Can you sew over pins?

I grew up watching my Mum sew, and she meticulously removed the pins as she sewed. In my home economics class in high school, my teacher told us that it was fine to sew over pins. My Mum was horrified to hear this.

So who was right? Can you sew over pins?

When learning to sew, it’s tempting to leave the pins in as you sew as it keeps your fabric layers in place. Learning to sew is enough of a challenge without worrying about your fabric shifting as you sew. Especially when sewing slippery or stretchy fabrics or when you are matching curves.

Technically, you can sew over pins. If you’re sewing at a slow speed, as the needle can slide to the side of the pin.

But is sewing over pins a good idea?

My answer is No!

I’ve worked as an engineer for large organizations, with company mottos like:

Safety is our Number 1 Priority
People before profits
All accidents are preventable (including near misses)

Sewing over pins is a risk.

Hitting a pin can result in a bent or broken needle (and the chance of a piece of needle flying at you). It can also result in damage to the timing of your sewing machine. That means a trip to the sewing machine hospital, and I don’t know how it is in your area, but here, my sewing machine would be out of action for at least a week.

So personally, I don’t take the risk.

I don’t recommend sewing over pins.

Generally, I remove the pins as they approach the presser foot. If I’m sewing curves or slippery fabric, I let my pins feed under the presser foot, but I stop and remove the pins just before the needle.

Except…

If I’m sewing a small piece with tight curves, or sewing very slippery fabric, and there is a chance the fabric will shift out of alignment by removing the pin, I will sew over the pins. BUT only using the handwheel.

I stop sewing as I get to the pin. Then I slowly lower the needle into the fabric with the handwheel. If the needle is going to hit the pin dead-on (which is rare), I either lower the needle as close as possible to the fabric and pull out the pin, or gently shift the fabric a smidge (that’s the technical term) so it doesn’t hit the pin.

If you don’t want to remove pins as you sew, you can place your pins away from the needle/presser foot. This still holds your fabric together but without the risk of hitting your needle. This does work well if you are matching inside and outside curves or if you need very precise alignment.

Do you sew over pins?