If you’re sewing through more than one layer of material, you’re going to want everything held together before you try and finagle it under the foot of your sewing machine, or sew through it by hand. Lets talk some of the ways you can do this!
Pins
Personally my go to is pins, the the benefit being that they don’t necessarily have to be taken out while sewing, they can fit in your sewing machine and be taken out once all is secured by thread. Learning to properly use pins can totally up your sewing game and make every other part of sewing easier. Using pins may be more difficult for kids as their fine motor skills are still developing, but it also gives them a great chance to develop those skills.
I recommend flat top pins for kids who may need a larger pinhead to hold. For adults or teens who can handle small pin heads, glass head pins are ideal, because you can iron over them without melting a plastic pin head.
Pinning, step by step
- Align your fabric how you’ll need it to be when you sew. 9 times out of 10 this will be right sides together and edges in line.
- line the pin up perpendicular to where your stitch line will be.
- insert at an angle.
- push down on the head of the pin so that the point comes back up towards the underside of your fabric, push down your fabric slightly if needed.
- push the pin through the fabric so the end is back on top, it doesn’t matter how far in the pin is or the distance that the pin is underneath the fabric for as long as it is holding the fabric together and the pin tip is not trying to slip out to the back of the fabric
Clips
I LOVE clips, no pointy bits, not as easily lost if they fall, and no pins in your foot if you step on one! They also require only a strong pincer grip to use, not the same level of fine motor skills as pins.
These clips come in a container for easy clean up when you’re done sewing.
Clipping step by step
- Align your fabric how you’ll need it to be when you sew. 9 times out of 10 this will be right sides together and edges in line.
- Pinch the clip to open it
- Slide the flat part of the clip under the project and put the curved side on the top
- Release clip and it will hold the fabric on its own
Either option will save you so much time and effort in your sewing journey, I love using both depending on the project. Happy sewing!
