Progress on the Faith Circle Row Quilt has reached the point of pin basting. Wow so many pins are used in the process of basting a quilt!
It can be pretty hard on fingers to close all of these pins as they are put into the quilt sandwich. I was wishing I had one of the tools people use to close pins. I've tried using a spoon in the past, but was not totally sold on that method. As I was thinking about this I tried to come up with something I might already have on hand to help close the pins. I got to thinking about the sharpener for my kitchen knives, but it was too large in diameter. Then, I thought of the awl-type tool I have for use with beads. it worked great!
This is actually called a Bead Reamer and is used to enlarge and round out the opening in beads. However...it is also perfect for closing basting pins!
The texture of the tool really makes it easy to use with the pins! It really helped to make quicker work of basting this quilt!
Do you pin baste, and if so, how do you close the pins?
I pin baste as well. Sometime I do spray and pin. I tried the fusible batting and it worked really well, but I have trouble finding it here. I use this fun tool called the Kwik Klips, it works great
ReplyDeleteJen
I have one of the tools that you refer to, but you can also use a key. The new car keys don't work since they don't have ridges on them, but an old house key works great. It holds the pins upright so that you can close them.
ReplyDeleteI don't have either a Bead Reamer or the specialist tool for closing pins, but I think I need to find something that will work for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I baste I use the Kwik Klip. It is fantastic. I've heard that grapefruit spoons work well too! It looks like you were able to find something that works for you. In the end, that's all that matters!
ReplyDeletevery cool, tho I usually, ahem, spray.
ReplyDeleteI usually destroy a few finger nails in the process of pin basting. It might be time to invest in a tool.
ReplyDeleteI never actually tried to myself, but a friend uses a spoon to close the pins. I always have sore fingers after pin basting. Sometimes I use basting spray.
ReplyDeleteA LQS owner told me to let the quilt dry after spray basting it for about 3 days, so you won’t get the glue stuck on your machine needles.