Stapler for the sewing room

Add a nice plier stapler to your sewing equipment!  Staples are great for basting and unlike pins will not distort your fabric.  You can use any stapler for this purpose, but the one pictured has a couple of features that make it most useful.  Having plier handles allows you to secure the staple without 'pounding' on the head of a traditional stapler.  Look for a small head.  The thicker the top part of the stapler, the more it will limit your ability to get into tight spaces.  The very small bottom of this style stapler allows you to get into or in between small areas.

Staple basting is great for pleats.  If you have ever tried to pin in pleats, especially if the fabric is thick or multiple pleats are on top of each other, I'm sure you've found that the pins cause the pleats to shift and change.  If you staple the pleats, they will stay secure and flat!

If you are sewing a trim or welt into a seam and find the fabric is drawing or gathering up under the trim, staple baste the trim in the seam allowance.  The fabric and trim will move at the same pace and you will no longer get the gathering effect!

Once you have a stapler in your sewing box, you will find many uses.

Depending on where you are basting, you might not even need to remove the staples after your project is complete (only you can decide whether to leave or remove).

I use two styles of removers, depending on the fabric.  The one I use most often is a simple, straight style remover:

The second style is a claw style remover and is sometimes easier to use but if the staple 'sinks' into the fabric it may be harder to grab the staple with this type:

Have you used a stapler in your projects?  I would love to hear your story.

Happy Stitching!