I have always _cut out_ using pinking shears (taught to do that by my
mother, the perfectionist).

Odd that your mother is a perfectionist and does this, since cutting with
pinking shears is an inexact way to cut. I much prefer to trim later, and know
that my seam allowance is an exact distance from the cut edge.

One thing that helps ravelly fabrics is to keep them pinned to the pattern
paper until just before you sew them together. This works for patterns cut on
the bias, also.


Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati