Sewing over Pins

So I suppose this is a great debate among sewers, do you sew over pins or not sew over pins? Strictly talking safety you should not, when the sewing needle hits a pin it can break or shatter the force of the motion of the machine can send these shards flying, I have been hit in the eyebrow one time by a piece of metal, thankfully that was my closest call. You can also damage your machine or the piece you are working on, I have had some pins get wound into the seam I am sewing and pieces of pin/needle go into the bobbin shuttle, I have never damaged either beyond repair.

However I still do sew over pins, and as you can see with some interesting results, mostly they just bend and are then discarded. This was very odd to have happen as you can see the sewing machine needle managed to ht the needle so perfectly that it just sunk the pin into the bobbin area, it was obviously jammed but freed easily, I think my machine needle did break, at least the tip.

I try not to sew over pins removing as I go, for this reason I keep a small pin cushion right next to my sewing at the machine and usually pull out before they reach the needle. Keeping this pin cushion very close is a good reminder to remove pins. This particular pin cushion is filled tightly with sand so it is heavy for its size, so it does stay in place.

In very general terms I use very few pins as most my items are cotton sewing straight edge to straight edge, my high speed tasks do not require pins. So if I am using pins it is at a much lower sewing speed so they is little breakage and more importantly not much chance for pins and needles to go flying. I have actually considered getting some lightweight safety glasses to keep at the machine for use when there are lots of pins in my items.