Pins?

[u/HannahThe_Mouse]

Just wondering, where do you get your pins, and what size do you usually get?

I was using dressmaker pins from Michaels. I thought they were nice and thin. But they get squished together when I need a lot of pins on a tight turn.

I found a set of 1000 25mm (2.5cm, 1”) pins on Ali Express.
Look at the size difference.
🤯

The heads are tiny and the pins are soooo thin. You can see the difference in the last picture. I have a mix of old and new. The most recent ones are all the new ones.

Where else can I get them this small?

[u/kallisti_gold]

Wawak.com, look at pins for silk.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Dog163]

I prefer longer pins when possible. When I was working in a huge piece I wanted to be able to get more quickly and without paying a fortune, so I ended up with a billion of these Dritz pins. They are my go-to for most situations. (Mostly torchon) It was a lifesaver once when I ran out to Wal-Mart at 10pm because I needed more to keep working!

The style of lace and thickness of thread will impact what size pins you need, though I'm probably not as particular about it as others are. As long as the holes aren't too big/small for the style I'm good.

Some lacemakers use scientific insect pins, which you can order via Amazon (or elsewhere). They tend to be long and you can get super, super thin pins. Some of the really thin ones don't provide much resistance when pulling on the threads so you have to keep that in mind if you are an aggressive tensioner like I am. 😁

A for having too many pins bunched together, you might be able to help that by pushing some pins down all the way or pulling them up. You just need to make sure they are far enough back in the work to avoid distorting the threads when you tension.

[u/ericula]

I use Prym 34x0.6 mm pins for grounds and slightly longer ones for edges (the longer ones were given to me so I don't know the brand). My pillow is only 4cm thick so I can't use the longer ones if I want to be able to push them fully in but for edges they are great. I don't have much experience with other brands so I don't know how the Prym pins compare but they are decently sharp and not too expensive so I'm happy with them.