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I searched on line for an explanation of why these shears are called pinking shears. The info ranged from: Pinking shears was patented by Louise Austin in 1893. The name pinking shears seem to have been given to it because of the pink carnation as its edges are ruffled.
OR: The word pinking has nothing to do with the color pink. The word comes from a little-used English verb that means to poke a hole in. It referred to a process of ornamentation. One piece of fabric or leather would be slit or perforated to allow another color or texture to show through
OR:
- 1200, pungde "pierce, stab," later (early 14c.) "make holes in; spur a horse," of uncertain origin; perhaps from a Romanic stem that also yielded French piquer, Spanish picar (see pike (n.2)). Or perhaps from Old English pyngan and directly from Latin pungere "to prick, pierce" (see pungent). Surviving mainly in pinking shears.
None of these seems to be the accepted explanation of the term pinking. Can anyone shed some light on the origins of this? We were all stumped.
thanks!
Pinking shears are used to pink fabric, so that it doesn't fray.
Therre are three works, "pink" with different origins. The pink cloth is pink[2[, as American Heritage numbers them, whick originates
1275-1325; Middle English pynken to prick, derivative of Old English pinca point, itself derivative of pinn pin
Pinking shears were patented in 1893. Their popuylarity tailed off with the introduction of iron-on edging and the fabrics that replaced parahute silk, fabrics that were engineered to be anti-fray.
Boy, was it annoying when a favorite shirt would start to fray at the seams. It was as if the shurt was self-destructing.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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