How to Use ABC 123 Cool Pins to Organize Quilt Rows and Blocks
Few moments in quilting are more frustrating than sewing a carefully planned row together in the wrong order — or discovering that two blocks traded places between the design wall and the machine. The Gypsy Quilter ABC 123 Cool Pins were made to prevent exactly that. Each pin carries a letter or number, so your pieces stay labeled from layout to final seam.
What These Pins Are and Why Quilters Use Them
ABC 123 Cool Pins are numbered 0–25 on one side and lettered A–Z on the other, which makes them perfect for organizing quilt pieces. Instead of relying on scrap paper, tape flags, or memory, you pin a letter to each row and a number to each block within that row, and the layout travels with the fabric.
The pins themselves are 0.5mm, so they are sharp and glide through fabric without leaving holes behind. The hexagon-shaped pinheads are heat resistant up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, a welcome bonus when a labeled piece needs a touch of the iron before sewing. You get 104 pins in all — four sets of A–Z (0–25) — in purple, made of plastic and metal, and they arrive in a reusable storage box to keep the sets together between projects.
How to Use Them, Step by Step
- Lay out your quilt first. Arrange all blocks on a design wall, bed, or table until you are happy with the placement of colors and prints.
- Label the rows. Working from the top row down, pin an A pin to the first block of the first row, a B pin to the first block of the second row, and so on, using the lettered side of the heads.
- Number the blocks within each row. Flip to the numbered side and mark each block's position — 0, 1, 2, and so on across the row — so the left-to-right order is never in doubt.
- Stack in order. Take down one row at a time, stacking the blocks in numerical order with the pins still in place, and carry the stack to your machine.
- Sew and press, pins still labeling. Join the blocks in numbered order. If a seam needs pressing as you work, the heat-resistant heads tolerate up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit — but remove pins before they pass under your presser foot, as with any pin.
- Keep the letters on. Leave the row's letter pin in the first block until the rows are joined, so assembled rows can be laid out and checked in alphabetical order before the final seams.
Practical Tips for Staying Organized
Pin through a seam allowance or an edge that will be covered later, and place the head where it is easy to read. Work row by row rather than labeling and unpinning everything at once — the system works best when only one row is "in play" at a time. For a large quilt, the four complete sets let you label several sections at once, for example the top and bottom halves in progress at the same time. Note that the numbering runs 0–25, matching the 26 letters, so think of each pin as one position in a 26-piece run; for longer rows, finish one labeled run, sew it, then start the next.
Care and Storage
Return the pins to their reusable storage box when a project is finished, sorted roughly by letter so the next layout starts faster. Store them boxed rather than loose in a drawer, and discard any pin that becomes bent or dull so it never snags fabric. Keep the box in your project tote and the same set can travel from design wall to sewing table to retreat.
Project Ideas
Use the letters for row-by-row quilts such as sampler and block-of-the-month projects, where every block is different. The numbers shine on quilts with directional prints or gradient color runs that must stay in sequence. They are equally handy for keeping strip sets, sashing pieces, and border sections in order between sewing sessions.
Shop the The Gypsy Quilter ABC 123 Cool Pins at Linda's Electric Quilters.
