How Do You Use Pins?

Pins have diverse applications, from fashion statements to electronic components. Their usage depends heavily on the type of pin.

Fashion and Decorative Pins

These pins are used primarily as accessories to express personal style or affiliations.

Attachment: They can be attached to clothing (jackets, hats, bags), accessories (scarves, ties), or even corkboards and pinboards. They are a great way to show support for causes, organizations, or hobbies. (Reference: They can be used as a simple fashion statement, or you can wear them to show off organizations you're a member of, movements you support, awards you've earned, and things you enjoy. You can even add a pin to accessories like ties, backpacks, purses, hats, and scarves.)
Placement: Consider the fabric and placement carefully, especially when pinning to bags or clothing, as they can easily fall off. (Reference: Pin board, hats, denim jackets, backpack. Just be careful when putting them on your clothes or backpack because they can fall off.) A plain baseball cap can be a great surface for many pins. (Reference: I thought about buying a plain baseball cap and loading it up with pins, but I wasn't sure if that would look good. Any suggestions?)
Materials: Pins work best on thicker fabrics like denim, linen, leather, canvas, or cork. (Reference: Enamel pins are perfect for using on fabric, particularly thick fabric materials such as linen, leather, canvas or denim, as well as cork board or pin boards.)

These pins are used in sewing to temporarily hold fabric together.

Purpose: To hold layers of fabric together before sewing to ensure accurate stitching and prevent shifting. (Reference: The subject of pinning involves more than just simply putting a pin in fabric, but it does, and I'd like to share a few tips.)
Techniques: Proper pinning techniques are essential for clean sewing. While basic instructions are outside the scope of this response, many resources are readily available online.

These pins are physical connectors on microcontrollers and other electronic devices, used to input and output signals.

Purpose: To interface with external components, such as sensors, LEDs, motors, and buttons. (Reference: I have a TMS570LS0432PZ that I have used all the GPIOA lines on and I need more. I had connected up some external parts to the N2HET pins (19…)
Usage: Each pin has a specific function defined by the microcontroller's programming. Some pins are designed for input, some for output, and some are specialized for specific communication protocols like serial communication (RX/TX). It's crucial to understand the pin's designation before using it. (References: How to access my digital pins after installing motor shield; How To Use digitalRead on Serial Pins 0(RX)/1(TX) on Arduino Uno; Solved: Embarrassingly simple question about IO pins) Some shields can use several pins, limiting available GPIOs. (Reference: That shield uses almost every pin indeed. But you can use A0 to A5 (the analog pins). And pin 2 and 13 are not used by it. If no servo…)

Used for hanging curtains.

Purpose: To secure curtains to curtain rods or tracks, often with ring clips. (Reference: In this blog post, I'm going to give you all the details on this super easy hanging method using standard ring clips and drapery pins to give you that designer…)
Technique: Combine with rings for a smoother, more professional look. (Reference: HOW TO HANG CURTAINS USING DRAPERY PINS AND RING…)

These are virtual "pins" in a 3D modeling software to manipulate textures.

Purpose: Used in SketchUp to align textures by pinning specific locations. (Reference: In Fixed Pins mode, click once on a pin and then it will “float” with the cursor until you locate it and pin it to the new location with a second click.)
Technique: Pinning a texture allows movement of that texture and is controlled by the software.