So I was going through my new sewing basket the other day looking for a decent pair of sewing scissors. I had to start over after relocating countries and didn’t bring my sewing stuff with. And I realised I only had one of the essential pairs of sewing scissors and was seriously lacking in the others.
Why is only one pair of sewing scissors an issue you may ask. Surely scissors are scissors? Well, different pairs of sewing scissors are used for different things, depending on the type of thing you want to do.
I will start by explaining the most commonly used sewing scissors and rats your fabric scissors as they call them in somerror countries. In others they are called dressmaker’s shears.
The next pair of sewing scissors are your pinking shears. These are special scissors with a jagged edge on the blade. They are designed for people who don’t have sergers and need to stop fabric from fraying when it’s cut. It cuts fabric with a zig zag edge. Your pinking shears work in place of the overlocker / serger. Of course having a sergers would be the best but it’s costly and when you are just starting out you may not be able to afford it.
The fabric scissors have long blades that cut like a knife. They are designed in such a way that they are ideal to cut fabric smoothly. There are no snags and hooking on the fabric that’s being cut. That being said, they must be used for fabric and fabric only. Someone once borrowed my sewing scissors and used it for paper. At sixteen with no money except an allowance that was a hard lesson to learn. The scissors loose their sharpness when they touch anything but fabric so when you do invest in a good pair of sewing scissors do make sure that it’s out of reach to family members. Either that or you have to make it clear that those are sewing scissors and not to be touched.
The last pair of sewing scissors that you must absolutely have in your sewing kit is a pair of general purpose scissors. They are use to cut anything from bits of thread to ribbons and beads and things. It’s a small pair of sharp scissors, handy to pick up and use and not as heavy as rheumatoid dressmaker shears. I cannot get along without them and yet I’ve had to. When.I have a chance I’m definitely going to the shop to get a pair of small general purpose scissors that my sewing kit is seriously lacking at this point.
These are the essentials of sewing scissors. I hope it has helped to figure out which sewing scissors you need for your projects. And as I always say, enjoy sewing!
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