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What Did (or Would) You Want to Know…..

June 26, 2010 by Jessica 19 Comments

I want to make a sewing terms sheet to send with my patterns and to have available online. I remember when I first started sewing, I had to search so many terms to figure out what they meant! I want to make it easy and try to put the basic terms in one place. This would not only be good for beginner sewers, but others for whom English is not their first language. The other week one of my friends called me asking me what certain terms were on this sewing pattern because she was used to hearing the terms in her first language. Here is what I thought of so far that I had to look up or am asked about frequently via email:

Gather

Baste

Raw Edge

Right side of fabric

Wrong side of fabric

Shirr(ing)

Casing

Zig-zag Stitch

V-Stitch

Finish seam

Top stitch

Any other sewing terms you can think of?

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Comments

  1. Corie @ Red Letter Rising says

    June 26, 2010 at 11:34 am

    As someone who longs to sew but has no machine, I’m definitely a beginner. Just show me a pattern and I’ll tell you every word I don’t understand!

    Reply
  2. JB Kronborg says

    June 26, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Hahaha. I second Corie’s comment, but also: selvage!! What the heck?

    Reply
  3. sheabella says

    June 26, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    a few that come to mind….dart, selvage, bias
    😉

    Reply
  4. Garilyn says

    June 26, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    French seam was something I had to look up. I have to think about this somemore.

    Reply
  5. SummersDesigns says

    June 26, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    When I started sewing I really didn’t know any of the terms and still don’t know them all, thank goodness for internet! Here are some: bias, ease, and dart

    Reply
  6. SAMZE says

    June 26, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    bias & grain.

    Reply
  7. Katie says

    June 26, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    clip and notch are words I had to look up the first few times. I may be dense, but it did take me a few patterns to understand what ‘finish all seams’ meant too.

    Reply
  8. megan.futo says

    June 26, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    I dont know if a French seam is the same a Finish seam, but I just recently sewed a dressed that called for a french seam and I had to search and search for a good description for a french seam.

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    June 26, 2010 at 9:25 pm

    rouched

    Reply
  10. Erin says

    June 27, 2010 at 12:00 am

    ruched? I am still confused on the difference between ruched/gathering/shirring … they’re kind of the same thing, right?

    Reply
  11. Momma Knits says

    June 27, 2010 at 7:48 am

    identifying the grain of the fabric… I get the whole grain thing, but which way does it go? How do you know? does it really make a difference?

    Reply
  12. Jackie says

    June 27, 2010 at 8:32 am

    selvage, and cutting on the grain or bias, i have been sewing for 20 years and still have to look that up! for real.

    Reply
  13. Kathryn says

    June 27, 2010 at 9:24 am

    Backstitch, slipstitch, woof and weft (and I would still have to look the last one up to this day).

    Reply
  14. Chris, Kristina, Nathan and....Audrey! says

    June 27, 2010 at 11:18 pm

    How about stay-stitch and rolled hem.

    Reply
  15. Lydia says

    June 28, 2010 at 2:30 am

    As someone who JUST finished her FIRST pattern ever, I’m thinking you should market this idea to the pattern companies. 🙂 stay stitch, baste, with nap, yoke, selvage, ease…just open a pattern and put about every other word in there. lol.

    Reply
  16. JulieAnn says

    June 28, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    The different kinds of stitches.

    And ditto on the kinds of hems.

    Maybe even go through one of your tutorials and explain EXACTLY what you mean…

    Reply
  17. Patty says

    June 29, 2010 at 8:33 am

    GRAIN! I can never figure out if that is the width of the fabric, selvage to selvage or the length.

    Reply
  18. Ali says

    July 3, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    Oh man this is a great idea!!! I’ a beginner and am sewing with a pattern for the first time ( started last night)! The thing I dont get is – what are all those triangle on the pattern for??

    Reply
  19. Carol says

    July 3, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    I’ve been sewing for a really long time and learned from the best (my mom), but in trying to explain to my nieces, the terms that come up are straight of grain, both lenghwise and crosswise, and the importance of cutting on grain. Grade and trim seams and interfacing are a couple others. Oh, and I was in a fabric store with my engineer husband who thought they measured fabric by square yards! Maybe an explanation of how fabric is measured would help too.

    Reply

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