A

A-line. A shape that skims the hips and flares gently to the hem, like the letter A. Forgiving to fit and easy to wear.

Applique. A fabric shape stitched on top of another piece for decoration, such as a felt star on a cushion.

Armscye. The armhole of a garment, where a sleeve is set in. An old tailoring word that still turns up in patterns.

Awl. A sharp pointed tool for making holes, easing out corners, and guiding fabric safely past the needle.

B

Backstitch. A few stitches sewn in reverse at the start and finish of a seam to lock the thread so it cannot work loose.

Bartack. A tight little block of zigzag stitches that reinforces a point of strain, like a pocket corner or the base of a zip.

Basting. Long, loose, temporary stitches that hold pieces together until the real sewing is done. Also called tacking, and you pull them out at the end.

Batting. The soft middle layer of a quilt that gives it warmth and loft. British sewists call it wadding.

Bias. The 45 degree diagonal of a woven fabric. Cut on the bias, cloth stretches and drapes, which is why a bias-cut skirt hangs so well.

Bias tape. Narrow strips cut on the bias that bend smoothly around curves. Handy for binding edges and necklines, and you can make your own.

Binding. A strip of fabric folded around a raw edge to enclose it, most familiar as the border on a quilt.

Block. A basic fitted pattern with no style details, used as a starting point to draft your own designs. Sometimes called a sloper.

Bobbin. The small spool that sits below the needle plate and supplies the lower thread. Half of every stitch comes from it.

Bodice. The part of a garment above the waist that fits the upper body.

Box pleat. Two folds turned away from each other to form a flat, crisp panel of fullness. Common on skirts and curtains.

Buttonhole. The finished slit a button passes through. Most machines will sew one for you, and some manage it in a single step.

C

Casing. A fabric tunnel, usually at a waist or sleeve, that you thread elastic or a drawstring through.

Clipping. Snipping small cuts into the seam allowance around a curve so it can spread and lie flat once turned right side out.

Crossgrain. The direction running across the fabric from selvage to selvage, with a touch more give than the lengthwise grain.

Cuff. The finished band at the end of a sleeve or trouser leg.

Cutting line. The outer line on a pattern piece, the one you actually cut along.

D

Dart. A stitched, tapered fold that turns flat fabric into a shape that fits a curve, such as the bust or the waist.

Drape. The way a fabric falls and moves. A soft rayon drapes; stiff canvas holds its shape instead.

Dressmaker’s shears. Long, sharp scissors with a bent handle so the blade glides along the table as you cut. Keep them for fabric only, never paper.

E

Ease. The bit of extra room a pattern adds so you can move and breathe. It also means coaxing a slightly longer edge to fit a shorter one, the way a sleeve goes into an armhole.

Edgestitch. A line of topstitching sewn very close to a finished edge or seam, usually a sixteenth of an inch in.

Elastic. A stretchy band sewn or threaded in to pull fabric snug at a waist, wrist, or neckline.

Eyelet. A small reinforced hole for a lace, cord, or drawstring to pass through.

F

Facing. A piece sewn to a raw edge and then turned to the inside to give a neckline or armhole a clean finish.

Fat quarter. A quilter’s favourite cut, a half yard folded and cut again to roughly 18 by 22 inches. Perfect for small projects.

Feed dogs. The little metal teeth under the presser foot that grip the fabric and walk it along as you sew.

Fray. When the threads of a raw edge come loose and unravel. Finishing the edge keeps it in check.

French seam. A seam sewn twice so the raw edges are tucked completely inside. Beautiful on sheer fabric and anything unlined.

Fusible interfacing. Interfacing coated with a heat-set glue. Press it on to add body to collars, cuffs, and facings.

G

Gathering. Drawing fabric up along a loose stitch to bunch it into soft folds, the first step of a ruffle or a full skirt.

Godet. A triangular piece set into a seam or hem to add swing and flare.

Grading. Trimming the layers of a seam allowance to slightly different widths so the seam does not sit in a bulky ridge.

Grain. The direction of the threads in a woven fabric. The lengthwise grain runs parallel to the selvage, and the arrow on a pattern piece lines up with it.

Grommet. A metal ring that reinforces a hole, the heavy-duty cousin of the eyelet.

Gusset. A small piece set into a seam to add room or strength, like the diamond under a sleeve or the base of a tote bag.

H

Hem. The finished bottom edge of a garment or project, usually folded up and stitched.

Hong Kong finish. A tidy way of wrapping each raw seam edge in a bias strip. More effort, but lovely inside an unlined jacket.

I

Interfacing. A layer added between fabric pieces to give structure and support. It comes fusible or sew-in, and in light to heavy weights.

Inseam. The seam that runs down the inside of a trouser leg, and the measurement taken along it.

Invisible zipper. A zip whose teeth vanish into the seam, leaving only a faint line. It needs its own special foot.

L

Lining. A second inner layer that finishes the inside of a garment or bag and hides the seams.

Lockstitch. The everyday stitch a home machine makes, where the top and bobbin threads link together inside the fabric.

M

Marking. Copying the dots, notches, and lines from a pattern onto the fabric with chalk, a fading pen, or a small snip.

Mitre. A neat diagonal join at a corner, the way a picture frame meets, used on hems and bindings.

Muslin. A test version of a garment sewn in cheap fabric so you can check the fit before cutting your good cloth. Also called a toile.

N

Nap. A direction to a fabric’s surface or print, like the pile on velvet or a one-way design. Every piece has to be cut the same way up.

Needle plate. The metal plate beneath the needle, marked with seam guides, with a hole for the needle and bobbin thread.

Notch. A small wedge or snip in the seam allowance, used to mark a matching point or to help an outer curve lie flat.

Notion. A catch-all word for the extras a project needs besides fabric: thread, zips, buttons, elastic, and the like.

O

Overcast. A stitch that wraps over a raw edge to stop it fraying. Your machine can do it with a zigzag.

Overlocker. A machine that trims, sews, and finishes a seam edge in one pass using several threads. It gives that neat shop-bought look inside. Known as a serger in the United States.

P

Pattern. The paper or digital template you cut around and follow to make a project.

Pinking shears. Scissors with a zigzag blade. The sawtooth edge they leave frays far less than a straight cut.

Piping. A fabric-covered cord stitched into a seam for a crisp, decorative edge. You see it on cushions all the time.

Pivot. Stopping with the needle down, lifting the presser foot, and turning the fabric to sew cleanly around a corner.

Placket. The finished opening that lets you in and out of a garment, like the buttoned strip on a shirt cuff.

Pleat. A fold of fabric pressed or stitched in place to control fullness.

Presser foot. The attachment that holds the fabric against the feed dogs. Swap it for different jobs like zips, buttons, and hems.

Pressing. Lifting and lowering the iron rather than gliding it, so you set a seam without dragging the fabric out of shape. Not quite the same as ironing.

Princess seam. A long curved seam from the shoulder or armhole down over the bust, shaping a garment without using darts.

Q

Quarter-inch seam. The standard seam allowance in patchwork. Many machines have a special foot to keep it exact.

Quilting. Stitching through a top, a layer of batting, and a backing to hold them together, both for warmth and for the pattern the stitching makes.

R

Raw edge. The cut edge of the fabric before it has been finished or hemmed. Left alone, it will fray.

Right side. The good side of the fabric, the one meant to be seen. Patterns mention it constantly.

Right sides together. Laying two pieces with their good sides facing so the seam ends up tucked inside. The most repeated instruction in all of sewing.

Rotary cutter. A rolling circular blade that slices fabric against a ruler. A quilter’s best friend on long straight lines.

Ruffle. A strip of gathered or pleated fabric added for a frilled, decorative edge.

S

Seam. The line of stitching where two pieces of fabric are joined.

Seam allowance. The strip of fabric between the stitching and the raw edge. Common amounts are a quarter, three eighths, and five eighths of an inch, so always check the pattern.

Seam ripper. The little forked tool for unpicking stitches. Everyone reaches for it more often than they admit.

Selvage. The tightly woven finished strips down both long sides of the fabric that keep it from fraying off the bolt. Also spelled selvedge.

Serger. The American name for an overlocker.

Slip stitch. A nearly invisible hand stitch that joins two folded edges, ideal for closing a lining or finishing a hem by hand.

Staystitch. A line of stitching sewn just inside the seam allowance on a curve or neckline to stop it stretching out of shape while you handle it.

Stitch in the ditch. Stitching right in the groove of an existing seam so the thread hides, often used to anchor a binding or waistband.

Straight stitch. The plain straight line of stitching that does most of the work on any machine.

T

Tailor’s chalk. A flat piece of chalk or wax for marking lines on fabric that brush or press away later.

Tailor’s ham. A firm, ham-shaped cushion you press curved seams and darts over so they keep their shape.

Tension. The balance of pull between the top and bobbin threads. Set right, the stitch locks neatly in the middle; set wrong, you get loops on one side.

Topstitch. A visible row of stitching on the right side, both decorative and useful for keeping seams and edges flat.

Tuck. A stitched fold, often sewn in neat rows, used to add texture or take up length.

Twill. A weave with a diagonal rib running across it, as in denim and chino.

U

Understitch. Stitching a facing or lining to its own seam allowance so it rolls to the inside and stays out of sight.

Upcycle. Turning something old, like a worn shirt or a tired bedsheet, into something new and better.

V

Vent. A faced opening at a hem, such as the split at the back of a skirt or jacket, that gives you room to walk.

W

Wadding. The British word for quilt batting, the soft layer in the middle.

Walking foot. A presser foot that feeds the top and bottom layers through together. Worth its weight on quilts, stripes, and slippery fabric.

Warp and weft. The two sets of threads in a weave. The warp runs the length of the fabric, the weft crosses it.

Welt. A bound finish framed by neat lips of fabric, as in a welt pocket.

Width of fabric. The measurement from selvage to selvage, often shortened to WOF in patterns. Quilting cotton is usually around 42 to 44 inches.

Wrong side. The back of the fabric, the side that ends up on the inside.

Y

Yardage. How much fabric a project calls for, measured in yards or metres.

Yoke. A shaped panel across the shoulders or hips that carries the fabric below it. Look at the back of any button-up shirt.

Z

Zigzag stitch. A side-to-side stitch for finishing edges, sewing stretchy fabric, or making a quick buttonhole.

Zipper foot. A narrow foot that lets the needle stitch right up against a zip’s teeth or a line of piping.

Come across a term we have missed? It has probably turned up in one of our free patterns and tutorials, where you will see most of these put to work.