10 Tips to Improve your Cutting Skills


Do you enjoy cutting out? Some people find it anxiety-producing, but others revel in the sound of fabric shears slicing through new fabric, snipping the notches with their perfectly sharp scissors, and the juicy anticipation of sitting down to sew their next project.   Either way, well-chosen scissors and good cutting techniques can make the experience more enjoyable. 

Liz Haywood shares her top ten tips with you!

1.  Scissors that are cared for should last many years, even a lifetime. After cutting out each garment, wipe the blades to remove the fabric dust. A drop of oil on the screw helps them move more freely - put a drop on the screw, and between the blades where they pivot.

2. Choose scissors that are comfortable in your hand and not too heavy, with the longest blade length you can comfortably cut with.  If you're a left-hander, buy left-hander scissors.

The handles are as important as the blades. Handles that fit your hand badly put pressure on your fingers when you cut. Ergonomic handles are a joy to use. 

3. Keep your fabric scissors hidden from family members who may be tempted to cut metal guitar strings with them. It's recommended to have a separate pair of scissors for lending, leaving them in full view while your good fabric scissors are stored out of sight (ideally in their protective case or a scissor sheath).

 4. To cut a smooth line: if you’re right-handed, pull away the trimmings with your left hand as you cut.  At the same time, maintain a very slight tension on the trimmings so they pull cleanly from the scissors.  To avoid a choppy edge, stop cutting each stroke before the blades fully close.

5. Your cutting surface should be hard, for example a table top or the floor.  Keep the bottom blade of the scissors in full contact with the surface and try not to lift the fabric from it.

6. Running scissors through the fabric without moving the blades tends to blunt them in one spot, even though it’s a really quick way to cut a length of fabric.

7.  When cutting around the corners of pattern pieces, try and keep your wrist straight. It’s very bad for it to flex either way as you cut.  If possible, try and move around the table as you cut out to avoid this. The image below shows what not to do!

8. Keeping your scissors sharp lessens fatigue on the hand and wrist, since you don’t have to work as hard to cut.  Maintain a friendship with a good scissor sharpening service; as well as sharpening scissors they can offer you advice.  When you collect scissors after they've been sharpened, bring along some fabric to try out the scissors before taking them, ideally the types of fabric you'll be cutting eg fine fabrics, synthetics, denim and so on.

9. Dropping scissors on a hard surface is very bad for them!  If they don't cut properly afterwards, you'll need to take them to a scissor sharpening service to get them reset.

10.  If you have multiple garments to cut out, it's more efficient to do all the cutting out in one session – then you can clear the decks and start sewing.