Christmas in a Snip

As I mentioned in the last blog those of us in the textile world always have to be thinking of being a season ahead. Christmas is 8 weeks away and yet in the shop we still have our eyes  on spring. The shop though is still gearing up for Christmas. Whilst those planning to make Christmas presents for friends and family have already begun to stream in we are now catering for those wishing to buy gifts too. We've managed to get hold of some amazing sewing boxes as well as new scissors and snips. It's a funny thing about scissors, we all know you need razor sharp high quality scissors and when you look at the price over their life time a good pair pays for themselves many times over. They really do last for years but when we see the price tag of £20 and up we sometimes baulk and carry one using any old pair of snips we can find. This of course leads to damage to the fabric, tiring of arms as we struggle to cut and  a  loss of patience. I still get a smile on my face when I cut through some cotton or wool with ease when I use my professional shears, but it took me many years of sewing and struggling before I actually upgraded. So if you are struggling to think of a gift for a sewing friend think about the practical things they well need -like scissors- but have not managed to get themselves.

Soft on the hands

One more thing, when you buy some scissors buy some thread snips as well. When you cut threads with scissors you only open and shut the blades a little. This will wear a 'blank spot' into the blades making the scissors stick or jar. Snips start from £2.50 and can more than double the life time of your scissors. A sound investment I think.