Things to do with Safety Pins

     Son number two and I were talking this evening about safety pins.  He found a large pack of them and questioned the price.  They were almost $10!  For ten dollars, I want made in America stamped on each and everyone of them, and I want 1000 in the box.  There are much better prices available on the web for bulk purchases.

     It just struck him, as a prepper, that safety pins would be good to have.  I agree.  Besides the use they were made for, mending in an urgent situation, they are fun and handy to have.  

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I bought a squash blossom styled necklace about ten years ago, just so I could have the pattern to make more.  Jewelry and pin making is a good skill building craft for kids.  They get almost instant gratification and learn the skills for counting, sorting, and weaving in the patterns.  Our kids are getting the week of Thanksgiving off from school.  That includes the weekend before and after so they will have nothing to do for nine days.  Safety pin jewelry is a craft they can play with, learn from and give the pins as gifts for Christmas.  

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Safety pins are best used in keeping strips from moving around when you are quilting.  Because the pins are locked in place, you can roll up your project in between times when you can sit and quilt and not fret that it all fell apart when you rolled it up!

more tips that make you feel stupid… | clayzmama says......

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My grandmother made Christmas ornaments for the tree.  I still have four of these after twenty years.  She made them to keep her fingers flexible after she had her big stroke.  It was slow going but she kept at it and they are still lovely.  Gram also had a safety pin with a long loop of ribbon attached to it.  She pinned it to a zipper pull on her dress then holding the ribbon in one hand and the bottom of the zipper in the other, she pulled up her dress zipper all by herself.  

She taught us to keep safety pins in the sewing and craft box for:  
replace a zipper pull with a pin.
pin the end of a drawstring or elastic to feed through the casing of a skirt.  
pin buttons together to keep matching sets or sizes together.
pin a pin in place to count off stitches in a crochet pattern.



A large safety pin can hold a diaper in place, keep your kilted skirt from blowing open or mend that falling hem till you can find a needle and thread.

Keep a couple in the med kit to fasten an ace bandage or to remove a splinter.
If you have a loose zipper that slides down when you are not looking, pin a safety pin under the pull to create a zipper stop.

I used this tip myself.  I have thread on spindles not just spools.  Adding a safety pin to the thread spindle allows me to use it as a thread guide with my spindle in a coffee mug on the floor.  

You can use safety pins to bundle cords behind the computer desk.

Pin documents or stacks of paper together through the hole or use the pin to 'staple' documents.

When the hinge in the little jewelry box breaks, use a pin as the hinge pin.  

Use the pin to hold a tiny piece still while you solder it.  Beats soldering your fingers.

Shoes keep coming untied?  pin the knot.

Pin balloons to a t-shirt and be a bunch of grapes next Halloween.

Pin the end of a spool of ribbon to the spool to keep it from unwinding in the craft box.

Make chain maille with safety pins.  Sure, these 'look' like a crafty artsy fashion top. but add about a thousand more pins and it's chainmaille!