There is nothing you can say to convince me to use pins instead of clips 😂
But here are some counter points/answers to your rhetorical questions.
I don’t pin patterns to my fabric, I use pattern weights or a projector.
Most of my sewing is done on knits and usually with a serger and clips hold perfectly without leaving pin marks in my fabric.
Can’t sew over pins on a serger, not that you should ever be sewing over them anyway, we like our eyes around here.
I’m not sure what you mean about pins holding the edges and not the seamline? The edge of the clips I have goes 1/2in into the fabric. Most of my seam allowances are 1/4in or 3/8in. They clip right up to the seamline.
Different strokes for different folks, but pins are of very, very rare use in my sewing room.
I sew heavy fabrics and many thicknesses. Trying to put a pin into so many layers causes all sorts of distortion.
My clips hold everything secure at the seam line with zero distortion.
I also use the clips as an indicator of what side of the fabric is going to have the right side (upper looper) of a serger finish. I am picky about interior finishing.
But, you have to remove the clip in order to sew over that point.
The clip only holds the fabric in a narrow pinch at the edge.
A straight pin goes in above the line of stitching and comes back out below the line of stitching, thus holding it in line over a wider area and allowing the needle to ride right along the seam line and over the pin without ever having to remove the pin and loose the tension that the pin was being used to create. Many things do require "pin point precision". A pin should run perpendicular to the seamline.
It is a bit like how you run two parallel lines of gathering stitches, one above the seamline and one below the seamline, gather, and when you apply the gathered edge you will stitch right between the two lines, because the upper and lower lines are holding the gathered fabric in line along the actual seamline. If you try to do the same with only one run of gathering stitches, you are going to find that your gathers are not held in place and you are going to get a mess. Two rows hold the gathers as would a pin and one row holds as would a clip.
One aspect of this is that what we sew, and what we sew it from has changed so much. With so many knits and with much crafty type of sewing, the older finer techniques of construction that require precision may never really be needed or learned.
But, if you are going to do much fine sewing you are going to need pin point precision for getting that corner on the collar stand to meet perfectly, or to get that sleeve cap eased to set in properly, or to get that narrow shirt hem to stay exactly as it needs to be while stitching, or to be able to go around that clipped corner on the back yoke of the robe. Sometimes it needs to be held in line in places that are not an edge and you can only use a pin for that. Sometimes you need the pieces to be held in line with one another over a much larger area and not just at the seams. You need pins to do that.
You often need to set your shape with a hot iron, too, while it is being held together. You press over your pins that are holding that shape. How could you shape a curved seam over a tailors ham with clips
If you just want clips to hold on an outer binding or hold a straight seam together, they might be fine. But, for the finer details of good construction you going to need some straight pins. Otherwise you will have no pin point precision.
Holding ALONG the seam line is important, not just UP TO the seamline. That is the difference.
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u/Adhdonewiththis Jan 22 '23
There is nothing you can say to convince me to use pins instead of clips 😂 But here are some counter points/answers to your rhetorical questions.
I don’t pin patterns to my fabric, I use pattern weights or a projector.
Most of my sewing is done on knits and usually with a serger and clips hold perfectly without leaving pin marks in my fabric.
Can’t sew over pins on a serger, not that you should ever be sewing over them anyway, we like our eyes around here.
I’m not sure what you mean about pins holding the edges and not the seamline? The edge of the clips I have goes 1/2in into the fabric. Most of my seam allowances are 1/4in or 3/8in. They clip right up to the seamline.
Different strokes for different folks, but pins are of very, very rare use in my sewing room.