Improvised Toastmasters Pin Holder with Clip

After receiving my Competent Communicator pin from Toastmasters, I planned to wear it regularly in Toastmasters club meetings. After all, what better way to promote Toastmasters than to wear it with pride?


Wear Your Toastmasters Pin with Pride

A Toastmasters pin can easily become a conversation piece. When someone asks about it, you can talk about how you got into Toastmasters, enumerate its benefits, and then later promote the organization and your club.

However, I realized that it can be a hassle to wear the pin on the shirt collar. The sharp point of the pin that you jab and pierce into the collar may eventually create puncture marks on the fabric.

Not only that, I'm just guessing that, over time, the pin's sharp point will become dull. This makes it harder to push the pin in, and this results in bigger and unsightly puncture marks.


Alternative to Piercing Clothing with a Pin

In the old Toastmasters product catalogs, I remember an item that looked like the ones below:


With the above items which are pin holder clips, you affix the pins on the plastic tab. The pin goes through one hole from one side and the butterfly clasp catches the pin from the other side.

You then clip this pin holder on your clothing. Both items above even have a hole for an ID card. The one on the left has an attached ID card.

The one in the Toastmasters Product Catalog costs USD2 or Php100 (shipping not yet included) and this was a several years ago.


Toastmasters Pin Holder Clip DIY

So, I've devised a clip so that the pin need not pierce my shirts and it only cost me Php14 or 28 cents. It's actually a clear plastic ID card holder. I cut out excess plastic sheet and then punched a couple of holes using a sharp needle or thin nail.

Why two holes? Well, a Toastmasters pin actually has 2 pins, a main pin to pierce the clothing all the way through. This is the pin that the clutch (or clasp) grips. Another secondary pin partially pierces the fabric so the whole TM pin doesn't rotate.


Here's how the improvised clip looks like.

Actually, 3 more TM pins may be added but then the clasp of the TM pin is too bulky that maybe just a second TM pin UNDER the existing pin is more practical. Here's the reverse side of the clip. You'll see the bulky clasp on this back side.

Here's a closeup of my Competent Communicator Toastmasters Pin, gold-plated and 1/2" diameter, as it is pinned to the clip.

Here's the Toastmasters pin clip I'll be wearing to club meetings. It's much more convenient clipping it to the shirt's front placket as shown below.

From afar, the plastic sheet is hardly visible. I suppose the TM pin itself is more visible more than anything else. Hopefully I'll be receiving my Toastmasters ACB (Advanced Communicator Bronze) pin soon to add to the clip. I'm excited.