My Favorite Notions: Clover Flower Head Pins

Hi, I'm Laura Severson, a Cuddle® Ambassador from Central Iowa. I wanted to tell you about some of my favorite notions to use when working with Cuddle®. Long flower head ponds from Clover are the pins I use for every project. Clover offers pins with various shaft thicknesses (0.45 mm, 0.55 mm, and 0.70 mm).

When working with Quilting Cuddle® and Cuddle® 3, I like to use the 0.55 mm pins (pictured above) because they are a little thinner, matching the fabric's thickness. When working with Luxe Cuddle®, which is thicker fabric, I like to use the 0.70 mm pins (pictured below) because they are thicker and less likely to bend.

Clover uses different colors for the shaft thicknesses: 045 mm pins have light blue on one side and dark blue on the other, 0.55 mm pins have light red on one side and dark red on the other, and 0.70 mm pins are the same color on both sides and come in white, yellow, green and light red. I like that they're color coordinated, so if I accidentally mix a bunch of pins together, I can easily tell which are which.

Additionally, Clover flower head pins look similar to many other brands, but I have never had the heads fall off my Clover pins like I have with off-brands. While these pins are great because of their quality, they are also great for working with Cuddle® fabric specifically. Since Cuddle® projects require many pins due to our double pinning technique, it is nice to have pins with long shafts so they cover and hold more area. The flat flower heads roll and lay flat on your project, which is also helpful when using the double pinning method. While the first row of pins is removed when sewing, the second row stays in until the seam is done. If your second row of pins is close to your presser foot, the flat head will not get in the way and shift your project. The presser foot moves right over the flat head with ease. If your second row of pins uses ball head pins, the ball can get close to the presser foot, preventing the foot from moving over it; instead it will shift the project and misalign your seam.

Lastly, another great thing about these pins is that they are long and have a nice large flower head, so they are very easy to find - even in Luxe Cuddle®! The last thing you want to do is take the time to make a wonderfully soft project and then leave pins in it because you can't find them! In this picture below, there is actually a ball head pin in the Luxe Cuddle®!