How to Pin UV Vertices in Blender

Pinning UV vertices in Blender locks selected parts of your UV map in place, preventing them from moving when you re-unwrap or relax your mesh. This essential technique gives you full control over texture placement, helping to avoid distortion on complex 3D models. This article explains the exact steps and keyboard shortcuts required to pin and unpin UV vertices in Blender's UV Editor.

Steps to Pin UV Vertices

  1. Switch to the UV Editing Workspace: Open your project in Blender and select the UV Editing tab at the top of the screen.
  2. Select the Target Vertices: In the UV Editor panel, enter Vertex Select mode (press 1) and select the vertices you want to lock in place.
  3. Pin the Vertices: Press P on your keyboard. Alternatively, click UV in the header menu of the UV Editor and select Pin.

Once pinned, the selected vertices will change color (usually displaying as red points), indicating that their position is locked.

How to Unpin UV Vertices

If you need to adjust pinned vertices later, you can easily remove the lock:

  1. Select the pinned (red) vertices in the UV Editor.
  2. Press Alt + P on your keyboard.
  3. Alternatively, navigate to UV > Unpin from the top menu.

The vertices will return to their standard color and will move normally during subsequent unwraps.

Working with Pinned UVs

  • Re-unwrapping: After pinning key vertices (such as corners or seam edges), press U in the 3D Viewport to unwrap the mesh again. Blender will calculate the new layout while keeping the pinned vertices fixed.
  • Live Unwrap: Enable UV > Live Unwrap in the UV Editor. When active, moving any pinned vertex will dynamically recalculate the rest of the UV island in real time.