How to Prevent Lapel Pins from Falling Off: Common Causes & Solutions

Picture this: after a fun day of exploring around, you get home and find that your favorite jacket pin is missing. There’s no way to find it again since you’ve already arrived home and you’re devastated. Another memory lost to the world. No surprise, it’s frustrating to keep losing pins. We want to explain why this consistently happens and help you prevent losing any more precious pins.

What Makes a Lapel Pin Loose?

Placement

We love showing our pins off in the most visible spot. This is usually on items like jackets or bags. But for our favorite pins, we want to wear them on everything! To do this, we constantly remove and replace the pins in different spots. This weakens the clutch’s ability to attach to the pin’s post, ultimately risking the pin falling. If the pin isn’t placed correctly on something like a bag, this can also bend the post and make it harder to attach a clutch.

Movement

Pins that live on fabrics like shirts or jackets constantly move throughout the day. Backpacks are also a regular location for lapel pins, constantly moving with you. Consistent movement can wear down the post and attachment of the lapel pin. Too much movement will lead to the inevitable loss of your favorite pins.

Incorrect or Loose Back

Both of these earlier issues can lead to the back not functioning properly. But another issue can be that the back itself just isn’t a good fit for what the pin needs to attach to. Having a poor attachment can lead the pin to simply bend beyond repair or even detach completely.

How to Fix Your Lapel Pins

Try More than One Back

Larger pins benefit extremely from having more than one post and back. You can place more than one back and post set on lapel pins in the design process. We do projects with two, even three attachments sometimes. Extra backs keep the pin even more secure. If one backer does pop off, the second backer still holds the pin so that you can keep the pin. Easier to replace a back than an entire lapel pin!

Use Safety Pin Backs

Safety pins work great for longer pin styles like nametags. They help prevent the pin from turning since it works like two posts and backings instead of just the single one. Just be careful putting these pins on, since one wrong move and the pin might look skewed and you’ll have to re-apply the pin again. Unless the fabric is thick and durable, this’ll lead to a lot of unattractive holes.

Use Magnets

Some clients prefer lapel pins that stay secure without actually piercing their fabrics and clothing. It’s especially true for any using delicate material like satin. If you’re one of those clients, we recommend using a magnet backing instead! We can make the lapel pins with a base of iron, which is magnetized.

Use Rubber Backs

I personally recommend rubber backs for any pin over a metal butterfly back. Rubber, being malleable, is much easier to attach to posts even if they’re a little more bent. Not everyone loves the look of the rubber, but honestly they’re hardly seen when worn anyway.

Other Types of Lapel Pin Backings

When we make pins that have different designs and cuts, we may recommend different backings for you. It also helps to know if your lapel pins will be more practical or more decorative. A few different backings include the following:

• Butterfly Clutch: Our staple and standard attachment used for the everyday pin.
• Stick Pin: this post is a long attachment that hangs down. It’s for especially smaller pins that might be prone to moving.
• Deluxe Clutch: These clutches are much more decorative, giving the lapel pin extra panache for presentation.
• Cufflinks: cuff links are designed for adding onto the sleeves of a dress shirt. We create a plethora of pins that are presented in these pairs.
• Tie Tack and Chain: If you want to make a pin specifically for a black tie event, these are the pins we’d use. The pin faces front and has a chain that loops around to the back of the tie to attach to the tack.
• Safety Pin: For pins that are especially long, safety pins are great for keeping the pin in place.
• Rubber clutch: as mentioned before, rubber backs are the most durable of the backings. We offer both black and yellow backings as rubber.

Want to Make Your Own Custom Pins?

We’re here and ready to help you create fantastic designs! Feel free to submit a quote request on our website, and we’ll get you started.