Blocking Shawls

Hi everyone,
I blocked a shawl for the first time today. I even bought a puzzle mat just for this. I blocked the shawl using regular pins. I was glad I had so many of them. You really have to pin it pretty closely. Sometimes the knitted piece slips out again when you insert the next pin.

So here’s my question: Is there an alternative to regular pins, or are there other types of pins—maybe shorter ones? Or can you use thumbtacks instead?

I’m looking forward to your suggestions.
Warm regards and have a wonderful weekend,
Petra

I was once given special blocking pins specifically for this purpose, but I have to admit I’ve never used them. They’re larger than regular pins and have a T-shaped head. The T probably helps keep the knitted piece from slipping off the pin. I’ve never heard of using thumbtacks. It might work, but I think I’d be worried about ruining the mat. They’re not reusable either, so if you want to block something fairly often, you’d go through quite a lot.
I actually always use regular pins too; they’ve proven themselves.

My former mother-in-law used to block her doilies on wooden boards with pins. That was years ago.

I do it just like you, Petra (maybe that’s because of the name? ;-) ): I bought one of those puzzle mats, lay it out to fit the shawl or scarf, and pin it down with regular sewing pins. And you’re right—you really do need a lot of those pins.

I can still remember the time when I used to do silk painting. Back then, there were different kinds of blocking pins. They were kind of like thumbtacks. But they didn’t have a single “pin” in the middle—instead, they had three or four around the edge.

Hi Petra, I’ll have to do a Google search. Maybe I’ll find something there.

There are special pins for blocking knitted pieces (comb pins, T-pins).

@ Ruth: Thank you, that helps me out.