Pinking shears are scissors fitted with saw-toothed blades in place of straight ones, so that a cut made with them leaves a zigzag edge rather than a plain straight one. In sewing they are used chiefly to trim the raw edge of woven fabric, since the zigzag cut interrupts the straight grain lines along which a fabric tends to fray, giving a seam allowance more resistance to unraveling without the extra step of overcasting or serging the edge.
Facts
Introduced When (Circa)1893 (the best-known pinking shears design, patented by Louise Austin), preceded by an 1874 pinking-iron patent 1 OriginPinking shears followed an earlier hand tool, the pinking punch or pinking iron, hammered against a hard surface to cut a decorative zigzag hem; Eliza P. Welch patented an improved pinking iron design in 1874, before the 1893 scissors design. 1 Connections
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Source Pinking Shears (Wikipedia)Lead sectiontier 2Quote, Lead section
The pinking shears design that is the most well-known was patented by Louise Austin in 1893.
Sources
1. Pinking Shears (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, second paragraph
The pinking shears design that is the most well-known was patented by Louise Austin in 1893.
Lead paragraph, first paragraph
In 1874, Eliza P. Welch patented an improved pinking iron design, featuring a pair of handles.
Lead paragraph
Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed blades instead of straight blades.
In Group: Sewing Cutting and Marking Tools, Lead section
Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed blades instead of straight blades.
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