Posted on: 18 November 2020

Have you ever felt that cutting fabric with scissors makes it look bland? Did you know that you could give a chic yet fun look to your garments using just a scissor?

The pinking shears are scissors with a saw tooth or zigzag edge. While they are mainly used for cutting fabrics, some alterations can be used to cut the paper into decorative patterns! An efficient pair of pinking shears is a crucial feature of every sewing box. Your pinking shears can keep up and cleanly cut for years to come with caution and occasional sharpening.

Shears are painted and cut into a saw tooth or zigzag pattern. When the seams of the fabric are cut, woven garments are torn, and cloth is lost. The pinking shears prevent just that! It reduces the fraying process by cutting the fabric on the bias. This is suitable for many uses, including seams.

The word “pinking shears” may also characterize different kinds of decorative scissors, like paper scissors. Although typical pink shears have a border with a sawtooth, there are scallops and other styles. Higher quality varieties may be used to cut felt, fleece, or other non-fraying materials with these pinking shears.

Uses of pinking shears

Pinking shears are used for several reasons, including preventing the fraying of the fabric. Likewise, pinking scissors are used for giving a neat finish to the seams of your garment.

How do pinking shears prevent fraying?

Weaving threads create ordinary woven textiles under and over each other. This establishes the grain of the cloth. Selvage is the edge formed during fabrication that prevents the woven fabric from unraveling. The grain parallel to the salvage is called the lengthwise grain. Likewise, the grain perpendicular to the selvage is called the crosswise grain. The length between the two (at an angle of 45 degrees from both) is called the bias.

Pinking shears work by cutting the fabric along with the bias. Each small triangle would be on the bias if you cut lengthways or crosswise the cloth’s grain. This means that the fabric will not fray, which is why this technique is effective!

With pinking shears, the downside is that if you cut the fabric along with the bias, each triangle is on a straight-of-grain, which will likely fray the fabric.

Benefits of pinking shears

Pinking shears have several benefits when it comes to cutting the fabric. That is what makes these scissors an essential tool in your sewing kit.

• In very little time, pinking shears can finish the seams properly.
• You can also cut out your clothes with pink shears to save a finishing move.
• Pinking shears can be used on bulky materials, such as fleece, to minimize the number of seams.
• Pinking shears prevent the fraying of the fabric, making it last longer with a neater look.

Tips for using pinking shears

It would help if you took care of your pinking shears correctly when frequently using them. Pinking shears for fabric should not be used on paper. The blades will get blunt this way. Purchase a different pair if you like decorative scissors for paper. The edges can also get blunt if you store the pinking shears in a drawer with other metal objects. Use a small brush to get rid of lint. Get your shears regularly sharpened by an expert.

• After pinking the fabric, avoid washing it roughly. Pinking will last long if you do not wash the garment roughly.
• Try to match the shears’ teeth with every previous cut’s zigzag shape as you cut with pinking shears. Instead of a rugged, jagged point, this guarantees a smooth zigzagged line.
• Do not use pinking shears on non-woven fabrics like knit jersey or jumper knits. It can cause snagging or running.
• Do not cut patterns with pinking shears. As mentioned above, it is an efficient technique for straight edges. However, any curved or diagonal cuts will render the method useless.
• Some fabrics, such as loosely woven fabrics, might fray even after using piking shears. Therefore, it is essential to test the technique on a smaller piece of fabric to see if it is suitable or not.
• Often sew the seam before cutting the edges with pink shears so that the seam is consistent and the result is neat.
• Try not to cut too many layers at once as the material slips and slides to give an untidy edge. Consider taking a heavier scrap back to equilibrium when cutting a fragile cloth.