Terms to Know Before You Sew! Sewing Dictionary Terms to Know Before You Sew!

Alter To change or revise a pattern or garment to suit individual sizing or desires. This could be making an item larger or smaller, etc.

Applique To applique is to sew one piece of fabric on top of another, done with a a very tight zig-zag stitch. The eyes in the picture are appliqued in place:

Back-Stitch Used at the beginning and end of a machine sewn seam to anchor the seam in place; it involves a couple of extra stitches back and forth.

Basting Stitch a long and loose stitch-the longest possible that your machine will do. To baste you will need to set your stitch length to its longest setting. When you baste you won’t backstitch or knot. A baste is usually used just to hold fabric in place prior to sewing or to gather fabric.

Back-Stitch Used at the beginning and end of a machine sewn seam to anchor the seam in place; it involves a couple of extra stitches back and forth.

Bias The bias of the fabric is the 45* angle from the grain of the fabric. So basically, if you turn or cut your fabric 45% (or diagonally) from the straight up and down direction that the fabric would typically go, you are cutting on the bias. This is sometimes called for in a clothing pattern because it changes how the fabric hangs (like in a skirt or dress).

Bias Tape Some patterns you use will call for bias tape. You can buy this at the fabric store (you can also make your own. It will come in a package and is typically used to edge things. It is cut on the bias, which means that it bend easily around corners, making it perfect for finishing an edge on some items BIAS TAPE

Bobbin The bobbin is the thread that comes up from the bottom and meets the thread from you spool to form the stitch. You will have to wind your bobbin and then insert it in your machine. Wound bobbins look like this:

Buttonhole : Hole sewn to pull a button through.. If you are doing it yourself it is done by sewing 2 parallel satin stitches the length of your button that are connected at the top and bottom and then sliced open in the middle to create a hole.

Clip (Curve) Methods vary from, but to clip a curve keep in mind that an outside curve (shaped like an upside down U) needs to be clipped to within a breath of the seam line. An inside curve (shaped like a right side up U) can be either clipped or you can cut very small notches (V shape) out of the curve itself in order to have it lay flat and not make bunches when the project or garment is done.

Dart a fold in the fabric, usually wide at one end narrowing to a point, which helps the fit of a garment over the curves and shapes of the body

Foot Pedal This is the part of your sewing machine that you press with your foot to make the needle sew. It goes on the floor where you can comfortably reach it with your foot

Gather When you want to create ruffles you will need to gather your fabric. To gather you will do a baste stitch on your fabric and then, holding the threads that are at the end of you baste, gently pull the top thread while keeping the bottom thread steady. This will pull your fabric so that it starts to create a gather. Once you have it gathered as much as you want it to be, you sew it in place to make the gather permanent:

Grain Look very closely at your fabric and you will see threads that go up and down and sideways, perpendicular to each other. This is the grain (as opposed to the bias).

Hem A pattern will often tell you to hem the bottom of an article of clothing or other item. To hem you will first fold the fabric over about 1/2″ and press it in place. Then fold it over 1/2″ again (so now no raw edges are visible) and press it again and then stitch it in place.

Inseam The vertical seam on pants between the legs

Interfacing Interfacing can be bought at your fabric store just like fabric but in a special section. It is used to stabilize fabric or make a project a little more sturdy and is sewn on the inside of the fabric. In some patterns you will be asked to use interfacing. There are many different weights of interfacing, so refer to your pattern to determine what you need. If it says fusible interfacing it will need to be the type that can be ironed onto the fabric to adhere it in place.

Knot To knot fabric, you will sew forward about 1 inch, reverse (or back-stitch) back over those stitches and then sew forward again. It should look something like this when you are done: (though you will typically keep sewing beyond the knot instead of quitting after it like I did in this picture)

Lining Lining is a layer of fabric that goes underneath whatever you are sewing. Think of it like this, if you lined a skirt, the skirt would have the outer fabric that is seen by all and then an under fabric that would give the skirt a little more substance and make it less see through. Some patterns will call for lining. Typically the fabric you use for lining will be a neutral solid color that blends well with your main fabric.

Notions Notions are the accessories you will need to sew a project such as a zipper or buttons, thread, possibly bias tape, etc. It could also include the tools like the seam ripper or pins.

Pin You will use pins a lot while sewing. Pinning helps hold fabric in place before you sew it. You want to place the pins so that you can sew through them without hitting the pin head or so that you can easily slide them out of the way as you sew towards them

Pin Cushion A pin cushion holds pins for easy accessibility. It’s not always a “cushion.” Some are magnetic.

Press Iron

Raw Edge The raw edge of the fabric is the edge that is cut

Right Side (of the Fabric) The right side of the fabric is the side with the pattern, pictures, or design on it. On some fabrics it won’t really matter one way or another, but on some fabric there is a definite right side:

Right Sides Together (RST) This means that you put your two pieces of fabric together so that the right sides of the fabric are touching on the inside and the wrong sides are on the outside.

Satin Stitch A satin stitch is a very tight, close together zig-zag stitch.

Seam Allowance A seam allowance is the amount of fabric that is between stitches you are sewing and the very edge of your fabric. For example, if you are instructed to sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance, you would have 1/2″ between the stitch you are sewing and the edge of your fabric.

Seam Guides The seam guides are built into your machine and will help you sew the correct seam allowance. They are marked with various seam allowances and are found right down near your needle and presser foot. If you are told to sew a 1/2″ seam allowance, find the 1/2″ seam guide on your machine and guide you fabric as you sew so that the edge of your fabric stays steady with the 1/2″ seam guide. This will create a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Selvage The selvage of the fabric is the finished edge of the fabric as shown in this picture along the bottom edge of the fabric. It won’t always be printed like this one is (this one has the brand of the fabric and also shows coordinating colors to use with the fabric) but sometimes will be the same pattern as the fabric:

Straight Stitch A straight stitch is a simple, straight line

Top Stitch To top stitch is to do a finishing stitch on top of an already sewn seam. For example, on a bag strap you might sew the strap together, turn it right side out and then do a top stitch to give it a nice finished look:

Wrong Side (of the fabric) This is the underside of the fabric. On some fabric it won’t matter, but on many fabrics there will be a clear difference between the right side and the wrong side

Zig-Zag A zig-zag stitch is just that – a stitch that zig-zags. It’s often used to sew along raw edges to prevent them from fraying. It is also used I a satin stitch and applique.