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Radiant Home Studio

Radiant Home Studio

November 11, 2013 ·

Learn Sewing Terms: Download A Free Sewing Glossary!

Sewing Tips

I have added a glossary of sewing terms to my resource library to help beginner sewists navigate sewing pattern terminology!

Patterns assume a knowledge of these sewing terms. They are pretty easy to learn, but it helps to have a short glossary of sewing terms nearby to help translate those pattern directions!

Not sure what it means to cut on the bias, pivot, or topstitch? Need a quick description of a French seam? Just download and print this list of sewing terms and their definitions! You can laminate it and keep it close to the sewing machine for reference or use it as a teaching tool for students and children.

Send me the free printable Sewing Glossary!

(Plus, get access to the whole resource library with more free patterns and downloads!)

Thank you!

You will receive a pattern download and instructions for accessing the resource library shortly!

.

 Just sign-up for access to the resource library to get the free sewing terms download. In addition to the sewing glossary, you’ll get access to more free downloads & sewing patterns.

Sewing Glossary of Term | Radiant Home Studio

If you don’t need the pretty version, or just want a quick definition – keep scrolling!

Sewing Terms:

Alteration:

an adjustment to a completed garment to improve the fit

Armscye:

an armhole opening in a garment

Bar Tack:

a tight, narrow zigzag stitch used to reinforce pocket corners or areas of strain

Batting:

filling layers for quilts, which can be made of cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers

Bias:

the diagonal direction of cloth

Bias Binding:

strips of cloth cut on the diagonal, which is folded and used to enclose raw edges of material

Binding:

long strips of fabric, which are folded and used to enclose raw edges of material

Blind Hem:

machine or hand-stitched zigzag stitch that is nearly invisible from the right side of the garment

Boning:

flexible steel or plastic strips used to provide structure to garments

Casing:

a hollow channel that holds elastic, piping, or cording

Clip:

a small cut into the seam allowances to all the  fabric to bend at the curves

Cording:

thin rope covered in fabric, thicker than piping and used for decorative and functional details

Crosswise Grain:

the direction of the fabric across the width, from selvage to selvage, also called the weft

Dart:

the tapered seam of fabric at the edge of the fabric, coming to a point, to adjust the fit of a garment

Directional Fabric:

fabric with a print (arrows all pointing one direction) or with a texture (such as suede or corduroy) going one way

Ease:

the amount of room a garment allows the wearer beyond their body measurements

Facing:

fabric pieces used to finish the inside of a garment or project, usually cut mirror image and smaller than the full lining

Feed Dogs:

thin metal bars with diagonal teeth that pull your fabric through the sewing machine below the needle

Finished Seams:

seams with neatened raw edges, using techniques such as French seams, over-locking, or binding

French Seam:

a seam finishing technique in which fabrics are sewn with wrong sides together first, and then folded over and stitched right sides together with a slightly larger seam allowance, enclosing the raw edges

Gathering:

small folds or puckers in cloth that is created by making two rows of long stitches and pulling the threads

Grading Seams:

trimming seam allowances to different widths to reduce bulk

Grain:

the direction of fibers or weaving in fabric

Grainline:

the vertical line of fibers that runs parallel the selvage edge

Gusset:

fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress, used on both garments and bags

Hand Tack:

a quick, temporary stitch, intended to be removed

Hem:

a finishing method where raw edges are narrowly folded toward the wrong side and sewn in place

Inseam:

the inside seam on a pair of pants, running from the crotch to the end of the pant leg

Interfacing:

a layer of material sewn or fused between the exterior and lining of a garment or bag, used to add structure

Lining:

the inner layer of fabric on a garment or bag, that provides a clean finish and conceals seams

Marking:

transferring symbols from paper patterns to fabric, using tools such as tailor’s chalk, tracing wheels, or disappearing ink pens

Mitered Corner:

a diagonal joining of bias strips at a corner, usually used on quilt borders

Notch:

an arrow-shaped marking on a pattern piece used to match pieces for precise sewing

Notions:

small items used to complete sewing projects, such as buttons, zippers, hooks, thread and pins

Piping:

thin string covered in fabric, used in decorative seams and thinner than cording

Pivot:

when sewing around the corner, leave the sewing needle down in the fabric, lift the presser foot, turn the fabric 90 degrees, lower presser foot and continue stitching the next edge

Placket:

an opening or slit on a garment, usually at the top or front of a shirt or on the shirt sleeves

Press:

using an iron to flatten fabric and set seams by lifting it up and down, not gliding it across the fabric

Pressing Cloth:

a piece of fabric used between the garment and the iron to prevent heat damage to the fabric

Pre-shrink:

washing and drying fabric before sewing to avoid shrinking the final garment

Presser Foot:

the attachment used on sewing machines to hold fabric in place as it is fed through the machine and stitched, with various types (such as a zipper foot) for specialized usage

Rotary Cutter:

a tool with a sharp, round blade used for cutting fabric on a cutting mat

Seam Allowance:

the area between the raw edge of the fabric and the stitching line

Seam Ripper:

a small, sharp tool used to remove unwanted stitches

Selvage:

the tightly woven, finished edge of the fabric that runs parallel to the warp

Shears:

specialized scissors for cutting fabric, usually larger than regular scissors with a slight bend in the handle

Stay Stitch:

a straight stitch in the seam allowance that provides stability and keeps fabric from stretching at the seam

Stitch in the Ditch:

stitching on the outside of a garment or bag, through all layers, in the groove of the seam where it can be hidden

Warp:

the lengthwise grain, parallel to the selvage

Weft:

the crosswise grain, perpendicular to the selvage

Send me the free printable Sewing Glossary!

(Plus, get access to the whole resource library with more free patterns and downloads!)

Thank you!

You will receive a pattern download and instructions for accessing the resource library shortly!

.
Free Downloads | Sewing Glossary of Terms | Radiant Home Studio

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Welcome! I’m Sara. I share modern home & accessory sewing patterns, and I create surface designs for licensing. I hope you are encouraged to see beauty in small things and are inspired to try new creative projects!

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