Sewing Clips and Tea

Greetings, readers!

The last month has passed in a blur, between finishing the garden harvest and some problems that came up. I think I mentioned before that I have some health issues. Specifically, I have chronic migraine, and changes in seasons can set it off more than normal. Here in the northern Midwest, the weather just hasn't been able to decide whether it wanted to switch to fall or stay summer. But I think it's finally decided; the trees are starting to change color, and the garden is pretty much gone, except for some broccoli that never did actually make broccoli. The butternut squash is out in the grocery stores (yay, roasted butternut over rice with walnuts and parmesan cheese). While I haven't quite got to some of the larger parts of sewing projects, I did get a new knitting book (more on that next time) and tested out a pattern from it. At the moment, I've been working on a rather intricate hat. I don't have a picture of it yet, because the top isn't quite done, but I'll make sure to put a picture of it when it is. :)
As the title of this post suggests, I finally gave in and got some sewing clips to try out. I've had my eye on them for over a year, but I just wasn't sure if they were handy enough to justify the expense, especially when there are several containers of pins in my sewing box. But after the placemat pattern, they started looking more appealing. That binding on the edge was a little tricky to pin, and I ended up stabbing myself more than usual. So with more material and batting waiting for me to make it into another set of placemats, I decided to try the clips. Grab a cup of tea (I have a nice, strong cup of Irish Breakfast), and let's talk about how that went!

Sewing Clip Test

These are the clips I decided to try. They're by Embroidex, and are about 1" long. I picked small clips because mostly I plan on using them when binding edges with bias tape I usually work with 1/2" double-fold bias tape for binding, so the edges are narrow and the small ones are just the right size. They came in a set of 100 clips, multi-colored, and in a bag. The little plastic box is a photo storage container I picked up at Michael's to replace the bag.

 

The Good

So far, I've tested them on furry cuddle fabric. Pins have a habit of disappearing into the fluff. The clips did not have this problem at all. They felt very secure on the edges, and even helped eliminate some of the shifting/sliding that happens when trying to pin this material. There was no stabbing, and therefore no need to worry about getting blood on anything. I think that will be especially useful on edge binding, which is when I seem to get stabbed the most.

Working with the fabric felt much easier, and went faster, although I still think it's the messiest fabric known to man. Fortunately its softness makes up for the fact that it makes my sewing room look like teddy bears were brawling in there. The clips didn't really help with that, so keep the lint rollers handy, but since I spent less time rearranging the fabric, I like to think that I got a little less fluff on myself and that it didn't end up in other parts of the house.

 

The Not-So-Good

The only real problem I had with the clips was that they were a little stiff. After clipping one edge that was over 21" long, my fingers were somewhat sore. It's possible that they loosen up over time, but it didn't seem to affect the fabric in any way. Some of the reviews I read on these clips mentioned that they could be harder to open than other brands, but I haven't tried any others so I can't really say. They're not so stiff that I can't use them, but if someone had hand pain the stiffness of the clips might limit their usefulness.

They also cannot be sewn over. I try not to sew over pins too, but sometimes they sneak by me. These can't sneak by; they get stuck at the front of the presser foot, unless you have a really wide seam allowance. I'm not sure it's a bad thing, since I've broken some needles sewing over pins by accident, but I just thought I'd mention it.

 

The Conclusion

Will clips replace my pins? I'd say for my projects in general, probably not. There are some cases were pins might just be easier, such as very thin fabrics or sheer material. But the clips work well where pins don't, such as multiple layers of fabric, and are much easier to maneuver in those situations. They don't get lost in furry fabric. I think they'd also be very useful in situations that require more adjusting, like putting in a sleeve. I'm calling the test a success, and I can't wait to try them on edge binding and curved seams!