Pinking shears are another example of a very specialized type scissor, the need for pinking shears comes form the problem of cutting cloth with a straight blade, as this often leaves the cloth to fray and therefore damages it. Pinking shears do not stop fraying but they significantly reduce the length of the threads that do fray and therefore go a long way to protecting the integrity of the cloth, this is why they are also known as fabric scissors or fabric shears.

Pinking shears achieve this by their unique blade design, instead of a straight blade fabric scissors have a saw tooth or 'zig zag' blade which cuts a triangular pattern into the cloth hence leaving only short threads to fray. Because of this attractive and distinctive cut pattern fabric shears can also be used for arts and crafts but this is not recommended as cutting paper will dull the blade and leave it unsuitable for further fabric cutting duties.