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    Home / sewing terms

    GLOSSARY OF SEWING TERMES

    ASSEMBLE (to)

    Laying the pattern pieces one onto the other along the raw edges before sewing them together

      

    BASTE (to)

    Holding fabrics together temporarily before sewing, with pins or by sewing them together with long-running stitches

     

    BINDING/BIAS

    • Cut made 45° to the straight grain, it allows for the most stretch and is sewn easily around curves
    • Strip of fabric cut diagonally to the straight grain. Bias binding is useful when binding curved edges like armholes or necklines for instance, but can also be used for cute embellishments

     

    BODICE

    Top part of a dress or blouse

     

    BUTTON LOOP

    Small string of fabric or thread used as a way to fasten a button

     

    BUTTON PLACKET

    Band of fabric used to hold buttons/buttonholes to fasten a garment

      

    CINCH (to)

    Decreasing the fullness of a garment at the waist, e.g. with darts

      

    CLIP (to)

    Snipping the edge of the fabric to have the seam lay flat

      

    CROTCH

    Area going from front waistline through the inseam to the back waistline

     

    DART

    Fold of fabric on the garment to substract fullness, especially at the waist. Darts help in garment fitting

      

    EASE

    - Amount of space added to a pattern piece to allow for comfortable movements

    - For a sleeve, fabric excess of one pattern piece against another

     

    FACING

    Piece of fabric sewn along exposed edges to get a nice finish. The facing and the garment piece share the same shape and the facing matches the garment piece

     

    FLARE (to)

    Widening a garment

     

    FOLD

    Folded edge of fabric to form either hems or finishings

     

    FRENCH CURVE

    Tool used when tracing patterns, especially the curved areas

     

    FULLNESS

    Volume given to a garment

      

    GARMENT ASSEMBLY

    Assembling the different fabric pieces that make a garment

     

    GATHERS

    Multiple small pleats on the edge of certain pieces to achieve fullness on those particular pieces

      

    GRADING

    Creating a range of sizes for one pattern

      

    GRAIN

    The grain runs lengthwise (parallel to selvedges) and widthwise (perpendicular to selvedges). A fabric cut along the grainline will be sturdier and have a better drape when worn because it won’t distort.

    Commercial patterns indicate direction of the grain with an arrow that should be parallel to the fabric’s grainline

      

    HALF-BELT

    Band of fabric placed horizontally at the front or at the back of a jacket or a coat and hitting at the waistline

      

    INTERFACE (to)

    Stabilizing with fusible fabric to prevent the garment piece from being distorted or to add one extra layer. Necessary when your fabric is either thin or lightweight

     

    OVERCAST (to)

    Sewing the edge of fabric with a zig-zag stich to prevent fraying

     

    PIPING

    Narrow piece of fabric encased in seams. Purely aesthetic, it is a decorative trim coming out of the seam. The most common piping is made with some small cord sewn inside a strip of fabric to visually enhance the seam 

     

    PRESS A SEAM (to)

    Making a seam lay flat with the use of an iron

      

    PRESS THE SEAM OPEN (to)

    Pressing the seam allowances on each side of the seamline

      

    PRESS THE SEAM TOWARDS (to)

    Pressing the seam allowances together to one side

      

    SEAM ALLOWANCE

    Distance between the seam and the edge of the fabric

     

    SEAM-RIPPER

    Tool used to unpick a seam

     

    SELVEDGE

    Finished edge of fabric

      

    SKIRT

    Bottom part of a dress or blouse

      

    STITCH (to)

    Sewing with a sewing machine

      

    TOPSTICH (to)

    Sewing on the right side of the garment, a few mm away of the edge, either as a decoration or as a way to reinforce the seam

     

    WIDTH

    Width of fabric between its selvedges

     

    YOKE

    Panel of fabric across the shoulders, often cut twice


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