Pinkers

So this post is not about food, but one of my other loves, historic clothing.  I have seen some posts in various places about people having trouble using reproduction 18th century pinkers.  I also had trouble using them when I first tried.  But as I worked along a piece of trim, I established a good method to get the fabric pinked.

So first you will need some materials:
Your reproduction pinker (These are unfortunately no longer on sale from William Booth Draper, but they are out there!)
A block of wood
scrap fabric
A plastic mallet

1. Find a place where you can settle yourself comfortably for a good upper body workout which includes a stable surface on which work.

2. Set your wood on the surface, with a few layers of your scrap fabric over it. Lay your fashion fabric over the whole set up and get ready to pound on it.

3. Place your pinker along the edge of the fabric, with a little bit beyond the top of the curve of the blade.  Hammer sharply with your mallet, this may take two to three good, solid whacks.

4.  If necessary trim off fibers not captured by the pinker.

Notes:
I did this on my concrete basement floor.  Bad idea.  I spent something like five hours working my way along 7-8 yards of trim for the gown.  I was so stiff when I got up, that I think I laid down in bed with a heat pack after.  So seriously, find someplace comfortable.  Also use a plastic mallet.  The end of the pink eats at the mallet while you work and you will end up with little metal shards everywhere.  I used an old piece of hardwood flooring for this, but you could use something softer like pine and get a better bite in the fashion fabric without so much pounding.  I just used what I had on hand.

Anyway, good luck!

Edit, 6/12/12:
I recently discovered, dunno why I didn't think of this sooner, you can fold over and pink through several layers of fashion fabric at the same time.  (That would have made my job soooooo much easier.)And you can also use a piece of leather in place of the scrap fabric.   The leather will take the imprint of the pinker without actually cutting through, as you see happening with the fabric above.