Scissors ain't Scissors Sol!

Those of us "of a certain age" will remember the old motor oil ad which immortalised the saying "oils ain't oils, Sol!"  The same goes for scissors.  And that's important for your sewing!

Scissors are some of your most important tools in your sewing kit, so you need to have the right sort of scissors and make sure you buy good ones.

As a minimum, you should have 2 pairs of scissors - one pair of dressmakers shears (around 8" long) for cutting out your fabric and a smaller pair (around 5" long) for all your trimming and clipping.  The smaller pair are much easier to handle and you are less likely to slip and overcut something.

You should buy the best scissors you can afford and test them before you buy them.  A good pair will cut smoothly and right up to the very tip.  Fortunately, these days an excellent pair of 8" dressmakers shears can be bought for around $60.

There are also various styles of scissor handles available from the old style metal handles to various moulded plastic styles.  This comes down to personal preference and comfort.

My personal preference in scissors is for Ginghers.  They are Italian made and beautiful to work with.  Gingher make a wide range of styles so there are plenty of shapes to suit any task.

Two pairs of my Gingher scissors

The other brand I find is popular with my students is Kai.  They are Japanese and have a plastic type handle.  The handle seems to suit ladies who have small hands better.

My Kai scissors

You will, no doubt, have heard that using your sewing scissors to cut paper will blunt them.  That isn't really true as paper is no worse than fabric.  While I certainly advocate that you should only use your sewing scissors for fabric, the way I see it, your scissors have a certain number of cuts in them and you just don't want to waste those cuts on paper.

What's your preference in scissors?  

If you have any questions about scissors please feel free to ask!