Keeping Scissors

Do you have a favorite pair of scissors? You probably have several. For trimming stabilizer from around a design, I like a small pair of scissors with slender blades. I use a larger pair of scissors for fabric. My older fabric-cutting scissors have been demoted to cutting paper.

What happens to scissors? Using fabric scissors to cut paper will dull the edges. Cutting thick items such as cardboard can cause the blades to warp so that there is a gap between the blades -- my mother always called these "sprung" scissors. Dull scissors can be sharpened, but sprung scissors cannot be saved. If you drop the scissors, the tip can break off. This is a real disaster for thread snipping scissors.

My favorite thread snipping scissors disappeared one day, and I realized later that they must have fallen into the waste basket by the sewing machine. Now I use a length of ribbon to tie my thread scissors to the power cord of my sewing machine.

If other family members grab your best scissors to open the package from UPS, you need to play defense. Buy several pairs of inexpensive scissors and place them around the house -- in the kitchen, in the tool box, near the front door, near the back door, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, where gift wrap is stored, even in the glove box of each car. Let it be known that no one is allowed to use your sewing scissors for any reason. Use a laundry marker to write "fabric" on the handles and keep them hidden when not in use.

Next issue: selecting thread colors

from Mary Jane Allen of Perfect Little Stitches