When to Pink?

When I bought my sewing machine months ago, I bought a pinking blade for my rotary cutter because my grandma had a pair of pinking shears. I felt they were a "must have" item for sewing.

I have no idea when I'm supposed to use them or pink anything. Certain fabrics? Certain seam types?

Thanks for the tips!

I usually pink all clothing seams when sewing from a pattern. If you use a serger, then pinking isn't necessary because the serger trims and encases the raw edge of the fabric.  In patterns, there's usually a nice fat 5/8 seam allowance which gives you plenty of room to pink the edge.  if you don't pink or finish the raw edge somehow, the edge will tend to get all messy and unravel after washing.  I only have pinking shears and not a rotary cutter.  I think shears are easier to pink with because you can trim tight curves as well as straight edges.
Personally, I think you should pink anything that has an exposed raw edge or seam. Otherwise, your seams don't look as neat or finished as they could.  Cotton and linen are the worst for unraveling in the wash so you should definitely try to get all those seams pinked.
Personally, I didn't have a pair until a couple months ago when I found a new one at a yard sale.  Now, I pink all my clothes and love the finish it creates. 

This is exactly when I pink.  I use my shears when I have to sew and my serger is just impractical.  I also use them to clip & notch curves.  It is easier than sitting cutting little triangles out.

That's good to know. Pinking shears are expensive so I've been wondering why you would want to spend the money on them. Now I think I'll go buy a pair.

Wait before you buy a pair, because there's one thing you should know: you might have a hard time getting them sharpened. I inherited a great pair from my grand-mother, but could never get them sharpened. So I bought a cheaper pair (with plastic handles). I heard that pinking shears with plastic handles are "disposable" because they cannot be sharpened. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's probably something to consider when you choose a pair. I would recommend you get it on sale. You can probably find a pair of Fiskars for about 15$.  I also heard that you can sharpen scissors and pinking shears by cutting through multiple layers of foil. I never tried it, so I can't tell.

I personally think that pinking shears are a must, even though I don't use them a lot. You don't need them for knits. It depends what you sew the most. I  mostly sew  medium weight 100% woven cotton, and don't use a serger, and I don't pink, because even after washing the item multiple times, it's still fine.

Good luck!

I've tried cutting foil to sharpen pinking shears and it doesn't work at all so please don't wreck your scissors this way!  I've heard that you can get them sharpened by a professional sharpener for under $20 which is what I plan to do when mine get dull.

I usually use the pinking shears for all my seam trimming.  I was using regular shears to trim the corners and curves
but the pinking shears just seem to work better.  There's less raveling and the corners and curves are smoother now.

I also use them to pink the edges of fabrics before I prewash them.   Sometimes it helps limit the fraying, sometimes it
doesn't.  It's something I just like to do. 

I when I add grosgrain ribbon to clothing or use it for hair ribbons I always pink the ends.

Thank you all! This was extremely helpful. I felt like a complete idiot for having pinking tools around but not knowing when to use them. I also love the tip for using pinking shears to notch on curves. That will be heaps easier!

thanks again!