A Basic Sewing Glossary
Need help interpreting your sewing patterns? Sewing comes with its very own language and vocabulary! Here's a simple and beginner-friendly definition for some of the most common sewing terms you will come across:
Armscye: The opening in a garment where the sleeve is attached.
Backstitch: A strong stitch that goes backward to secure seams and prevent unraveling.
Bar tack: A series of closely spaced stitches used to reinforce areas like pocket edges.
Baste: Long, temporary stitches used to hold fabric pieces in place before final sewing.
Bias: The diagonal direction across woven fabric, at a 45-degree angle to the grainline. Fabric cut on the bias has more stretch and drapes differently than fabric cut along the straight grain.
Bias Tape: Strips of fabric cut on the bias, used for binding edges or creating decorative trims.
Bobbin: A small spool that holds the lower thread in a sewing machine.
Buttonhole: A reinforced slit or hole in fabric to accommodate a button.
Casing: A fabric tunnel sewn into a garment that holds a piece of elastic, drawstring, or cord. It is often used in waistbands or sleeve hems to gather fabric snugly.
Clipping corners: Cutting small triangles off fabric corners to reduce bulk when turning inside out.
Darts: Stitched folds used to shape fabric around curves of the body, like at the bust or waist.
Ease: Extra space added to a garment for comfort or fit. Without ease, a garment would be so tight you couldn’t move.
Edgestitch: A line of stitching sewn very close to the fabric edge or seam, used for reinforcement and a neat appearance. It is often done about 1/16 inch from the edge.
Feed dogs: The metal teeth on a sewing machine’s base plate that pull fabric under the needle.
French seams: A seam finishing method that encloses the raw edges inside of a double seam, creating a neat look and preventing fraying.
Facing: A piece of fabric sewn to the inside edge of a garment to create a clean, finished look. Facings are often used for necklines, armholes, or garment openings.
Fusible Interfacing: A type of fabric with adhesive on one side that can be bonded to another fabric using heat, typically with an iron. It adds structure or reinforcement to areas like collars or button plackets.
Gather: Sewing technique in which long stitches are made along one edge of the fabric, then the threads are pulled to bunch the fabric, creating fullness.
Grade: Trimming each layer of a seam allowance to different widths to reduce bulk.
Grain: The direction of the woven threads in fabric, either lengthwise (warp) or crosswise (weft).
Grainline: A line marked on sewing patterns that indicates how the pattern should be aligned with the fabric’s grain for proper drape and fit.
Gusset: A piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add extra space or shape, such as in underarm areas.
Hem: The finished edge of a fabric that prevents fraying, usually folded up and sewn.
Interfacing: A fabric layer used between garment layers to add structure or support.
Lining: A separate layer of fabric sewn into a garment’s interior to cover seams and provide a smoother fit and comfort. It also adds durability and sometimes insulation.
Muslin: An inexpensive, plain-woven cotton fabric used to make test versions (toiles) of patterns. It helps check fit and design before sewing the final garment in the chosen fabric. Sometimes muslin refers to the test garment that is created.
Nap: The raised surface of certain fabrics, like velvet, that looks different from different directions.
Notch: Small cuts or marks on fabric or patterns to help match up pieces accurately when sewing.
Notions: Small sewing items such as buttons, zippers, and threads needed for garment construction.
Piping: A narrow strip of fabric, often with a cord inside, used to trim or embellish seams.
Placket: An opening in a garment, like at a neckline or cuff, that allows it to be worn more easily.
Pleat: A fold in fabric that is sewn in place to create fullness or decoration.
Press Cloth: A piece of fabric placed between an iron and the garment to protect the fabric during pressing.
Presser foot: A part of a sewing machine that holds fabric flat as it is sewn.
Raw edge: The unfinished cut edge of fabric that may fray if not treated.
Seam: The line where two pieces of fabric are sewn together.
Seam allowance: The extra fabric space between the stitching line and fabric edge.
Seam finish: A technique used to prevent fabric edges from fraying, like zigzag stitching or binding.
Selvage: The factory-finished edge of a fabric that runs along its length. It won’t fray and is typically denser than the main fabric. Sometimes it can be used as a design feature in finished garments, such as jeans.
Serger: A specialized sewing machine that trims and finishes fabric edges with overlocking stitches.
Shirring: Sewing technique involving multiple rows of gathering stitches, often done with elastic thread, to create stretchy sections on fabric.
Stay stitch: A line of stitches sewn inside the seam allowance to prevent fabric stretching or distortion during construction, commonly used on curved or bias edges.
Stretch percentage: The amount a fabric can stretch compared to its original size, given as a percentage.
Stitch in the ditch: A technique where stitches are sewn directly into the seam line to secure layers without visible topstitching, often used in quilting or attaching facings.
Thread tension: The balance between the upper and lower threads in a sewing machine, which affects stitch quality. Proper tension ensures even, smooth stitches without puckering or loops.
Toile: A practice version of a garment made from inexpensive fabric to test fit and design.
Topstitch: A decorative or reinforcing stitch sewn on the outside of a garment, close to a seam or edge.
Under Stitch: A line of stitching sewn close to the seam on the facing or lining side to prevent it from rolling outward and showing on the garment’s exterior.
Walking Foot: A sewing machine attachment that moves the fabric from the top while the feed dogs move it from the bottom, ensuring even feeding. It’s ideal for sewing multiple layers or difficult fabrics.
Warp/weft: The warp refers to the lengthwise threads in woven fabric that run parallel to the selvage, while the weft refers to the crosswise threads woven over and under the warp.
Zigzag stitch: A back-and-forth stitch pattern used to finish raw edges or for stretch seams.
Zipper foot: A narrow presser foot designed to sew close to zippers or piping, allowing the needle to stitch close to raised fabric edges.
