Pinking shears

Pinking shears are scissors, the blades of which are sawtoothed instead of straight. They leave a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge.

Pinking shears have a utilitarian function for cutting woven cloth. Cloth edges that are unfinished will easily fray, the weave becoming undone and threads pulling out easily. The sawtooth pattern does not prevent the fraying but limits the length of the frayed thread and thus minimizes damage.

These scissors can also be used for decorative cuts and a number of patterns (arches, sawtooth of different aspect ratios, or asymmetric teeth) are available. True dressmaker's pinking shears, however, should not be used for paper decoration because paper dulls the cutting edge.

Etymology

The cut produced by pinking shears may have given its name to (or been derived from) the plant name pink, a flowering plant in the genus Dianthus (commonly called a carnation). The colour pink may have been named after these flowers, although the origins of the name are not definitively known. As the carnation has scalloped, or "pinked", edges to its petals, pinking shears can be thought to produce an edge similar to the flower.

The word "pink" can be used as a verb dating back to 1300 meaning "pierce, stab, make holes in". The French word piquer and Spanish word picar are derived from the Latin pungere meaning "to pierce, prick" and related to "pungent".

Sewing

Techniques	Basting Cut Darning Ease Embellishment Fabric tube turning Floating canvas Gather Godet Gusset Heirloom sewing Shirring

Stitches	List of sewing stitches Backstitch Bar tack Blanket Blind stitch Buttonhole Catch stitch Chain stitch Cross-stitch Embroidery stitch Hemstitch Lockstitch Overlock Pad stitch Pick stitch Rantering Running Sashiko Stoating Tack Topstitch Zigzag

Seams	Felled seam Seam allowance Style line

Notions Trims	Bias tape Collar stays Elastic Grommet / Eyelet Interfacing Passementerie Piping Ruffle Rickrack Self-fabric Soutache Trim Twill tape Wrights

Closures	Buckle Button Buttonhole Frog Hook-and-eye Hook and loop fastener Shank Snap Zipper

Materials	Bias Yarn / Thread Selvage Textiles / Fabrics

Tools	Bobbin Dress form Needle threader Pattern notcher Pin Pincushion Pinking shears Scissors Seam ripper Sewing needle Stitching awl Tailor's ham Tape measure Thimble Tracing paper Tracing wheel

Trades Suppliers	Cloth merchant Draper Dressmaker Haberdasher Mercer Sewing occupations Tailor

Sewing machine manufacturers	Barthélemy Thimonnier Bernina Brother Industries Elias Howe Feiyue Frister & Rossmann Janome Jones Sewing Machine Company Juki Merrow New Home Pfaff Sewmor Singer Tapemaster Viking / Husqvarna White

Pattern Manufacturers	Butterick Burda Clothkits McCall's Simplicity

Glossary of sewing terms

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