When you purchase straight pins there is just one problem with them: there are too many. For most sewing projects you use just a few pins – not dozens. Many people who sew place a few pins in a pin cushion and toss the rest in a drawer or box. That way, they don’t have to fumble through a bunch of pins only to prick themselves or face further annoyance. But, even a pin cushion can sometimes be a bother. Pins often get pushed all the way down and a person has to try to get a grip on the tiny pin head to retrieve it. You’ll have no more frustration, though if you simply make a magnetic pin holder. There are several different kinds you can make and any of them would take only a few minutes to create.
Make a magnetic bowl for holding pins just by attaching a magnet. Craft and home improvement stores feature magnets of all sizes. Start with a small ceramic or other type. The bowl should be shallow as well as little. Use a large square or round magnet to magnetize the bowl. Attach the magnet to the bottom of the bowl with a super-strong adhesive that’s appropriate for metal as well as ceramic. Make sure that the bowl will balance fine on the magnet. Place the pins in the bowl and they’ll stick to the sides making it really easy for you to pick one up.
Magnetic sheeting makes the perfect material for making a box-type, magnetic pin holder. Just purchase a small, paper mache box for about a buck from a craft store. Also purchase a single sheet of magnetic sheeting. Cut a piece of the sheeting to be nearly the size of the box lid. In addition, cut a piece of thin fabric to be a quarter-inch larger, all the way around, than the fabric.
Lay the fabric down so that the right side is facing the table. Lay the magnet on the fabric so that the peel-away paper is facing up. Cut a tiny slit in each corner, from the fabric corner to the magnet’s corner, then peel away the paper. Stick the edges of the paper to the adhesive magnet sheet.
Apply a bit of glue around the edges of the fabric, on the back, then flip it over and press it onto the lid of the paper mache box. Now you can simply lay pins on the fabric and they’ll stay in place. Position them so that the tips of the pins touch the fabric and the heads of the pins stick out from the box to make it easy to grab them. Store extra pins inside the box.
Instead of using a paper mache box you can simply use a piece of magnetic sheeting alone. Cover it with fabric – that’s optional – then stick it to the right side of the sewing machine, in the front. Now your pins are right there where you can find them.
Magnetic pin holders are the modern way to access your pins and keep your fingers safe. You’ll never try to sew with sore fingertips again!
See a magnetic box pin holder here.
