Sewing Pins & Needles

home /
Quilting Notions
/ Sewing Pins & Needles

Shop sewing pins for piecing and basting, hand sewing needles for binding and appliqué, and sewing machine needles for piecing and quilting, plus thimbles, needle threaders and pin cushions to keep it all in one place. read more

Best
Sellers
What's
New
What's
on Sale

some of our favorite quilting notions collections

Sewing Pins & Needles

“Needle” a little guidance choosing the right pin or needle for your next project? No need to be on pins & needles. We’re here to help!

Sewing pins vs. quilting pins

Sewing pins are small, slender, pointed tools, usually metal with a plastic or glass head. Quilting pins are sewing pins built for quilting: longer, sharper and fine enough to slide through several layers of cotton without shifting your seams. Our sewing pins include fine, heat-safe Magic Pins you can press right over, flat-head pins, glass-head pins and numbered pins that keep your blocks and rows in order. For appliqué, try short appliqué pins that won’t snag your thread.

Hand sewing needles vs. quilting needles

Sewing needles are long, slender tools with a point at one end and an eye at the other. They come in different sizes and types for hand sewing, embroidery, cross-stitch and needlepoint. Hand quilting needles (often called “betweens”) are shorter and stronger so they can rock through a quilt sandwich in small, even stitches, while sharps, milliners and appliqué needles cover binding, basting and needle-turn appliqué. Shop all hand sewing needles.

Sewing machine needles for quilting

The biggest difference between sewing machine needles is the tip. Universal needles have a slightly rounded point that works on most wovens and many knits. Quilting needles have a tapered, extra-sharp point for piercing multiple layers and crossing seams. Ballpoint needles have a rounded tip that pushes knit fibers aside instead of piercing them, so use one for jersey, spandex or anything stretchy.

Pin cushions and needle storage

Keep your quilting notions in order with a magnetic pin holder, pin dish, caddy or the traditional tomato pin cushion. Browse all of our pin cushions and caddies so your pins have a place to land while you sew.

Watch the video below to learn all about pins and needles with Misty!

Pins & Needles FAQs

What are the best quilting pins?+

It depends on how you use them. For piecing, quilters love fine pins like Magic Pins. Reviewers say they’re "very thin so don’t bundle fabric up," and you can iron right over them. For big projects, numbered pins keep blocks and rows in order. One quilter says they work "much better than the sticky note system."

Can you iron over sewing pins?+

Only heat-safe pins. Magic Pins and glass-head pins can take the iron. Plastic heads can melt, and steam can lift the printing off numbered pins, so pull those before you press.

What are basting pins?+

Basting pins are curved safety pins that hold your quilt sandwich together while you quilt. The bend lets them come back up through the layers easily. Size 2 (1 ½") is the most common, and a large quilt can take a couple hundred.

What size machine needle is best for piecing a quilt?+

For quilting cotton and 50wt thread, a size 80/12 universal or quilting needle is the go-to for piecing. Step up to a 90/14 for machine quilting through all the layers. The two numbers on the package are the same size in metric and US sizing.

When should I change my sewing machine needle?+

About every 8 hours of sewing, which is roughly every new project. A dull needle causes skipped stitches, puckers and thread breaks, so when in doubt, change it.

Is there an alternative to a metal thimble?+

Yes. Adhesive leather thimble pads stick right to your fingertip and can be reused. Reviewers who "can’t seem to keep a thimble on" use them for hand binding and embroidery.