Dressmaker's shears (or tailor's shears) with a long blade and bent handle are best, as they allow the fabric to lie flat on the table for clean, straight, and precise fabric cutting.

Dedicating a pair of fabric shears ensures the blades remain razor-sharp for clean fabric cuts; cutting paper, stabilizer, or pins will dull them quickly, leading to frayed and inaccurate edges.

Embroidery scissors are small, sharp, and often curved-tip scissors used for fine detail work, like cleanly trimming jump threads close to the embroidery without snipping the fabric or stabilizer.

Pinking shears cut a decorative, zigzag edge that helps prevent woven fabric edges from fraying, and they are perfect for unlined seams, craft edges, or creating a final, neat finish.

Quality fabric shears should be sharpened only by a professional scissors sharpener and should be stored in a dry, safe place away from other tools to protect the blades.