Pinking

Pinking is the quickest seam finish there is: after sewing the seam, trim each seam allowance with pinking shears. Each little triangle has its threads cut on the bias, and they fray far less than a straight cut edge.

It works well on:

• Firmly woven cottons such as quilting cotton, poplin, chambray and denim.
• Wool and felted fabrics that hardly fray anyway.
• Lined garments, where seams are protected and never rubbed.

It is a poor choice for loosely woven linen, viscose, gauze or anything washed often, because the points wear away and the fraying starts again. For better durability, sew a straight line about 6 mm (1/4 in) from the edge of each allowance before pinking: the stitching stops any fraying from creeping toward the seam.

Pinking also reduces bulk in curved seams. On an outward curve, such as the edge of a rounded collar or pocket, trimming with pinking shears removes tiny wedges at the same time, doing the job of clipping and notching in one cut.

Pinking is never used to cut out pattern pieces: the zigzag blade cannot follow a line accurately, and the notches would be lost.