Best Sewing Scissors

Sharing is caring!

Are you looking for fabric scissors that cuts sharp and and clean cutlines? From shears to thread cutter, there are a wide range of brand name of fabric scissors to choose from in your price range. 

Investing in a quality pair of sewing scissors will save you tons of mistakes. So, it is important to make the right choice when building a sewing kit that suits your budget.

Whether you are debating to get fabric scissors or rotary cutter to cut fabric for sewing, it all will depend on the fabrication and shape of cut line. Owning sharp fabric scissors are the most important asset to sewing kit.

For sewing clothes, scissors are not only used to fabric, but also to cut patterns from non-fabric materials like paper pattern and trims. Let’s learn in depth about each type of scissors to help you to find the best scissors for sewing.

What are scissors used for in sewing?

Scissors used for sewing have longer blades with pointed tips compared to regular craft scissors. They are intended to smoothly cut various types of fabric in straight, long, and curves.

Not only cutting fabrics, but also these sewing scissors help to give accurate measurements of seam allowance, darts and tucks position. To have professional sewn garment, finding correct scissors to cut various fabrication is the key.

How are fabric scissors different than regular scissors?

The main differences between fabric scissors and regular all purpose scissors are visual. Fabric scissors have one small handle for your thumb and the other larger handle to use more than one finger. The longer blades helps provides you more control while cutting fabric, but regular scissors have slightly shorter blade than fabric scissors.

The angle of the handles of sewing scissors is also different from regular scissors to make it comfortable to use while cutting fabric on a flat surface. Regular scissors on the other hand have serrated blades with a downward angle so that they can cut paper more easily.

All-purpose scissors don’t have the right level of sharpness and could break the blade when trying to cut through heavyweight fabric. Regular scissors are made to cut through paper and lack resistance from the fabric.

Why are fabric scissors so fragile?

The blades of fabric scissors have a very sharp angle, but do not have any serration. Their blades are much sharper than the blades of regular scissors.

Fabric scissors become dull while cutting paper because all types of paper include various types of abrasive minerals that can easily dull the razor-like sharp blades of fabric scissors. That is why every sewer owns at least two pair of scissors to use, paper and fabric scissors are kept separately.

Types of Sewing Scissors

Cutting the fabric out of sewing pattern is the most important steps of sewing accurately. Keep in mind that various types of fabric scissors are used in sewing based on fabric. 

Each scissor provides different technique and results that cannot be accomplished by regular scissors.

• Rotary cutter: It is normally used for quilting as it is perfect tool to cut straight lines, but it can also be used for cutting various other types of materials including leather, paper, and fabric. This cutter can also be used to cut multiple layers at a time without damaging the fabric.
• Embroidery scissors: The blades of this pair of scissors have sharp but thin tips, so that it can cut the threads at the back of the embroidery safely and accurately. The length of these scissors is normally between 3 to 6 inches to help work on delicate parts.
• Appliqué scissors: The blades of these scissors are shaped like paddle, so that the bottom layer of the fabric can be pushed to cut the fabric flawlessly close to the stitches to create clean appliqué on the garment.
• Pinking shears: These shears have blades with saw-like teeth to cut the edge of the fabric in a zigzag pattern. Sometimes it is also used to cut the edges of seams to avoid tangling of threads or avoid overlock stitching in the end. To avoid struggling with the fabric threads, these shears can also be used to trim fabric before washing it.
• Heavy-duty shears: These shears can be used to cut heavy-duty fabrics like leather, corduroy, heavyweight fabrics effortlessly and accurately.

Why do you need two pairs of scissors for sewing?

For sewing clothing, you need two pair of scissors to cut fabric and paper separately. While sewing a garment, cut patterns of paper for which you cannot use fabric scissors as the paper will dull the sharpness of the extra sharp blades that are designed for textile materials.

The rule of thumbs goes you should always use fabric scissors exclusively for cutting fabric. They should be a bit heavier in construction to cut the fabric more precisely and neatly, even if you are using it to cut several layers of fabric. 

In this way, for cutting paper patterns you should have another pair of regular scissors. The scissors used for cutting paper while sewing can be of any size or shape, and usually have smaller handles than fabric scissors. 

What are pinking shears used for in sewing?

If you have to cut fabric in a zigzag pattern, instead of using regular fabric scissors you should use pinking shears because they have blades with saw-like teeth.

These shears cut the edges of the fabric in zigzag patterns to avoid fraying of the fabric, especially when it is weaved loosely. In this way, pinking shears are an important tool for sewing garments to make the inside seam look more beautiful.

What is the difference between scissors and shears?

Though many people consider shears and scissors as the same, but they are different from each other. Not only in terms of their design, but also in terms of their applications.

Scissors are symmetrical as they have holes of equal size to hold it with your fingers, and the length of their blades is normally 6 inches or less. Shears, have a larger hole to fit all four fingers and a smaller hole for the thumb with blades larger the 6 inches in length.

Dressmaker or sewer usually use shears for sewing instead of scissors. The pair of shears have handles attached with adjustable screws for precision cutting. 

Also, they may have a bent beak shape to make the task of shearing fabric even easier.

How do I choose sewing scissors?

Sharing is caring!