Finding The Best Cross Stitch Scissors

For you today we've got a post from Lord Libidan talking about embroidery scissors:

Last month I attended a conference in London and met up with a few cross stitching friends. As always we spoke about who had the newest Kreinik threads, and the newest tools. However as I sat there I realised, time after time, no one ever got their scissors out. Now whilst there isn't any new scissor technology out there, when I started asking about my friend's they all complained of painful handles, hard to use, or going blunt. However, with a wealth of cross stitch and embroidery scissor types out there, there is no reason to have that old worn out blunt pair in your kit. Today, we're going to talk about scissors.

 

Gold Stork Embroidery Scissors

No embroidery scissors post would be complete without at least mentioning the gold stork. These are the most likely to be in your kit, however their shape isn't actually meant to for use. Back in the 16th century scissors in England were classed as decorative items, and those who owned golden stalk scissors would NEVER pick them up. AS a result, they aren't that good to stitch in.

 

Premax Carnival Embroidery Scissors

You may also have a pair of straight, non decorative scissors in your kit. However these Premax painted embroidery scissors combine both worlds, giving you a very usable pair that's also super decorative.

 

Ringlock Embroidery Scissors

But like many pairs of scissors, sometimes the average just isn't working for you. These scissors however try to address all the issues you might have. Stainless steel construct means they don't go blunt, the large finger holes mean they're easy to grip, and their ringlock system means you never have to tighten them.

 

Weaver's Scissors

The most common problem though, by far is getting to grip with the scissors themselves. No finger holes ever seem to work correctly, and don't get me started with left and right pairs. Weaver's scissors were the modern alternative. In reality these were the style of the first scissors, easy to grip on the sides, with a small sharp edge, which can be easily changed if required. Whilst they're great to hold however, they can be a little hard to control, meaning you might chop something you didn't mean to.

 

Curved Clamp Embroidery Scissors

So Premax came up with an alternative. A slightly thinner, lighter pair work by using negative force. They also contain a curved blade to allow better control. They're made from stainless steel too, so won't go blunt, and due to their design won't need tightening. Of every pair I tried in the course of making this post, these definitely seemed like the most advanced, clearly crafted just for this purpose.
I thought this post would end there, however a friend of mine heard about what I was doing and sent me a pair of these:

 

Double Curved Sewing Machine Scissors

At first I didn't really get it, why would a pair specifically made for sewing machines help me? But then I tried them. They allow you to snip threads in a cross stitch frame like a dream, and they just work so well with the curved blades. Sure, they'll need tightening, and they aren't the easiest pair to get your head around initially, but maybe sometimes you should try something a little out of the box, because these scissors are a dream.