Pinked Seams: How to Easily Finish Seams with Pinking Shears

A quick and simple seam finishing technique is to make a pinked seam finish.  This finish uses pinking shears with an attractive zig-zag edge.  Sewists use the pinking shears to cut a zig-zag edge on fabric to stop it from fraying.

What is a pinked seam?

A pinked seam is one that has been finished with a pair of pinking shears. The purpose of the pinked seam is to make a neat seam allowance that will not fray without having to sew or use a serger.

A sharp pair of pinking shears is required to cut the pinked seams. The shears, having sharp zig-zag edges, are perfect for cutting the pinked edges of a seam allowance.

Get ready to learn how to finish seams with pinking shears!

Learn more about the quick and easy way to finish seams with pinking shears by watching our video through the link below or keep reading this post.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of pinked seams?

The main advantage of making pinked seams is that they are quick and easy to do. With very sharp pinking shears and patience in making a continuous zig-zag cut, this finishing technique can be done quickly.

A pink seam finish is most often ironed flat which prevents a bulky edge like that of a finishing technique that involves turning over the edge of the seam allowance.

For articles of clothing and other sewn items that do not get washed often and heavily, the pinked edge is a nice and simple seam allowance finishing technique.

One major disadvantage of pinked seams is that some fabrics will unravel despite the use of the pinking shears. To make the pinked edges stronger, the sewist can stitch a line down the edge of the zig-zag, although this takes more time.

In order to make pinked edges on a seam allowance, it is necessary to have very sharp pinking shears made for this purpose.  Pinking shears can also be awkward and heavy to use.

Can you buy left-handed pinking shears?

Most stores do not keep many left-handed scissors or pinking shears in stock, but shopping for these online with yield great results! There are quite a few left-handed scissors and pinking shears available to purchase.

However, there are also pinking shears that can be used by both left-handed and right-handed sewists.  These shears get wonderful reviews, and if there is more than one sewist in the home, it is only necessary to buy one pair of these pinking shears.

The shears shown in the photo above can be used in either hand and are perfect for left-handed sewists.  Look at the end of this article for links to purchase pinking shears.

INSTRUCTIONS on how to finish seams with pinking shears

STEP 1: Cut the edge of the seam allowance

Lay the sewn pieces on the cutting table with the seam to one side.  Simply start at the bottom of the seam and cut along the edge of the seam allowance with the sharp pinking shears.

Cut only a small amount off of the edge of the fabric.  Do not cut close to the seam so leave at least 1/4" seam allowance.

The pinked seam will look like the photo below. Notice that it is not cut very close to the seam line but leaves at least 1/4".

STEP 2: Iron the Pinked seam

Take the fabric to the ironing board.  Open the fabric so the pinked edge is facing up.  Run the iron along the left and right edge of the stitched seam to set the seam.

Next, open the seam and carefully iron the seam allowance open.  This leaves a very neat and flat seam without any extra bulky fabric.

The pinked seam is complete!

The photo below shows the right side of the fabric with a pinked seam. It lays very flat.

The finished pinked seam is shown below.

More seam finishing techniques

• French seam
• Mock French seam
• Flat felled seam
• Turn and stitch seam