pinking shears

Marvellously weighty cutting implement in the scissor family. Marked by zigzag cutting edges which overlap.

While the most fascinating use is on paper and card stock, the appropriate medium is fabric.

Any young children who wish to experiment with the magical shaped edges of pinked paper would do well to either procure their own pair of pinking shears or be fleet of foot. Parents discovering their prized shears blunted on acres of shredded newsprint may not look kindly on the guilty party.

Delighted children aside, the chief purpose of pinking shears is for sewing. Fabric that is cut in a zigzag pattern doesn't fray as quickly as straight cut fabric. So, if you use pinking shears, you don't have to leave as much fabric for the hem. Yay.

You may be wondering where the "pinking" part came from. It has nothing to do with the colour pink. (Well, nothing much.) In old english, "pinken" meant "to prick", probably as a weird corruption of "pick". So, if you pinked someone with a sword, you poked a hole in them, and if you pinked something with scissors, you cut a series of small holes or scallops in it. It makes sense.. really...