Whatever you do, choose good tools. Scissors are probably the most frequently used small tools in my weaving room and sewing space, so it makes sense to use quality scissors. I started with Gingher many years ago, and have never been disappointed in their performance, so there are several in my collection.
Painted red leather sheath, found on one of my trips to the Philippines, protects this pair of five-inch Gingher Sewing Scissors. These scissors live in a holder on the table where I wind all my quills.
I have a variety of scissors, and each has their own special place to call home. A few sit in custom felt sheaths. To make the sheaths, I wove a variegated wool band on my inkle loom, which I then machine washed and dried vigorously to cause the wool to felt. I then cut and stitched each little sheath to size.
Five-inch Gingher Sewing Scissors that live in the loom bench basket by my Glimakra Standard. I clip threads as I go, so these must be in easy reach. The felt sheath doubles as a pin cushion.
And, as your mother always told you, never ever use the fabric scissors to cut paper. There are paper scissors for that.
Eight-inch Gingher Dressmaker’s Shears for cutting fabric, and only fabric. Cutting the warp off the loom counts as cutting fabric.Pretty little scissors that live on my sewing/cutting table. These are used for clipping sewing threads and for some finishing work.Famore 4.5″ Rainbow Colored Snips also live on my sewing/cutting table. They come with me to the sewing machine for quick and easy snipping of threads.Travel thread cutter lives in the bag with my travel tapestry loom. The handwoven band, worn around my neck, keeps the Clover cutter at my fingertips.Gingher Thread Snip is the most recent addition to my cutting collection. It lives on my Glimakra Ideal loom, hanging on the corner of the front beam. While weaving, I wear the inkle-woven band around my neck, so the snips are always at hand.It must be bedtime for the scissors, snippers, and cutters!
May your tools serve you well.
On the cutting edge, Karen
2 thoughts on “Tools Day: Scissors”
My mother, always surrounded by textiles in progress, was adamant about not using the “shears” for cutting anything but cloth! She is 85 now, sews less, but I wouldn’t dream of touching her good shears for anything but cloth…I make cloth, and love every thread.
Your response makes me smile, Eileen! Good for your mother! Look at the value she passed down to you – your enjoyment of not only fashioning with cloth, but making cloth, as well.
My mother, always surrounded by textiles in progress, was adamant about not using the “shears” for cutting anything but cloth! She is 85 now, sews less, but I wouldn’t dream of touching her good shears for anything but cloth…I make cloth, and love every thread.
Your response makes me smile, Eileen! Good for your mother! Look at the value she passed down to you – your enjoyment of not only fashioning with cloth, but making cloth, as well.