Sewing Definitions and Terms - From Your Guide

Alteration - Changes made to change the fit of a garment. More Alterations & Fitting

Baste - a method of temporarily joining fabric using large stitches which are easily removed. More on Basting

Bias Tape - strips of fabric which are cut from the bias of the fabric .. usually folded on two edges and sometimes folded again for edging... the bias allows it to smoothly follow curves. More on Bias Tape

Clean Finish - stitch 1/4" from the edge and press to wrong side. If the raw edge will not be stitched down in another step, stitch down. More Basic Seam Finishes

Contour - with a curve - for example: a pattern may be described as having a contour waistline. This means that the waist band is cut on a curve verses cut out as a straight band. This usually lends it self to a better fit.

Directional Stitching - Stitching in a particular direction to maintain pattern shapes Directional Stitching

Ease - a way of making one piece of fabric fit on to another by evenly pulling in the extra fabric with out making any gathers or tucks in the larger piece of fabric .. this is necessary in may areas of garments in order to have proper fitting and ease of movement in the finished garment. Easing Versus Gathering

Edge stitching — A row of stitching that appears on the very edge of a garment, normally 1/8” or less from a seam line, fold line or finished edge. Thread matches the fabric color. Grading And Under Stitching Facings

Fabric diagonals - A fabric that is printed on a diagonal, many patterns state "not suitable for diagonal fabrics, this is means that due to the pattern design it will be impossible to match diagonal prints or designs.

Flat Felled Seam - a very durable seam, usually seen on jeans. How To Sew a Flat Felled Seams

French Seam - A seam which is completely enclosed How to Sew A French Seam

Gather -- a method of pulling fabric together to create fullness. More -- Easing Versus Gathering

Grainline - refers to the way the threads make up the fabric. More on Fabric Grainlines

Grade Seam - trim one layer of the seam allowance shorter then the other layer to eliminate bulk. For example: a facing seam allowance would be trimmed shorter on facing part of the allowance and longer on the body seam allowance. How To Grade A Seam

Hair Canvas - a form of interfacing - high quality which lends itself to molding for areas such as firm blazer rolled collars. Hair canvas is a woven interfacing available at any quality fabric store.

Moderate Stretch Knit - usually found in the suggested fabrics area on a pattern envelope. There is usually a ruler type diagram on the same envelope which demonstrates the amount of stretch the fabric will need to have. For example: A lycra spandex fabric in comparison to a tee shirt type knit.

Notch - A small cut into the seam allowance which will allow fabric to bend at curves and corners.

Pattern Layout - directions for the way to lay out a pattern Pattern Layout Lesson

Pile - the nap of the fabric - when the fabric is brushed in one direction it looks like a different color - velvet and corduroy are classic examples. Lay all pattern pieces so that the pile is going in it's natural direction... for example... the down pile would be down the leg. More on Fabric Nap

Preshrinking - refers to laundering the fabric before you begin cutting or sewing. More on Preshrinking

Rolled Hem - 1. fold raw edge under 1/8 to1/4" and then 1/8 to 1/4" again, enclosing raw edge. Top stitch to hold hem. 2. A serger stitch which rolls the fabric and encloses the edge with thread. More On Sergers

Satin Stitch - A zig zag stitch with a shortened stitch length to create stitches that look horizontal to each other. Satin Stitch

Seam Allowance - the area of fabric that is between the seam stitching and the cut edge

Selvage - the edge of raw fabric which is unable to fray... usually has company info +/or color matching dots.

Serger/Overlocker - a type of sewing machine which cuts and finishes the seam allowance in one step. the stitches it makes are found in most manufactured clothing and is a great stretch stitch. See all the stitches that can be made here.

Separating zipper - A zipper which completely separates, such as for a jacket or sweater. The bottom of the zipper has metal tabs for starting the pull, while a regular zipper it clamped together to not separate.

Staystitching - Stitching done to stabilize fabric and helps pieces fit together even after handling. Staystitching

Stitch In The Ditch - a method of under stitching - press seam allowances to one side and top stitch as close to the seam as you can to hold the seam allowance down and cause the piece of fabric to stay folded under. For example: When you are attaching a facing, if you stitch in the ditch on the facing side of the seam, the facing will stay turned into the garment and give you a clean edge. Grading And Under Stitching Facings

Top Stitch - A row of stitching, visible on the finished product. Can be functional or decorative. See top stitching pointer at the bottom of lesson 11

Under stitching - Stitching done very close to the seam line, sometimes referred to as "stitch in the ditch". Grading And Under Stitching Facings

Would you like to be kept informed of the newest additions at About Sewing? Sign up to receive the free About Sewing Newsletter. Feel free to preview a previous issue.