Sometimes, pins just won’t do.

You might be using something where the pins would leave holes. Like leather, pvc, or paper.

You might not want the distortion you get when you lift everything up to get the pin through.

You might not want the bother of putting the pins into the pattern just to take them all out again a few minutes later.

Then the answer is to use pattern weights. Chunky pebbles do the trick, if you can find ones flat enough. Tins hold the pattern down, but sometimes cutting round them is difficult. The height gets in the way. A set of weights from kitchen scales can be useful, but of course their sizes vary, so you might find that you have used the crucial one already.

So the answer is a set of proper pattern weights, with flat bottoms, in a sensible size for the job. For a while, I have been getting round to making myself some fabric weights. I have seen lots of pictures on line. Equilateral triangles, cut from pretty scraps, stuffed with rice will do the job. A 2″ base triangle seemed like a sensible size.

Eventually I got round to making a trial one. The size seems about right, and the tetrahedron shape means it is easy to pick up. But it seems a bit on the light side.

But now I’ve found some really pretty ones on Etsy. The only difficulty is deciding which diameter to get. I suspect this would still be a difficult decision if you were standing in a real shop and could see and feel them. This is the sort of knowledge that comes with experience. I went for the middle sized ones, partly because the middle size is often the most flexible. But also because a set of 6 gives you a decent number, with no duplicated pictures.

My collection at the moment

And how to do they compare weight wise? The bought ones weigh 47g. The home made one weighs 24g. Well that will be why mine feels light then. My guess is that I need to use 2.5″ triangles to get a comparable weight. Having tried these weights out, I’m not bothering to make any more. Cutting out my new dress was much quicker than using pins, and the weights stayed put nicely.