When I got my fabric scissors, I told my son "these are my fabric scissors, they are not for cutting anything except fabric" Then one day, my son and my dad were doing a project, and my dad needed scissors and reached for my fabric scissors, and I heard my son, who is 6yrs old, say(super dramatically)"NOOO Papa, those are my moms fabric scissors!!! You can't use them THAT!"
Thank you for explaining. Now I understand how much people like you love fabric scissors only for fabric. I didn't know why until I watched this. Thank you
I actually do have little combination luggage locks through the handles of my fabric scissors so they aren't usable without taking the locks off. My kids were bad about borrowing them because they couldn't find their own scissors. They've outgrown it but I keep the locks on - partly for a laugh and partly "just in case"
There is at least a pair of scissors for everything in my craft room - hair, fabric, paper, metal sheet, plastic, leather etc. -and they are only used for what they were first intended for. Each one has a unique spesific use and all of them are sharpened and cleaned on a regular basis. The same with all kinds of blades i.e. rotary cutters, scalpels and so on. My oldest pair of scissors is more than 70 years old. My father was into shoe making and he used it to cut leather. I use it for the same thing and it still works like you wouldn't believe.
My mom had a pair of scissors she used on her bangs. They were not to leave bathroom or be used for anything but hair. She doesnt sew but she gets the concept clearly.
I love this video. My mother and I both sew and we do not even let each other use our scissors! When I was just learning (oh-so-many-decades-ago) to sew she bought me a set of scissors and told me, "These are yours and they are for sewing and sewing only so do not ask to use mine; if you use them for anything else you will regret it."😘 While we are on the topic of scissors I would like to suggest a topic for a future video: "Pinking Shears - The Forgotten Sewing Essential."
When we were first married 43 years ago, my hubby used my fabric scissors, did not ask just took them to cut paper. He bought me a new pair. They were $40 scissors and he never used my scissors again.
I demostrated the difference to my partner when I tried to cut a scrap fabric with our household scissors which only puckered the fabric and frayed the cut edge quite a lot and then made a cut with my fabric scissors - perfect clean cut. He never aksed why again 😁
Every occupation has their particular tool that sharing it is like sharing underwear- if you do share it won't be without a great deal of awkwardness, even with your closest friends. With painters it is their brushes, with chefs it is their knives, and with sewists it is their fabric shears. It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine and annoying because it often seems I am the only one who knows to put their tools away on my home sometimes.
Kitchen knives... ha ha ha. That is the other sharp tool I hate to share. My sister law, a chef, left my chefs' knife in the sink. Apparently my Cutco did not merit like her Henkels. 😂
This is how I convinced my husband to leave my scissors alone lol how would he feel if I used his sawzall to trim a tree or the wood saw on metal, he works in the trades so that argument hit home.
Thankfully, my Dad never asked to use my fabric scissors. He knew the answer would be no because his mother had drilled it into him (& his 7 brothers & sisters). 🤣🙏 so much to thank that woman for ☺️
Thank you for this! My son just grabbed my fabric scissors and I stopped him from cutting cardboard! He said that's an old wives tale and not true. I told him he could believe what he wanted to ,but not my sewing scissors! Now I can show him this and it will not be just mama says so! Thanks again!
My brother also refuses to believe it. I tell him I don’t care what he believes, he won’t be using my fabric shears unless he’s willing to buy me another pair. And an upgraded pair at that. So he doesn’t use them (though will still grumble about how it makes no sense).
It is also a wives' tale that letting someone else use your sewing machine is a bad idea because the machine will never run the same for you. I grew up knowing this to be true. No-one uses my sewing machine, either.
When I lived with my mom and siblings I would hide the fabric scissors in my closet so no one would use them for anything else :'D They still ended up dull and with "notches" on the blade. I don't know if someone used them or if I dropped them and that's how the notches came to be. I plan on getting them sharpened but that can wait since I now have another pair!
Oh yeah...someone, who needed a pair of really sharp scissors 'borrowed' them, for sure. Non sewers always think, we're just making a fuss over nothing with our insistence, about keeping our scissors pristine 😏
My spouse learned the hard way. They cut *carpet* with my older budget fabric scissors and then found out how expensive they were. As penance, they bought me seriously good fabric shears for Xmas which were about 4 times the price. Forgiven now, but they've never forgotten!
LOL! When I was 16, one day I couldn't find any scissors other than Mother's pinking shears, and I didn't know what a big deal it was then, so I used them to cut out a newspaper article. I showed the article to my boyfriend, but instead of reading it he stared at the edge and exclaimed, "HOW did you DO this?"
Well. I learned something new, today. Always a good day when that happens. Thank you. Gonna get some fabric shears (at long last) dedicated to just fabric.
My foster sister taught me about fabric scissors vs paper scissors when she saw me chopping away at paper with my new fabric scissors when I was 14. I have not made that mistake since, and inform everyone periodically not to touch my fabric scissors. I don't think I've ever said the word scissors so many times in one conversation! 😁 Thanks for sharing this! I think it will save many people the anxiety of going through this themselves.
The rule in our house is that nobody touches my fabric scissors but me. In fact, no one else knows where I keep them. But, I have two pairs of the big gold craft scissors that will cut through anything but government red tape that I will loan out as long as I get them right back. I also hide the kitchen shears. If you know what two-man Henckels are, we'll, that is what my kitchen shears are and I don't want them disappearing into the garage or something. I'm mean!
@@carolmichell4860 I'm not sure if you are familiar with Case knives but my husband brought a full set of those to our household including a gorgeous vintage set of nonserrated, wooden handled steak knives. Look so lovely on the table next to my Mama's elegant china and crystal that I received. We actually have the case knives, a collected set that I found for myself made up of Henckels and Wusthof and some that my sister gifted us for Christmas. They are the colored bladed knives with the scabbards but even those are still Kamachi. Those are the ones we let people use if they haven't cooked in our kitchen before and we don't know if they know how to handle a knife properly without abusing it or dropping it in the sink when they are done.
I have ribbons on my dressmaking shears, so I know which is the new pair! If you do get sellotape glue on your scissors, acetone works very nicely to get the glue off, just keep it away from the plastic handles! (If you have the nice bright orange handles on yours, like I do on mine).
Everyone knows not to touch my fabric scissors!! On an old Sewing with Nancy episode a lady wrote in to say she kept her fabric scissors in the freezer marked as liver to make sure no one but her could ever find them!!!
Funny story, as a book binder I have the same reaction to people using my paper scissors for fabric. Specially designed paper scissors are lightly oiled at the join when they are taken apart and sharpened, which is on a regular basis. No one wants fabric fluff getting on up in there and demanding a clean. Other than that my paper scissors look so much like my sewing shears due to the flat edge to cut on a board and the heavy metal weight I have different coloured cushions on the handles and do not let them hang out in the same room 😁
I have a decoy pair of old fabric scissors on my table for my family to use, because lets be honest, you cant guard them all day, i keep my good sharp scissors hidden inside the base of my vintage machine and lock the bentwood top!
Also, after every cutting session with any type of scissors, I make several cuts threw aluminum foil to keep the edges sharp. I still have my fabric shears sharpened professionally twice a year, but it keeps them nice between appointments.
Fathers! I had this gorgeous as well as very sharp rose-gold coloured fabric scissors which I had spent a small fortune on for they could be used as daily fabric scissors but also at the Steampunk affair for a charity and I felt it was thus a suitable self indulgence combined with necessity allowing for a guiltless spending. As a friend commented in front of my father that these were the best scissors she had ever tried and would cut through tough fabric like butter, my father decided to use them to cut his toenails with while I was away. I was left feeling "yuuuuuuuuck!" and "but everyone should know one always treat fabric scissors with utmost care and respect!" I offered him the pair as an early birthday present and now my new scissors are under lock and key.... well, almost.
Yeah, what is it with Fathers?!!🤔 We don't mess around with their precious tools, right?!🤨 Mine used my Mom's sewing Fiskar scissors for cutting carpet!!!😳 And on holiday, Dad used my pristine & sharp Swiss army knife once: to scrape tar of his shoe soles?!! I was so furious😤.
@@stoker1931jane I can understand you were furious and you made a fair point, they'd not let us use THEIR tools, no matter how tough or worthless those may be and how gentle or careful we would be with them, they use ours for all the wrong purposes! And without asking, of course.
As a child, I most likely ruined a bunch of my grandma's pairs of shears, as I was always randomly foraging around for craft supplies and scissors, and had no idea there was even a difference. However, when I started wanting to learn sewing, I started with what I had at hand, and was surprised by the struggle it was to cut fabric with our multipurpose scissors from the kitchen ("isn't fabric basically soft paper???")... I eventually bought actual fabric shears, and suddenly, I saw the light! Mind blown, the difference is crystal clear! I never made the mistake again.
I had to laugh out loud at the Google pictures about using fabric shears for anything else! I hide my fabric shears and keep temptation to 'grab the closest scissors' away from everyone else. I have cut proof gloves that I use for rotary cutting and I stash my shears (with the blade cover on) inside the glove. Hiding in plain sight, haha. Then I leave paper scissors within easy access. Too much trouble? Not when it keeps everyone happy! Especially me!
I told my husband to never use my previous fabric scissors & one day when I was attempting to cut fabric they were blunt & almost tearing the fabric. He had been using them to trim his eyebrows & side burns. I then made him come with me to buy a new pair & he was shocked at the price.
Husband would use my good fabric shears on everything because “They’re so sharp!” I have a second good-but-not-as-good pair and wrote “Mom” on the blade, to train my family. Now they call them the “Wow” scissors.
You can use a pad lock and keep your fabric scissors from being used (if you keep or hide the keys). You may have to take your fabric scissors to a hardware store to find the correct size lock. Lock the handles together.
My answer is “if you want to buy me a brand new pair of shears, even better than those ones, then sure. Use them for whatever you want”. They usually refrain when I point out that they’d be spending at least $70 on a pair of new ones for me.
When my boys were young, I always made sure they had their very own pair of scissors with their names on it too. There's a pair of paper scissors ✂️ in every room of my house now. Plus, I hide my fabric scissors, even from my husband. Paper scissors are cheap enough to replace when dull or when they break.
👌🏻That's the only thing for it: providing the Family with loads of "cheaper" (IKEA) paper scissors👍🏻 all through the house - so they 'don't come knocking'👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
I am teaching a friend to sew. The first rule I taught her? Patterns are paper, therefore use paper scissors! 2nd rule? Do not let anyone use the fabric scissors!!! I actually have five pairs of scissors in my sewing box; pinking shears, fabric scissors, thread scissors and 2 pairs of paper scissors. One large and one small.
I learnt my mistake of leaving my fabric scissors once in the kitchen. My hubby put them in a stationary drawer and my sister who was over for dinner, found them, didn't ask first then started using them to cut up ham for a pizza! I managed to get them off her, clean them up and they are ok just need a sharpen...phew!
When I first started sewing before l left home , it was totally murder keeping my shears away from everyone else, dad was the worst culprit and l am left-handed so it's hard to get good ones which I have now , they cost me enough in a local craft shop near me but they are as sharp today as the day l bought them , they are Japanese kai shears and so comfy to hold in my hand . I can cut for ages with them .
I accidentally used my gingher shears (a lucky find at a thrift store!) on iron-on interfacing the other day and could immediately tell the difference that little bit of adhesive had when cutting on fabric.
My dad borrowed my pinking shears. He cut drapery fabric with them but he cut through many layers of fabric at one time and ruined my pinking shears. I had to buy a new pair. I was not happy.😒
I only sew for my family and always bought the Walmart sewing scissors. When my last pair handle broke I decided to get some professonal quality scissors and I barely got to use them before my toddler got into my room and tried cutting pins. They were totally ruined. I bought the same ones again and now keep them on a high shelf.
Best thing my Grandmother taught me, don't let ANYONE use your fabric scissors and I was only to use them on fabric. She knew my Father well (her son-in-law) even now at 80 years old he still wants to use scissors for other things. I have scissors for cutting chicken....HE wanted to cut greasy grimy sand paper. Yes I have bought him his own scissors but he miss places them. All my scissors are hidden. My fabric scissors and now Grandma's fabric and craft scissors are specially hidden. I also have my Great-grandfather's tailoring shears which are over 100 years old and so heavy.
Thank you, Evelyn, for explaining it's the minerals and various things in paper which damages the fabric shears. I never understood why paper was so harmful to them. Now I know.
The rule in my house is don't use ANY of my scissors. I've found as a lefty, that even with those ambidextrous paper scissors, if a right-hander uses my scissors, they don't work as well for me.
I now have several pairs of left-handed scissors. There is one pair I lend out to right-handers. Just so they can get first-hand experience of why we use left-handed scissors. Not that I'm mean or anything.
Scissors are funny that way. I tried cutting with a left-handed pair once (I'm a righty who dabbles with ambidextrous skills) on the correct side and I couldn't get it to cut well. Didn't help there were 4 people watching intently lol.
In school I had an assignment where I had to cut 10x10cm squares of different kinds of fabric. To make the job easier and to stop my samples from fraying I made a roughly 10x10 sqare on the back with masking tape and cut the exact measuremetns over that with my fabric scissors. Spent an evening gettin the sticky residue off them...
I have a pair of scissors for each different fibre I work with, from fine silks to tough leather. Because just as I won't use fabric scissors on paper, I won't use my silk scissors on polyester. I've got a drawer for all of my cutting tools and the one pair of paper scissors has stickers around it saying 'you can borrow THIS ONE ONLY'. Live with multiple other people who will help themselves to my drawer when I'm not home and making it very clear which one they can use has made things so much better for everyone involved. When there were initial complaints that I was being stingy, I showed them how shears have one serrated blade, and how even on some of my scissors, there are micro-serrations to hold the fabric steady and I asked them to imagine how much more it costs to have a serrated blade sharpened, as opposed to a straight blade. They got it.
I'm very strikt with my scissors. Two just for fabric, many for everything, a kitchenscirror and a very old and sharp one from my grandpa just for paper. But what do you use for leather or very stiff fleece?
I have 4 pairs of scissors, one for fabric (ONLY) two for paper, they are actually the cheap hairdressing scissors with the little tail for your finger but they work a treat on paper. my last pair is a very small pair for snipping threads.
When I was growing up there wasn't money for spare scissors, so Mom's sewing scissors tended to get used for loads of stuff and I received the fabric scraps to play with, so I often had possession of the scissors. This started before age 5. The saving grace? My Dad LOVED to sharpen things and he never wanted to see any blade get abused. I can't remember not knowing to use pliers to snip wire. Mom's scissors are now quite worn and eventually I'll probably use them for paper, but they've no knicks. Sadly, Dad can no longer control his hands well enough to give them one last sharpening. What's even sadder? I'm 62 and I didn't buy myself a pair of fabric scissors until 4 years ago! Always made do with a periodic new $5 pair of generics.I finally bought myself a pair of Kai's and 2 weeks later my sis gifted me with a pair if Ginghers! I am so happy to have both brands, as they utilize different hand muscles when you cut and place pressure on your hand joints in different ways - my arthritic hands are so grateful to be able to switch them out! If you haven't invested $25 or so in a REAL pair of scissors yet, give yourself a break and buy some!
My roommate wanted to use my scissors to cut up beer cans for her project. I hide my tools and don't leave them in drawers as it's no surprise to find them broken with no hope of repair.
Definitely not! My fabric blades only cut fabric. I even have a rotary cutter that is for paper (when the blade begins to dull in my fabric rotary cutter, it goes on to be used in the paper cutter). I live alone now, so there is no one taking my fabric shears, but when my children and their father were here, my fabric shears, pinking shears, scissors and snips all lived with padlocks on the handles to prevent unauthorised use.
Ha ha! When I was a child, my mom would kill us if she caught us using her fabric scissors on paper, or worse, cardboard( or anything else a kid would want to get into). Me...I don’t worry about it too much. When my scissors need sharpening, I get them sharpened.
Same. I never understood why my mom would threaten me with certain death if I used her fabric scissors on my construction paper until I grew up and started sewing 😂
Growing up, my mom would always write "fabric" on her fabric scissors. And when we inevitably would ruin them by using them on paper, she would write "new fabric" on her next pair. Then "new new" 😂
My kids borrowed mine...to cut pipecleaners. Pipecleaners that, mind you, were coated in playdough😳 caught my youngest trying to cut our mint plant with them as well 🤦♀️ I swear I hide them, but they always seem to find them!
Just no-one touches my two pairs of Fiskar’s fabric shears, my Felco secateurs, my treasured Henkel’s chef’s knives, or my Japanese cleaver. Punishment will be delivered slowly with a rusty skewer (legacy of my Grandma, now used for dibbing)
Oh reading the brand name 'Fiskars' takes me back 45 years. My 🥰Mom had a whole set of them. Now they are mine. Though I hardly use them...as I had to buy my "own" before her scissors would become mine.
Lol! My Mom taught me to sew and we would be always trying to explain to my Brother and Dad why they couldn't use our scissors ! They would sneak them and we could always tell
My husband once used my fabric shears for cutting his sneakers into sandals, leaving a deep notch in the blades. After that I could feel that notch every time I cut fabric.
It wasn't until I started sewing again that I found out you should never cut paper with sewing shears. I have mine marked now so my family doesn't borrow them and use them for anything other fabrics cutting.
LOL. I ruined a par of very perfect dressmaking shears when I was little 🥲 I always thought. Can you use dressmaking shears for fleece or felt or wool? Thanks. My beautiful fabric shears ARE ONLY FOR FABRIC. One day I’ve seen my brother just GRABBING THEM AND ALMOST CUTTING PAPER I THREW A THREAD ON HIM. Throughout the whole video of you holding the paper and the fabric shears I was soo afraid of you CUTTING INTO THAT PAPER that I easily could’ve fainted out.
I have all-purpose scissors in every room of the house. Not even joking- every room! Kitchen shears in the kitchen. Haircutting scissors and fingernail scissors in the bathroom. Paper scissors in the bedroom and living room. Plus 2 pairs of scissors + garden shears in the garage and that is not even counting the wirecutters in the garage! So nobody better use my fabric scissors for other things, they have no excuse.
I enjoy all your videos, and let me just say that you have such a lovely name! A lovely name for a lovely lady. When I was much younger and so very naive, I had a “good” friend ask to borrow my sewing scissors to cut fabric ONLY, she promised. So I said yes. Two weeks later she had not returned them, so I gave her a jingle and asked to have them back. She said, “ I have to find them.” It was then that I began to worry 🙀. She returned them the next day a rusted mess. 😡 One of her little girls had taken them outside and left them. (Who lets their small kiddos play outside with scissors?) 😳 Now all my crafting scissors have a red bow glued to the handles. When someone asks to borrow scissors (and only if it is someone in my household) I tell them “yes” only ones that have a red ribbon on them. (This also reminds them to return them from whence they came). I notice you have gadgets on one of your scissors and I wonder if your reasoning is the same as mine. Happy sewing!
My mother had "sewing scissors" and she cut paper patterns pinned to fabric; I always wondered why her sharp scissors went dull within a couple of years. My Ginger scissors (8" shears, tailors', and pinking shears) have never cut patterns or interfacing, and they are off limits to ANYONE. I have a pair of sharp Fiscars dedicated to craft sewing, trims, and interfacing--I might lend those to a friend sewing across the table from me. I believe that scissors respond to the cutter (me) and the good ones should not be shared. 😁
I only have my boyfriend to worry about when it comes to using my shears. And, he knows just to never even step into the sewing room so thankfully I keep all my scissors safe!
Hi I am a machinist by training the mechanical understanding I have is paper is very thin and gets caught between the blades, easily a sissors cutting is based on it's shear angles if the paper gets caught it will in crease the clearance between the shear angles considerably and quickly, but in my knowledge the paper does nothing to the blades of themselves hope this is helpful.
Yes, you can👍🏻. The expensive option is taking them to a professional scissors sharpener. Or: take a piece of aluminium foil fold the foil several times: then cut long thin strips, using the whole blade length of your scissors. And they will become really sharp again. You can also cut through sandingpaper or wirewool to sharpen scissors. ✌🏻
I have a fabric ribbon on my fabric scissors too, and they are in a box! Nothing else in there and away from busy hands! I have a multi purpose scissors in my desk, easily accessible for everyone who might need one!
Before I started growing out my bangs, I would occasionally use my micro serrated sewing scissors to trim them. I don't have expensive hair trimming scissors and the cheap drugstore ones do not work well on thick hair like mine. I figured, it's basically like cutting wool or silk, right? Right?? 😄
The expensive option is taking them to a professional scissors sharpener. Or: take a piece of aluminium foil fold the foil several times: then cut long thin strips, using the whole blade length of your scissors. And they will become really sharp again. You can also cut through sandingpaper or wirewool to sharpen scissors.✌🏻😊
When my children were little my 4 year old gave his baby sister a haircut. He didn't get in trouble for that but he used my fabric scissors!!! He only did it once :D
I actually use my fabric scissors for fabric and hair! 🤣 My reasoning behind this is that the same rule that applies for fabric scissors ( only use them to cut fabric ) also applies to hair scissors ( only use them to cut hair ), so I figured my fabric scissors could probably handle a bit of hair cutting 😋
My first pair of "fabric scissors" were my only good left-handed scissors. 80's Fiskars, with the orange handles, you know the ones if you're a felllow lefty. I used them for fabric and patterns and threads and polar fleece and yarn and my hair, because they were the only scissors I had that didn't give me blisters or mangle whatever I was trying to cut... They survived twenty-five years of this abuse (only a few garments a year) before I finally had to admit I can't cut fabric with them anymore but that's because I hit a @#$@#%@#$ pin last year while cutting out a pattern and all the profesional sharpeners were closed due to locldowns... but their replacements, which have a less comfortable handle for extended cutting but are actually hinged correctly for a lefty which my old ones were not, as I discovered after I got the new ones and no longer have to look on the other side of my scissors to see the line I'm cutting), will never cut paper or polar fleece. I've found a few not horrid ambidextrous scissors that kinda work for paper and polar fleece.
I was raised with the fabric ONLY scissors approach. My mom had 2 pairs of fabric scissors- a relatively cheap (but still quite sharp) pair that I was allowed to use FOR FABRIC, and a very nice, fancy pair that I was allowed to look at tucked away in the sewing drawer of the craft cupboard. I think I was a senior in high school and my mom was helping me sew a dress before I got the green light to use those. In college I had a friend who would separate the pattern pieces, and then cut them out at the same time she cut her fabric. This friend taught me so much about sewing, but I am still absolutely horrified that she cuts like that!
My husband didn't ask to borrow them.When I could not find them he said they are in his tool shed. Why? Because they are the best scissors in the house. I bought new pair and is under the lock.
Ok, but I've always wondered... are interfacing, stabilizer and other 'papery' 'fabrics' considered fabrics when it comes to the shears.... I never know if I should cut them with my fabric or paper scissors and I've never found a definitive answer. I just use paper scissors jic, but I'd love to know if there is a rule for these!!
Evelyn, I wonder whether any Sewist has done 'time' or Community Service after the fact of finding out their Sheers were used for anything other than fabric when lent? 🤔
My first pair of shears were Ginghers. I told my family that it meant “keep your hands off!” In German. I keep an extra pair of “fabric” scissors at hand to lend if someone wants to borrow. Usually the nick in them keeps them from asking twice. My good shears are kept safe and away from those untrustworthy people. 😉
I keep always keep my fabric scissors safe from the threat of non-fabric cutting by keeping multiple pairs of general purpose scissors floating around the house. But I have lost several of my favourite embroidery scissors to growing moustaches. And it doesn't seem to matter if you buy hairdressing scissors - I've tried. So if there is a moustache threat in your house I suggest buying at least two pairs of your favourite embroidery scissors 😂
My tutor told me it was safe to cut on pattern paper with fabric underneath. And my rotary cutter is skipping cuts and I cut some with my fabric scissors and now I'm a lil curious about that... that was just from one use. And this was on a new pattern. And my scissors fell fine but I have the thought that my fabric scissors r slowly getting dull... and will cutting more fabric just sharpen them essentially lol?
My paper scissors are a COMPLETELY different color and brand from my sewing scissors. I don’t even cut stabilizer(for machine embroidery) with my fabric scissors.
Hi Evelyn hope all is well....I would love to know how do I sharpen my grandmother's pinkin shares that I inheritted they are gorgeous shares and I don't want to lend anyone to sharpen afraid I won't get them back...please help...thank you always helpful 😊 BTW...I keep my scissors out of sight just in case... I always think there might be a possibility someone might try... I don't want to find out....
So true, we Sewers defend our fabric scissors/shears to the death😉✊🏻😅, from people who want to use them (and they almost never want to use them for cutting fabric - anything but😅). I'm Single so luckily there are no scissor-stress-situations in my household. But I still remember my sweet Mom defending her, expensive, fabric scissors from the rest of our family who wanted to use them.
I keep my fabric shears in the same place as the paper scissors I use for patterns. The big heavy fabric shears are not what you'd instinctively reach for if you just need to cut some paper, so they're safe. If I had children I would definitely hide them though.
I'm well known for being protective with my scissors. My fabric scissors are 25 years old and I keep them in my sewing box which no one else touches. I have a scissor for my work desk that I don't let anyone else use because I don't use it on anything but paper and it's still sharp. Meanwhile my coworker's scissors are bent and gummed up because she uses hers to cut tape, staples and flower stems, etc.
One time my auntie tried to get duct tape off her suitcase and I walked in and SHE WAS USING MY FABRIC SCISSORS and I literally ran up and yanked them off her and shouted at her
I have more than 30 pair of scissors. Maybe 7 or 8 of them are fabric....some very expensive and the rest for paper or whatever. Death to the one that uses my fabric scissors. My husband knows to ask which pair he can use.
When I got my fabric scissors, I told my son "these are my fabric scissors, they are not for cutting anything except fabric"
Then one day, my son and my dad were doing a project, and my dad needed scissors and reached for my fabric scissors, and I heard my son, who is 6yrs old, say(super dramatically)"NOOO Papa, those are my moms fabric scissors!!! You can't use them THAT!"
That is gold!! Know you know he's on your side 😀
Kids are so much more respectful than adults….
Thank you for explaining. Now I understand how much people like you love fabric scissors only for fabric. I didn't know why until I watched this. Thank you
I actually do have little combination luggage locks through the handles of my fabric scissors so they aren't usable without taking the locks off. My kids were bad about borrowing them because they couldn't find their own scissors. They've outgrown it but I keep the locks on - partly for a laugh and partly "just in case"
Genius!
I love it 😻
Very clever 👏
You win the internet today 😁👍
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Just to be safe for sure!! I was thinking of doing that with the padlock for the thumbnail!
Watching this right before I started to cut out the pattern I just drafted with my fabric scissors lol
Lol hey Kat. What are you making this time?
🤣🤣 I hope they are saved from sticky tape, just in time!
@@unwingedwren9907 I'm making some stripped flared leggings :3
@@Evelyn__Wood lol I have a bad habit of losing my paper scissors but being able to find my 5 other pairs of scissors for different fabrics lol
@@KatBlaque didnt expect this.
There is at least a pair of scissors for everything in my craft room - hair, fabric, paper, metal sheet, plastic, leather etc. -and they are only used for what they were first intended for. Each one has a unique spesific use and all of them are sharpened and cleaned on a regular basis. The same with all kinds of blades i.e. rotary cutters, scalpels and so on.
My oldest pair of scissors is more than 70 years old. My father was into shoe making and he used it to cut leather. I use it for the same thing and it still works like you wouldn't believe.
I'm with you, a tool for every job if I can!
My mom had a pair of scissors she used on her bangs. They were not to leave bathroom or be used for anything but hair. She doesnt sew but she gets the concept clearly.
I love this video. My mother and I both sew and we do not even let each other use our scissors! When I was just learning (oh-so-many-decades-ago) to sew she bought me a set of scissors and told me, "These are yours and they are for sewing and sewing only so do not ask to use mine; if you use them for anything else you will regret it."😘
While we are on the topic of scissors I would like to suggest a topic for a future video: "Pinking Shears - The Forgotten Sewing Essential."
When we were first married 43 years ago, my hubby used my fabric scissors, did not ask just took them to cut paper. He bought me a new pair. They were $40 scissors and he never used my scissors again.
Smart man 🤣
I demostrated the difference to my partner when I tried to cut a scrap fabric with our household scissors which only puckered the fabric and frayed the cut edge quite a lot and then made a cut with my fabric scissors - perfect clean cut. He never aksed why again 😁
Every occupation has their particular tool that sharing it is like sharing underwear- if you do share it won't be without a great deal of awkwardness, even with your closest friends. With painters it is their brushes, with chefs it is their knives, and with sewists it is their fabric shears. It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine and annoying because it often seems I am the only one who knows to put their tools away on my home sometimes.
I agree, it is one of our tools of the trade!
Kitchen knives... ha ha ha. That is the other sharp tool I hate to share. My sister law, a chef, left my chefs' knife in the sink. Apparently my Cutco did not merit like her Henkels. 😂
This is how I convinced my husband to leave my scissors alone lol how would he feel if I used his sawzall to trim a tree or the wood saw on metal, he works in the trades so that argument hit home.
even the thread scissors must remain as such
Thankfully, my Dad never asked to use my fabric scissors. He knew the answer would be no because his mother had drilled it into him (& his 7 brothers & sisters). 🤣🙏 so much to thank that woman for ☺️
Thank you for this! My son just grabbed my fabric scissors and I stopped him from cutting cardboard! He said that's an old wives tale and not true. I told him he could believe what he wanted to ,but not my sewing scissors! Now I can show him this and it will not be just mama says so! Thanks again!
My brother also refuses to believe it. I tell him I don’t care what he believes, he won’t be using my fabric shears unless he’s willing to buy me another pair. And an upgraded pair at that. So he doesn’t use them (though will still grumble about how it makes no sense).
Brilliant! Happy I could help!
It is also a wives' tale that letting someone else use your sewing machine is a bad idea because the machine will never run the same for you.
I grew up knowing this to be true. No-one uses my sewing machine, either.
When I lived with my mom and siblings I would hide the fabric scissors in my closet so no one would use them for anything else :'D They still ended up dull and with "notches" on the blade. I don't know if someone used them or if I dropped them and that's how the notches came to be. I plan on getting them sharpened but that can wait since I now have another pair!
Oh yeah...someone, who needed a pair of really sharp scissors 'borrowed' them, for sure.
Non sewers always think, we're just making a fuss over nothing with our insistence, about keeping our scissors pristine 😏
My spouse learned the hard way. They cut *carpet* with my older budget fabric scissors and then found out how expensive they were. As penance, they bought me seriously good fabric shears for Xmas which were about 4 times the price. Forgiven now, but they've never forgotten!
LOL! When I was 16, one day I couldn't find any scissors other than Mother's pinking shears, and I didn't know what a big deal it was then, so I used them to cut out a newspaper article. I showed the article to my boyfriend, but instead of reading it he stared at the edge and exclaimed, "HOW did you DO this?"
I bet they were sharp! 😁
Well. I learned something new, today. Always a good day when that happens. Thank you. Gonna get some fabric shears (at long last) dedicated to just fabric.
My foster sister taught me about fabric scissors vs paper scissors when she saw me chopping away at paper with my new fabric scissors when I was 14. I have not made that mistake since, and inform everyone periodically not to touch my fabric scissors. I don't think I've ever said the word scissors so many times in one conversation! 😁 Thanks for sharing this! I think it will save many people the anxiety of going through this themselves.
The rule in our house is that nobody touches my fabric scissors but me. In fact, no one else knows where I keep them. But, I have two pairs of the big gold craft scissors that will cut through anything but government red tape that I will loan out as long as I get them right back. I also hide the kitchen shears. If you know what two-man Henckels are, we'll, that is what my kitchen shears are and I don't want them disappearing into the garage or something. I'm mean!
I’m a fan of zwillinge Henkels myself. Wonderful balance and blades.
@@carolmichell4860 I'm not sure if you are familiar with Case knives but my husband brought a full set of those to our household including a gorgeous vintage set of nonserrated, wooden handled steak knives. Look so lovely on the table next to my Mama's elegant china and crystal that I received.
We actually have the case knives, a collected set that I found for myself made up of Henckels and Wusthof and some that my sister gifted us for Christmas. They are the colored bladed knives with the scabbards but even those are still Kamachi. Those are the ones we let people use if they haven't cooked in our kitchen before and we don't know if they know how to handle a knife properly without abusing it or dropping it in the sink when they are done.
I have ribbons on my dressmaking shears, so I know which is the new pair!
If you do get sellotape glue on your scissors, acetone works very nicely to get the glue off, just keep it away from the plastic handles! (If you have the nice bright orange handles on yours, like I do on mine).
Everyone knows not to touch my fabric scissors!!
On an old Sewing with Nancy episode a lady wrote in to say she kept her fabric scissors in the freezer marked as liver to make sure no one but her could ever find them!!!
Funny story, as a book binder I have the same reaction to people using my paper scissors for fabric. Specially designed paper scissors are lightly oiled at the join when they are taken apart and sharpened, which is on a regular basis. No one wants fabric fluff getting on up in there and demanding a clean. Other than that my paper scissors look so much like my sewing shears due to the flat edge to cut on a board and the heavy metal weight I have different coloured cushions on the handles and do not let them hang out in the same room 😁
I have a decoy pair of old fabric scissors on my table for my family to use, because lets be honest, you cant guard them all day, i keep my good sharp scissors hidden inside the base of my vintage machine and lock the bentwood top!
I have scissors all over my house so they are always handy. I have several pair of fabric shears and everyone knows not to touch them for any reason!
Also, after every cutting session with any type of scissors, I make several cuts threw aluminum foil to keep the edges sharp. I still have my fabric shears sharpened professionally twice a year, but it keeps them nice between appointments.
Fathers!
I had this gorgeous as well as very sharp rose-gold coloured fabric scissors which I had spent a small fortune on for they could be used as daily fabric scissors but also at the Steampunk affair for a charity and I felt it was thus a suitable self indulgence combined with necessity allowing for a guiltless spending. As a friend commented in front of my father that these were the best scissors she had ever tried and would cut through tough fabric like butter, my father decided to use them to cut his toenails with while I was away.
I was left feeling "yuuuuuuuuck!" and "but everyone should know one always treat fabric scissors with utmost care and respect!" I offered him the pair as an early birthday present and now my new scissors are under lock and key.... well, almost.
Yeah, what is it with Fathers?!!🤔
We don't mess around with their precious tools, right?!🤨
Mine used my Mom's sewing Fiskar scissors for cutting carpet!!!😳 And on holiday, Dad used my pristine & sharp Swiss army knife once: to scrape tar of his shoe soles?!! I was so furious😤.
@@stoker1931jane I can understand you were furious and you made a fair point, they'd not let us use THEIR tools, no matter how tough or worthless those may be and how gentle or careful we would be with them, they use ours for all the wrong purposes! And without asking, of course.
As a child, I most likely ruined a bunch of my grandma's pairs of shears, as I was always randomly foraging around for craft supplies and scissors, and had no idea there was even a difference. However, when I started wanting to learn sewing, I started with what I had at hand, and was surprised by the struggle it was to cut fabric with our multipurpose scissors from the kitchen ("isn't fabric basically soft paper???")... I eventually bought actual fabric shears, and suddenly, I saw the light! Mind blown, the difference is crystal clear! I never made the mistake again.
I had to laugh out loud at the Google pictures about using fabric shears for anything else! I hide my fabric shears and keep temptation to 'grab the closest scissors' away from everyone else. I have cut proof gloves that I use for rotary cutting and I stash my shears (with the blade cover on) inside the glove. Hiding in plain sight, haha. Then I leave paper scissors within easy access. Too much trouble? Not when it keeps everyone happy! Especially me!
I told my husband to never use my previous fabric scissors & one day when I was attempting to cut fabric they were blunt & almost tearing the fabric. He had been using them to trim his eyebrows & side burns. I then made him come with me to buy a new pair & he was shocked at the price.
Husband would use my good fabric shears on everything because “They’re so sharp!” I have a second good-but-not-as-good pair and wrote “Mom” on the blade, to train my family.
Now they call them the “Wow” scissors.
You can use a pad lock and keep your fabric scissors from being used (if you keep or hide the keys). You may have to take your fabric scissors to a hardware store to find the correct size lock. Lock the handles together.
My answer is “if you want to buy me a brand new pair of shears, even better than those ones, then sure. Use them for whatever you want”.
They usually refrain when I point out that they’d be spending at least $70 on a pair of new ones for me.
Ha ha ha I LOVE this!
I should say this the next time my partner wants to borrow my fabric scissors. I need a good pair of shears.
When my boys were young, I always made sure they had their very own pair of scissors with their names on it too. There's a pair of paper scissors ✂️ in every room of my house now. Plus, I hide my fabric scissors, even from my husband. Paper scissors are cheap enough to replace when dull or when they break.
👌🏻That's the only thing for it: providing the Family with loads of "cheaper" (IKEA) paper scissors👍🏻 all through the house - so they 'don't come knocking'👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
@@stoker1931jane yeah you're right
I am teaching a friend to sew. The first rule I taught her? Patterns are paper, therefore use paper scissors! 2nd rule?
Do not let anyone use the fabric scissors!!! I actually have five pairs of scissors in my sewing box; pinking shears, fabric scissors, thread scissors and 2 pairs of paper scissors. One large and one small.
I have the very exact same amount of scissors and 1 shear, in my collection. All with their very own particular use.✌🏻😊
I learnt my mistake of leaving my fabric scissors once in the kitchen. My hubby put them in a stationary drawer and my sister who was over for dinner, found them, didn't ask first then started using them to cut up ham for a pizza! I managed to get them off her, clean them up and they are ok just need a sharpen...phew!
When I first started sewing before l left home , it was totally murder keeping my shears away from everyone else, dad was the worst culprit and l am left-handed so it's hard to get good ones which I have now , they cost me enough in a local craft shop near me but they are as sharp today as the day l bought them , they are Japanese kai shears and so comfy to hold in my hand . I can cut for ages with them .
😵😵😵😵😵😵😵😵
I accidentally used my gingher shears (a lucky find at a thrift store!) on iron-on interfacing the other day and could immediately tell the difference that little bit of adhesive had when cutting on fabric.
My dad borrowed my pinking shears. He cut drapery fabric with them but he cut through many layers of fabric at one time and ruined my pinking shears. I had to buy a new pair. I was not happy.😒
What is it with Dads?!?🤔😟.
We don't mess around with their expensive tools either, do we now? I just don't understand 🤨.
I only sew for my family and always bought the Walmart sewing scissors. When my last pair handle broke I decided to get some professonal quality scissors and I barely got to use them before my toddler got into my room and tried cutting pins. They were totally ruined. I bought the same ones again and now keep them on a high shelf.
Best thing my Grandmother taught me, don't let ANYONE use your fabric scissors and I was only to use them on fabric. She knew my Father well (her son-in-law) even now at 80 years old he still wants to use scissors for other things. I have scissors for cutting chicken....HE wanted to cut greasy grimy sand paper. Yes I have bought him his own scissors but he miss places them. All my scissors are hidden. My fabric scissors and now Grandma's fabric and craft scissors are specially hidden. I also have my Great-grandfather's tailoring shears which are over 100 years old and so heavy.
Thank you, Evelyn, for explaining it's the minerals and various things in paper which damages the fabric shears. I never understood why paper was so harmful to them. Now I know.
The rule in my house is don't use ANY of my scissors. I've found as a lefty, that even with those ambidextrous paper scissors, if a right-hander uses my scissors, they don't work as well for me.
I now have several pairs of left-handed scissors. There is one pair I lend out to right-handers. Just so they can get first-hand experience of why we use left-handed scissors. Not that I'm mean or anything.
Scissors are funny that way. I tried cutting with a left-handed pair once (I'm a righty who dabbles with ambidextrous skills) on the correct side and I couldn't get it to cut well. Didn't help there were 4 people watching intently lol.
In school I had an assignment where I had to cut 10x10cm squares of different kinds of fabric. To make the job easier and to stop my samples from fraying I made a roughly 10x10 sqare on the back with masking tape and cut the exact measuremetns over that with my fabric scissors. Spent an evening gettin the sticky residue off them...
I have written "FABRIC". On the outside of the blades is permanent marker, and I store them in my sewing kit.
Ha ha, in a houseful it doesn't hurt to label!
Ha ha ha! I am not the only one.
Excellent idea
Creativeness
I have a pair of scissors for each different fibre I work with, from fine silks to tough leather. Because just as I won't use fabric scissors on paper, I won't use my silk scissors on polyester.
I've got a drawer for all of my cutting tools and the one pair of paper scissors has stickers around it saying 'you can borrow THIS ONE ONLY'.
Live with multiple other people who will help themselves to my drawer when I'm not home and making it very clear which one they can use has made things so much better for everyone involved.
When there were initial complaints that I was being stingy, I showed them how shears have one serrated blade, and how even on some of my scissors, there are micro-serrations to hold the fabric steady and I asked them to imagine how much more it costs to have a serrated blade sharpened, as opposed to a straight blade. They got it.
I'm very strikt with my scissors. Two just for fabric, many for everything, a kitchenscirror and a very old and sharp one from my grandpa just for paper.
But what do you use for leather or very stiff fleece?
I have 4 pairs of scissors, one for fabric (ONLY) two for paper, they are actually the cheap hairdressing scissors with the little tail for your finger but they work a treat on paper. my last pair is a very small pair for snipping threads.
What do you do if your fabric has a metallic thread a sparkle or sequins on it ?
I use the pair of Fiscars that I use for craft fabric projects, trims, and interfacing.
(the Ginghers are for the dress fabric)
When I was growing up there wasn't money for spare scissors, so Mom's sewing scissors tended to get used for loads of stuff and I received the fabric scraps to play with, so I often had possession of the scissors. This started before age 5. The saving grace? My Dad LOVED to sharpen things and he never wanted to see any blade get abused. I can't remember not knowing to use pliers to snip wire. Mom's scissors are now quite worn and eventually I'll probably use them for paper, but they've no knicks. Sadly, Dad can no longer control his hands well enough to give them one last sharpening. What's even sadder? I'm 62 and I didn't buy myself a pair of fabric scissors until 4 years ago! Always made do with a periodic new $5 pair of generics.I finally bought myself a pair of Kai's and 2 weeks later my sis gifted me with a pair if Ginghers! I am so happy to have both brands, as they utilize different hand muscles when you cut and place pressure on your hand joints in different ways - my arthritic hands are so grateful to be able to switch them out!
If you haven't invested $25 or so in a REAL pair of scissors yet, give yourself a break and buy some!
My roommate wanted to use my scissors to cut up beer cans for her project. I hide my tools and don't leave them in drawers as it's no surprise to find them broken with no hope of repair.
That's is a good choice! 🤣
I totally agree with you on this theme, but I gotta challenge you on the word "blunten"!!! I'll chalk it up as a charming Evelynism.
I think it's correct in Australia. We say blunten (and also bitten not bit and beaten not beat). But I could be wrong.
Would love it if you could do a tutorial on the best way to clean your fabric cutting scissors. Thankyou
Definitely not! My fabric blades only cut fabric. I even have a rotary cutter that is for paper (when the blade begins to dull in my fabric rotary cutter, it goes on to be used in the paper cutter). I live alone now, so there is no one taking my fabric shears, but when my children and their father were here, my fabric shears, pinking shears, scissors and snips all lived with padlocks on the handles to prevent unauthorised use.
Ha ha! When I was a child, my mom would kill us if she caught us using her fabric scissors on paper, or worse, cardboard( or anything else a kid would want to get into). Me...I don’t worry about it too much. When my scissors need sharpening, I get them sharpened.
Same. I never understood why my mom would threaten me with certain death if I used her fabric scissors on my construction paper until I grew up and started sewing 😂
My mother has her mother's good German fabric scissors hidden in her dining room buffet.
That's right, at the end of the day, you can just resharpen them 🙂
Fab, thanks, never for paper. It was interesting to actually understand the details
Growing up, my mom would always write "fabric" on her fabric scissors. And when we inevitably would ruin them by using them on paper, she would write "new fabric" on her next pair. Then "new new" 😂
My kids borrowed mine...to cut pipecleaners. Pipecleaners that, mind you, were coated in playdough😳 caught my youngest trying to cut our mint plant with them as well 🤦♀️ I swear I hide them, but they always seem to find them!
Just no-one touches my two pairs of Fiskar’s fabric shears, my Felco secateurs, my treasured Henkel’s chef’s knives, or my Japanese cleaver. Punishment will be delivered slowly with a rusty skewer (legacy of my Grandma, now used for dibbing)
That's right Carol, a tool for every job! Just that job!
Oh reading the brand name 'Fiskars' takes me back 45 years. My 🥰Mom had a whole set of them. Now they are mine. Though I hardly use them...as I had to buy my "own" before her scissors would become mine.
Lol! My Mom taught me to sew and we would be always trying to explain to my Brother and Dad why they couldn't use our scissors ! They would sneak them and we could always tell
My husband once used my fabric shears for cutting his sneakers into sandals, leaving a deep notch in the blades. After that I could feel that notch every time I cut fabric.
It wasn't until I started sewing again that I found out you should never cut paper with sewing shears. I have mine marked now so my family doesn't borrow them and use them for anything other fabrics cutting.
LOL.
I ruined a par of very perfect dressmaking shears when I was little 🥲
I always thought. Can you use dressmaking shears for fleece or felt or wool? Thanks.
My beautiful fabric shears ARE ONLY FOR FABRIC. One day I’ve seen my brother just GRABBING THEM AND ALMOST CUTTING PAPER I THREW A THREAD ON HIM.
Throughout the whole video of you holding the paper and the fabric shears I was soo afraid of you CUTTING INTO THAT PAPER that I easily could’ve fainted out.
I nearly fainted at the thought of it! 😂
I’ve always wondered why many sewists have fabric wrapped around their fabric shears handle
I have all-purpose scissors in every room of the house. Not even joking- every room! Kitchen shears in the kitchen. Haircutting scissors and fingernail scissors in the bathroom. Paper scissors in the bedroom and living room. Plus 2 pairs of scissors + garden shears in the garage and that is not even counting the wirecutters in the garage! So nobody better use my fabric scissors for other things, they have no excuse.
Ha ha, I am the same way. My sewing scissors (several pair) are put away in the "mine only" zone.
That's the only thing for it👍🏻. Provide other/cheaper (paper) scissors all over the house so they never reach for yours👌🏻✌🏻
I enjoy all your videos, and let me just say that you have such a lovely name! A lovely name for a lovely lady.
When I was much younger and so very naive, I had a “good” friend ask to borrow my sewing scissors to cut fabric ONLY, she promised. So I said yes. Two weeks later she had not returned them, so I gave her a jingle and asked to have them back. She said, “ I have to find them.” It was then that I began to worry 🙀. She returned them the next day a rusted mess. 😡 One of her little girls had taken them outside and left them. (Who lets their small kiddos play outside with scissors?) 😳
Now all my crafting scissors have a red bow glued to the handles. When someone asks to borrow scissors (and only if it is someone in my household) I tell them “yes” only ones that have a red ribbon on them. (This also reminds them to return them from whence they came). I notice you have gadgets on one of your scissors and I wonder if your reasoning is the same as mine. Happy sewing!
Eveline Wood has put fabric "padding" on her fabric shears to make using them for longer times on end, more comfortable. ✌🏻
I just bought a brand new pair of janome scissors they work great
My mother had "sewing scissors" and she cut paper patterns pinned to fabric; I always wondered why her sharp scissors went dull within a couple of years.
My Ginger scissors (8" shears, tailors', and pinking shears) have never cut patterns or interfacing, and they are off limits to ANYONE. I have a pair of sharp Fiscars dedicated to craft sewing, trims, and interfacing--I might lend those to a friend sewing across the table from me. I believe that scissors respond to the cutter (me) and the good ones should not be shared. 😁
I only have my boyfriend to worry about when it comes to using my shears. And, he knows just to never even step into the sewing room so thankfully I keep all my scissors safe!
Just like my cast iron pans, my kids learned not to touch my fabric scissors. I would definitely like some shears.
Thank you for this. It makes them dull and dirty. So if they are cleaned and sharpened... you can use them?? -Written by the husband :)
Hi I am a machinist by training the mechanical understanding I have is paper is very thin and gets caught between the blades, easily a sissors cutting is based on it's shear angles if the paper gets caught it will in crease the clearance between the shear angles considerably and quickly, but in my knowledge the paper does nothing to the blades of themselves hope this is helpful.
Such true words!!!! Thank you for sharing this video!
Can you “rehabilitate” a pair of scissors back to use on fabric after they’ve been used on paper?
Yes, you can👍🏻.
The expensive option is taking them to a professional scissors sharpener.
Or: take a piece of aluminium foil fold the foil several times: then cut long thin strips, using the whole blade length of your scissors. And they will become really sharp again.
You can also cut through sandingpaper or wirewool to sharpen scissors. ✌🏻
Never use fabric scissors for anything other than fabric!. I took to giving a stern warning, hiding them, and providing several paper scissors.
I have a fabric ribbon on my fabric scissors too, and they are in a box! Nothing else in there and away from busy hands! I have a multi purpose scissors in my desk, easily accessible for everyone who might need one!
Before I started growing out my bangs, I would occasionally use my micro serrated sewing scissors to trim them. I don't have expensive hair trimming scissors and the cheap drugstore ones do not work well on thick hair like mine.
I figured, it's basically like cutting wool or silk, right? Right?? 😄
👏🏻😂
What is the best way to sharpen fabric scissors? Thank you 🙂
The expensive option is taking them to a professional scissors sharpener.
Or: take a piece of aluminium foil fold the foil several times: then cut long thin strips, using the whole blade length of your scissors. And they will become really sharp again.
You can also cut through sandingpaper or wirewool to sharpen scissors.✌🏻😊
When my children were little my 4 year old gave his baby sister a haircut. He didn't get in trouble for that but he used my fabric scissors!!! He only did it once :D
🤣
I actually use my fabric scissors for fabric and hair! 🤣
My reasoning behind this is that the same rule that applies for fabric scissors ( only use them to cut fabric ) also applies to hair scissors ( only use them to cut hair ), so I figured my fabric scissors could probably handle a bit of hair cutting 😋
What about different shears for synthetics/micro fibers and natural fabrics?
My first pair of "fabric scissors" were my only good left-handed scissors. 80's Fiskars, with the orange handles, you know the ones if you're a felllow lefty. I used them for fabric and patterns and threads and polar fleece and yarn and my hair, because they were the only scissors I had that didn't give me blisters or mangle whatever I was trying to cut... They survived twenty-five years of this abuse (only a few garments a year) before I finally had to admit I can't cut fabric with them anymore but that's because I hit a @#$@#%@#$ pin last year while cutting out a pattern and all the profesional sharpeners were closed due to locldowns... but their replacements, which have a less comfortable handle for extended cutting but are actually hinged correctly for a lefty which my old ones were not, as I discovered after I got the new ones and no longer have to look on the other side of my scissors to see the line I'm cutting), will never cut paper or polar fleece. I've found a few not horrid ambidextrous scissors that kinda work for paper and polar fleece.
I was raised with the fabric ONLY scissors approach. My mom had 2 pairs of fabric scissors- a relatively cheap (but still quite sharp) pair that I was allowed to use FOR FABRIC, and a very nice, fancy pair that I was allowed to look at tucked away in the sewing drawer of the craft cupboard. I think I was a senior in high school and my mom was helping me sew a dress before I got the green light to use those.
In college I had a friend who would separate the pattern pieces, and then cut them out at the same time she cut her fabric. This friend taught me so much about sewing, but I am still absolutely horrified that she cuts like that!
So i use Fiskars Fabric Shears and Pinking Shears and have a very distinct orange handle. Thats the rule in my house. Orange handle? No touchy!
My husband didn't ask to borrow them.When I could not find them he said they are in his tool shed. Why? Because they are the best scissors in the house. I bought new pair and is under the lock.
Ok, but I've always wondered... are interfacing, stabilizer and other 'papery' 'fabrics' considered fabrics when it comes to the shears.... I never know if I should cut them with my fabric or paper scissors and I've never found a definitive answer. I just use paper scissors jic, but I'd love to know if there is a rule for these!!
Evelyn, I wonder whether any Sewist has done 'time' or Community Service after the fact of finding out their Sheers were used for anything other than fabric when lent? 🤔
My first pair of shears were Ginghers. I told my family that it meant “keep your hands off!” In German. I keep an extra pair of “fabric” scissors at hand to lend if someone wants to borrow. Usually the nick in them keeps them from asking twice. My good shears are kept safe and away from those untrustworthy people. 😉
I keep always keep my fabric scissors safe from the threat of non-fabric cutting by keeping multiple pairs of general purpose scissors floating around the house. But I have lost several of my favourite embroidery scissors to growing moustaches. And it doesn't seem to matter if you buy hairdressing scissors - I've tried. So if there is a moustache threat in your house I suggest buying at least two pairs of your favourite embroidery scissors 😂
My wife has no idea how expensive my fabric shears were and I am not telling her either.
😂😂
Evelyn Hi
What is the best Left-hand scissors .
I buy alot of scissors, can't get the ringtone scissors
Need it for fabrics
Regards Grace
My tutor told me it was safe to cut on pattern paper with fabric underneath. And my rotary cutter is skipping cuts and I cut some with my fabric scissors and now I'm a lil curious about that... that was just from one use. And this was on a new pattern. And my scissors fell fine but I have the thought that my fabric scissors r slowly getting dull... and will cutting more fabric just sharpen them essentially lol?
If your paper scissors are stainless steel you can send them through the dishwasher occasionally to clean off any sticky stuff.
My paper scissors are a COMPLETELY different color and brand from my sewing scissors. I don’t even cut stabilizer(for machine embroidery) with my fabric scissors.
Hi Evelyn hope all is well....I would love to know how do I sharpen my grandmother's pinkin shares that I inheritted they are gorgeous shares and I don't want to lend anyone to sharpen afraid I won't get them back...please help...thank you always helpful 😊 BTW...I keep my scissors out of sight just in case... I always think there might be a possibility someone might try... I don't want to find out....
Clean your paper scissors with “goo be gone” or acetone.
Hi 👋
So true, we Sewers defend our fabric scissors/shears to the death😉✊🏻😅, from people who want to use them (and they almost never want to use them for cutting fabric - anything but😅). I'm Single so luckily there are no scissor-stress-situations in my household. But I still remember my sweet Mom defending her, expensive, fabric scissors from the rest of our family who wanted to use them.
My answer is ALWAYS NO as well...lol
I keep my fabric shears in the same place as the paper scissors I use for patterns. The big heavy fabric shears are not what you'd instinctively reach for if you just need to cut some paper, so they're safe. If I had children I would definitely hide them though.
I'm well known for being protective with my scissors. My fabric scissors are 25 years old and I keep them in my sewing box which no one else touches. I have a scissor for my work desk that I don't let anyone else use because I don't use it on anything but paper and it's still sharp. Meanwhile my coworker's scissors are bent and gummed up because she uses hers to cut tape, staples and flower stems, etc.
One time my auntie tried to get duct tape off her suitcase and I walked in and SHE WAS USING MY FABRIC SCISSORS and I literally ran up and yanked them off her and shouted at her
A cheap combination lock around the handles stops any borrowing...
If you use you fabric scissors to cut anything other than fabric you cannot be my friend.
😂😂😂😂
I don't even cut interfacing or heavy plastic-based materials (vinyl, fleece, etc.) with my fabric scissors.
I have more than 30 pair of scissors. Maybe 7 or 8 of them are fabric....some very expensive and the rest for paper or whatever. Death to the one that uses my fabric scissors. My husband knows to ask which pair he can use.