Most of us learned to pin along the whole length of a seam, and most of us have since discovered that a row of pins does not stop the one thing that actually goes wrong. The seam runs beautifully for its whole length and then loses itself in the final stretch, where the point at the end gets folded under, the stitching wanders off the edge, and the allowance narrows to nothing exactly where it matters most. No amount of pinning in the middle prevents it, because the middle was never the problem.
The method shown here uses two pins on a long seam, and each one is doing a different job. The first goes in across the seam a little way up from the end, head pointing outwards. It is not there to hold the layers together. It is a handle. With the seam running, a finger on that pin gives the top layer somewhere to be eased or smoothed from, so a slight excess on one side can be worked in as the needle travels rather than being discovered at the end. When the stitching reaches it, the pin comes out, because the easing is done.
The second pin is the one that saves the point. It enters from the bottom edge and is woven in near the tip, and it stays put while the stitching comes down onto it. Held flat against the bed of the machine, it stops the feed dogs from nudging the point inwards during the last stretch, which is the movement that pulls the stitching off the raw edge and swallows the allowance. Even with one hand elsewhere, the point stays straight because the pin is holding it straight.
The order in which the layers meet the needle matters too. The piece carrying the crossed seams goes on top, where it can be watched and held flat as the stitching passes over each junction, rather than underneath where the feed dogs can fold an allowance the wrong way without anyone noticing until the seam is opened out.
Points worth holding on to:
- Two pins, two jobs. One gives you a handle for easing. The other protects the point. Neither is there to hold the layers together along the length.
- Place the easing pin across the seam. Head outwards, a little way up from the end, so a fingertip can add or release tension while the seam runs.
- Weave the second pin in near the tip. Held flat against the machine bed, it resists the feed dogs at the exact moment they want to push the point under.
- Seams face upwards. The piece with the crossed seams goes on top, where each junction can be held flat as the needle passes over it.
- Remove the first pin, keep the second. Once the easing is done, the handle has served its purpose. The point still needs its pin until the stitching is past it.
Accurate piecing rests on layers that stay where you put them, and our notions are available here.
Happy quilting.
