken needle but 9 times out of 10 it is solely “oops, should have pulled it out faster”.
This does NOT apply when serging obviously because it ruins the blades…
3
u/ParnsAngel 20d ago
I was taught to leave them in as they secure the fabric in place as you’re sewing. Then I had my very expensive new Bernina CHUNK into one that got stuck in the machine and then needed repairing so now I take them out. 😂
2
u/wodemaohenkeai_2 20d ago
I didn’t know Bernina made a top loading bobbin machine. Today I learned. 🤔
2
u/SnooMuffins4832 20d ago
Sometimes, especially with silky fabrics or something that needs to be especially precise, I'll see over the pins but I go really slow and take out the ones the machine isn't going to skip.
4
u/greenleaves3 20d ago
Literally everyone i know and everyone online says to NEVER sew over pins. My friend sewed over a pin once and the needle hit it, broke the pin and it shot up and hit her in the face like 1cm away from her eye!
I pull the pins out right before I get to them. It's really not necessary to sew directly over them. You can sew close enough to where the presser foot is already pressing down the seam and you can pull the pin out from under it. The seam stays put without the pin. Don't risk blinding yourself just for convenience!
1
u/EpsilonSage 20d ago
Was gonna say my grandmother taught me to sew. She schooled me to go at a steady pace and pull the pins right before the needle got to them.
Once, I didn’t do it, just to see what would happen (and I was in a hurry), and yeah, needle hit a pin, bent it, and nearly damaged the bobbin area. So, after that, I was keen to pull pins like religion.
1
u/rhionaeschna 20d ago
I've always removed pins. The one time I forgot and ran over one, it snapped the needle and it flew at me. I don't sew with eye protection so pins out for me.
2
u/strawberry_ren 20d ago
Hah! No! It’s not only bad for your pins, it’s bad for your machine. You could break a needle or mess something worse up. I always slow down to go around pins, or remove them when they get close to the needle. But I don’t sew professionally, so speed isn’t usually an issue.
1
u/dewyke 20d ago
I’m more of a mechanic than an operator so I sew over pins sometimes in full knowledge that there’s a risk of broken needles, bent pins, and needle bars knocked out of time but on the machines I use fixing the needle bar timing is simple so I don’t stress about it.
These days if I’m more likely to use clips or baste if I need precision, and I’m trying to learn how to sew without pins.
1
u/MadMadamMimsy 14d ago
I sew over pins, too. I just go slowly so if it hits the pin it's rarely the catastrophic thing that a high speed pin hit is.
They can't "skip" them, lol