See how and why Pining Shears are a great addition to your sewing box! Olfa Blades store.cadenceinc.com/CatalogRe... store.cadenceinc.com/CatalogRe... store.cadenceinc.com/CatalogRe...
my mother-in-law gave me her pinking shears when she could no longer sew after having several strokes. the ones she had were bought before my husband was born and i really thought it was more of a sentimental thing than actually a usable sewing tool. i thought it was a sweet gesture as she gave me many things that she had gotten around or before the time of my husband's birth. i decided to try them so that if she asked i could tell her i did. i was shocked to find out they worked better than my new ones!
It's so helpful how you break every little thing down, even things that some people would take for granted! I learned sewing on the fly, so I missed a lot of essential basics like this. Thank you so much, can't wait to watch more of your videos! :)
Laura, I am surprised you did not demonstrate how well pinking shears work on concave and convex curves. They are wonderful for collars- they remove all that excess fabric in the seam allowanced and you can save so much time not having to clip and notch,
I an so glad I came across this video! I have been using them like regular scissors and wondering why I am struggling so much. And you also mentioned the rotary blade which I never knew existed! I am trying to get better with the rotary cutter and am so excited to purchase the blade and try it out. I also was struggling with where to position the blades in regards to my fabric markings. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you so much for making this video, it was extremely helpful. I had watched a few other videos and still felt iffy about using them. This one was definitely the most informative.
Great video, thank you for all the info. As far as how to use them I was up to speed, but after that it was all new info to me! I did not know that it softened the fabric and the ironing tip. Great stuff, thank you so much.
I have two pairs and absolutely love them. I made it a passion of mine to look for old sets at thrift stores and I can't tell you the fabulous things I find for a quarter dollar. Over the years I have accumulated all kind of different scissors with no comparable with the new stuff in the market.
I recently gave my daughter her great grandmothers pinking shears, since she's right handed. I really love the rotary pinking blade because I'm left handed. I told her that they only are used on fabric. She has them tucked in her tin of great grandmas sewing machine parts, since she has her singer machine too. I love the gradation of a seam. What a great tip.
Great knowledge here. Thank you. You're so lucky to be using your mother's pinking shears! What a gift. I do wish now that I'd kept some of my mother's sewing essentials. She was an amazing artisan! I love the new rotary pinking blades and styles!! What will we think of next???? I can't get enough of crafting on the internet!!
I was recently given 2 pairs of pinking sheers. I sure am lucky as they are very old and are sill very sharp. Thank you for your videos as they are very helpful and fun to watch.
Wow! I never even knew the name of this type of scissors. They were always just zigzag scissors or rotary blade. I didn’t have read the name; the zigzag edging was all I looked for. Now at this time it was for paper crafting in general or scrapbooking. I love doing things with my hands from gardening, drawing, coloring/painting (digitally, paper, or on stones), crocheting, sewing. I always knew how to sew by hand, simple things. My aunt was a pro at sewing. So I learn things from her. You know there’s always things you learn and just put in your back pocket. Sewing was one of those things. Some projects consume so much time you kinda forget, you have other talents/hobbies. Sewing is my “new” self teaching hobby. I’ve learned a lot already & completed a few projects, though I can’t tell you the name of each feature on the sewing machine, surely I’ll know them with time, what automatic with me is the steps & the whys. Hope I making sense. Back to the scissors, I kept hearing pinky shears and I have to admit, I’m super surprise this is what they are. What I did learn is using them on the seams, honestly I’m like dang that makes a lot of sense while I been sniping into the seam or cutting small “V” into them. Oh and I super agree, I keep my fabric scissors separate from my crafting scissors. THANK YOU FOR THIS!!❤️ Marta
Don't know if you'll see this because the video is 2017, but I can't seem to find my answer. Why do some pinking shears have one blade that's longer than the other? Great information in your video! Just subscribed. Have never sewn much, but decided to give it another shot after 15 years away! Old sewing machine, but still works good for a beginner like me! Thank you!
I was not one hundred percent understood what pinking shears was for or how effective they were. Thank you for desmystifying this tool. Will buy one soon. Click like, if you are on the same boat as me! Lols
Thanks. Just what I needed to know. I found an original pair of Swiss Pinking Shears. I had them professionally sharpened last year. I've been thinking they were junk cause the don't cut anything. I now know I've been using them wrong.
I enjoyed this and learned some new things but have a question. Should the pinking shears ever be oiled and if so would love to see a demo and what type of oil. I cut wax paper between cutting my fabrics which does seem to help the blades stick less. I also brush out the lint between the blades before cutting the wax paper.
Great information- thank you. I just purchased a pinking rotary blade. I have an old pair of pinking shears but I haven't found a place to have them sharpened and they are very dull. Do you have yours sharpened regularly - or have they just been well taken care of?
Insightful, useful, thankful. I learned alot today. I was under the impression that when using PS the edges would eventually frey. However you say they frey but only so far. Any word on whether they can be sharpened or just trashed? Mine are Fiskars and no longer cut.
If we use that how long will the edges last during washes? I thought to over cast my edges before sewing my dress and my sewing machine eats fabric to close to the edge so overncastin will not help, thank you. Sam
Hello, I'm needing to use picking shears on curved pieces of fabric. I noticed you said you need to do long cuts. That's a little difficult on curves. Hiw would you handle curves? Thanks
I read somewhere that if you take a sheet of waxed paper, fold the sheet a few layers then cut through that sheet with your pinking shears that would sharpen them. It worked for me! Yay! I cut the whole sheet up, lol I found this tip at aosharp.com He is in western PA.
Great tutorial! I have a question for you though, my grandmother on my dads side was a great quilter and when she died someone took my grandmothers pinking sheers and gave them to me as they knew that I sewed. But my grandmothers sheers are very very old and are very dull, is there a way to sharpen the sheers? Someone once told me to get some soft sand paper and cut on the sandpaper and that would help. Before I do anything I wanted to ask a pro like yourself about them. This is the first time I've seen a tutorial on pinking sheers, so any help is appreciated. My sister told me that their so old just throw them away! But yours look great and if I can get my grandmothers working then I'd love to keep them! I'm the only grand child out of a ton of grand children she had that sews and quilts, so I'd love to keep keep. Thank you
Hi Laura, If I have a pinking shears .. will I have to buy a serger to finish the seams? or is there an additional job the serger can do? especially when sewing garments! and thank you very much :)
@@SewVeryEasy I inherited a pair of Weiss pinking shears. was thrilled because I always wanted a good pair. Unfortunately, they had been used for things other than fabric (cutting paper/card stock for cardmaking/scrapbooking, etc), so they could not be repaired according to shop. I was told the blades were warped and no sharpening could help. PLEASE NOTE: MAKE SURE NO ONE ELSE TOUCHES YOUR PINKING SHEARS OR YOUR WEISS SEWING SHEARS! It made me sick to have to toss them.
Please, if you ever update this video would you include tips on keeping your pinkers sharp or if it is possible for them to be sharpened? I've often considered cutting through a sheet of foil since some say that is good for our regular shears but am very leery of doing this to my pinkers. I know that it is helpful to oil a paper towel with sewing machine oil and then cut through it if you are using your shears for a large project...having the cutting surfaces oiled like this really gives cleaner cuts. As well as keeping lint wiped away from the blades. And would you do a demo of correct form for using rotary pinking blades? I wonder how a person's technique needs to be different to adapt to the non-straight blade? Thank you for this video, you really covered a lot of great basics.
Yes you can have them sharpen, go to someone good! do not use foil. And you can clean your pinkers with sewing machine oil. And I'll put that video request on my list, thanks for asking:)
In my area, there are no longer ANY scissor sharpening experts who will do pinkers. One fellow laughed when I asked him. He said, "I would have to charge you so much, you might as well throw them out and buy another pair." GRRR! I don't like this. I like to maintain good tools, not buy semi-junk then toss them!
Before there were pinking shears, there were pinking irons. Chisel shaped, you hit them with a mallet like a buttonhole cutter. The rotary oinking blade looks like the best of both.
I have a pair of Kai shears and am thinking of purchasing their pinkers. But I wanted to share that I just found out that Hui Tong makes 'V' shaped pinkers and 3 mm, 5 mm & 7 mm scallop shaped pinkers. (I don't have any relationship with either company, just sharing). Somewhere I read that the shape and size of the pinker makes them suitable for different fabrics. But I can't find that information - does anyone have know this?
I see you have answered my question below - sorry - should have read first. Since they can be sharpened, I will have to look for somewhere on line. Thank you.
My Fiskars pinking shears are sharp because they're new, but they are way too hard to open and close. I guess I will have to buy a good pair like yours.
Evening Laura - I had quite a long break from sewing and my pinking shears seem to have given up. There is no smooth cutting action, they can't even cut one layer of muslin fabric. Any home remedies to fix/sharpen or should I give them up and buy new ones. There's no rust or anything similar.
@@SewVeryEasy There is no one in my area that will touch pinking shears. I bought a used pair online (was told they were in EXCELLENT CONDITION). NOT they are so very stiff and tight, I can barely open them, let alone close them to cut. Can I safely remove the lug nut/screw and loosen them up.
@@tinacarvelli6884 I had that problem and I sprayed the nut with liquid wrench. That did it, they are working perfectly now. You can spray with WD 40 also.
I have never had a pair of thinking shears last long at all. I use them correctly and they're not used for paper. I'm the only one that uses them and it's always for fabric. They go dull quickly. I would love to know how you have a pair that lasted through two generations. I'm so tired of buying them because you can never get them sharpened and they always get stiff in the joint so I'm always having to oil with WD-40 to make them easier to use. I wish there was a brand out there that I didn't have to go through all this fuss not to mention the blisters on my hands. It drives me crazy because I use them all the time.
I think my pinkie shears are getting dull. I am trying to see how can sharpen them but so far all I see if people saying to cut aluminum foil. That either doesn't really work or I am doing something wrong. Maybe I just don't want to waste my foil. What do you think?
Try to find someone to sharpen them. A lot of small hardware stores have people that sharpen knives and often have the experience to do the pinking shears
My Weiss pair 50+ years old need sharpening anyone know where? My new Fiskars are to stiff to open and close. And when manage that the hard plastic large hole digs into fingers. I hate them and since they have a rivet not a screw can't adjust them. I also have a rotary pinking blade, but a few blades and I can buy new pinking shears, the blades aren't cheap. Please tell people not to try sharpening pinking shears using foil, or sandpaper--it will ruin them. And you don't sharpen the zigzag area. Read up on the task before trying to sharpen on your own. Enjoyed your video.
