Pinking a Seam Allowance
Posted on Friday, July 9th, 2010 at 4:13 pmSkill Level: Beginner
Niceness: Not That Pretty At All
Pros: Adds No Bulk, Relatively Quick, Works Well on Curves
Cons: Can Go Horribly Wrong, Can Look Modern, Requires Tools
Best For: Finishing Seams Without Adding Bulk
You should always do something with your seam allowances so they don’t fray and tangle. Pinking is one of the simplest things you can do to finish a seam.
Sample:
A Seam, finished by Pinking.
Critical Stats:
Width: Slightly less than Pattern Seam Allowance
Seam Allowance Required: N/A
Additional Supplies Needed: Pinking Shears
Process
Sew a seam, totally normal style...
Open up the seam. Press. (Or finger press with your thumb nail, as I'm doing.)
Grab your pinking shears....
Use the Pinking Shears to trim the seam allowance back just a titch. Repeat on the other side.
Missa, this is beautifully simple and way less involved than all those French Seams you keep blithering on about…. Why don’t you do this all the time?
Well…. Funny story:
Problem: if your Pinking Shears are dull or nicked, they will chew up the fabric instead of cutting it.
The good part of the sample was made with my mother’s pinking shears. This bit was made with mine. Due to the nature of pinking shears, I can’t sharpen them. I hate uni-tasking tools that I can’t fix….
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Holiday Sewing Practice!
Hooray for Progress!
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Regency Corset Finished
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