View Full Version : New Safety Pin Strivers
carolivy
21-07-2011, 02:46 PM
I found these coil-less safety pins on ebay and bought 100 of them for just a few $. I had fun making this bunch into pretty strivers. :w00t:
12168
Deanna H. 43
21-07-2011, 02:55 PM
I found these coil-less safety pins on ebay and bought 100 of them for just a few $. I had fun making this bunch into pretty strivers. :w00t:
12168
What are strivers?
IdahoCanuck
21-07-2011, 03:19 PM
Neat! I like them :)
Deanna: They are stitch markers... or for when you need to hold a bead, thread or loop in place.... or at the beginning of a piece done with continuous thread (shuttle & ball) and you need something to hold on to at the start.
carolivy
21-07-2011, 03:39 PM
Hi Deanna, you can find a post all about Strivers HERE (http://www.intatters.com/showthread.php?2703-Strivers-or-Reminders-as-I-call-them&highlight=striver).
dharts04
21-07-2011, 04:15 PM
Very cool! I wouldn't've thought to go through the head! You're so clever. Did you dull the point too? With my luck I'd poke myself if I didn't...
carolivy
21-07-2011, 04:28 PM
Nope, the points are still sharp. I haven't poked myself with them yet....they close right up when in use.
crazytatter
21-07-2011, 06:14 PM
WOW. They are so cute. Now how come I didn't think of doing this with my safety pins.
Susan B T
21-07-2011, 08:29 PM
Those are very clever. Love the pin idea, stay closed....
WOW. They are so cute. Now how come I didn't think of doing this with my safety pins.
It will work better if you use coilless pins, like the ones Carol has. The little coil at the back of most safety pins can chew up thread and make a big mess for you.
I have a few packs of the plastic ones, different sizes, for marking stitches in knitting and crochet. The small ones can be used for strivers in tatting, but only when using large thread (think 10 or bigger). These small ones are perfect for tatting, Carol. I'll have to look out for them. I like this idea better than paper clips. Easier to manipulate.
jamlover
22-07-2011, 03:20 AM
Nothing cute like yours but looking in Walmart for paper clips, etc., I ran across these one inch long mini clothespins. A little nail polish on some of them indicates add rose or other flower here. They hook on where needed and mark the places. Of course I can't attach a bead with them.
dl11man
22-07-2011, 11:18 AM
I picked up a package a couple years back at either a Joann's or Hancock's. Just need to ask if you can't find them, were cheap with a 40 % coupon off.
carolivy
22-07-2011, 11:55 AM
I looked at our local Joann's but no joy there. Ours is a verrrry small store with not much in it...sigh.
RandaGray
22-07-2011, 01:52 PM
I've seen pics of these plastic safety pins, but haven't found any that weren't HUGE... I LOVE the strivers you made CarolIvy, but I hate using safety pins - I stab myself every time I touch one! I bought a pack at walmart years ago & still have most of them... I'd love some plastic ones though!
carolivy
22-07-2011, 02:39 PM
I don't think I've ever seen plastic safety pins. Randa, why don't you blunt the tips of the ones you want to use for strivers? They don't "really" need to keep the point.
IdahoCanuck
22-07-2011, 04:50 PM
Our JoAnn's has the coil-less safety pins in with the beading supplies.....and I bought a package.
one can never have to many safety pins!
But the safety pin idea got me thinking....
I have a pair of French Clip Earrings that are quit similar to safety pins without the points or spring, and they should also work as well. ( You can also find them with the beading supplies)
This is great :) There are just sooooooo many options!
Well.... 12180I made the Clip Earings into a pair of strivers :)
I'm showing one open and one closed.
RandaGray
23-07-2011, 03:14 AM
Carol, I tried cutting off the tip of one today & it just kind of made a jagged end.... Like there were burs on the edge of the end where it was supposed to be flat. Maybe it's my cutters (they were "long term borrowed" from my husband's tool bag... which is old tools he doesn't use at work anymore for one reasom or another), but I'd be afraid to get anywhere near a piece of thread, even thread I didn't like! :(
dharts04
23-07-2011, 04:16 AM
Carol, I tried cutting off the tip of one today & it just kind of made a jagged end.... :(
I have blunted the tip of doll needles to use for needle tatting. Just run the sharp pin tip over a nail file, or even on the concrete sidewalk, while turning it slightly to keep those burr edges away....it should work that way too!
carolivy
23-07-2011, 10:22 AM
Randa I would use a nail file or a rasp and run the tip of the safety pin over it until it is dulled. Like Debbi, I did that to a sharp doll needle when I first started tatting.
RandaGray
23-07-2011, 01:53 PM
hhhhmmmm i'm on it.... of course, if I figure out how to do that right, I'm going to have to start making all the pretty things to go on them!! :)
I'm anxious to see how these work out. A couple of decades back I had lots and lots of safety pins in large sizes to pin-baste quilt top -filling-backing, and a special tool too keep from blistering your fingers as you worked. After the quilts were finished I put them away carefully. Got them out 6 months ago and discovered that every one of them had rusted where the sharp tip rests in the safety head... every one.. I tried to see if I could sharpen any of th em -- got the rust so it looked like it was gone, but the %$@ things wouldn't penetrate anything. Recycled metal now. They weren't rust proof and I didn't know enough to check at the time.
tatknot
26-07-2011, 05:36 PM
carolivy, you come up with such neat ideas to share with us. Love the safety pin strivers!
squeeky
28-07-2011, 01:01 AM
I love them! They're gorgeous, Carol! Now you've got me wanting to get the beading stuff back out and start making strivers again. What does it matter that I have dozens that I don't use already? They'll come in handy eventually, right? ;)
carolivy
28-07-2011, 01:04 AM
I have at least a dozen made on the curled earring wires but I like these much better!
GraceT
06-04-2013, 02:30 PM
Our JoAnn's has the coil-less safety pins in with the beading supplies.....and I bought a package.
one can never have to many safety pins!
But the safety pin idea got me thinking....
I have a pair of French Clip Earrings that are quit similar to safety pins without the points or spring, and they should also work as well. ( You can also find them with the beading supplies)
This is great :) There are just sooooooo many options!
Well.... 12180I made the Clip Earings into a pair of strivers :)
I'm showing one open and one closed.
I have some of these clip earring findings — they look very handy! Easier to open and shut than safety pins. Must give them a try.
MercyPres
06-04-2013, 04:48 PM
Our JoAnn's has the coil-less safety pins in with the beading supplies.....and I bought a package. one can never have to many safety pins!
But the safety pin idea got me thinking....
I have a pair of French Clip Earrings that are quit similar to safety pins without the points or spring, and they should also work as well. ( You can also find them with the beading supplies) This is great :) There are just sooooooo many options!
Well.... 12180I made the Clip Earings into a pair of strivers :) I'm showing one open and one closed.
I use these and love them and I think my Viv has finally made me enough, I even have some put aside for gifting :) . For most joins needing a striver, I use the thin part but if I am using larger thread and need a larger join spot, I just slide around to the lever for a larger space :)
jamlover, have you seen the Youtube video where one of these clothes pins is being used as a shuttle for tatting??
delseylynne
07-04-2013, 08:28 PM
If anyone is looking for those coiless safety pins - they are available in several sizes from Lacis. My son lives close to their store in Berkeley and I found them in the store and in their on-line catalog in several sizes http://lacis.com/catalog/