Ready… Set… SEW! Basic Sewing Terms and Definitions

Backstitch At the beginning, and end of your stitching, a few reverse stitches on your machine locks your stitches, so they don’t unravel.

Want it to look good? Then BACK that STITCH up!

Running stitch Hand-sewn stitch that weaves in and out of the fabric, resulting in a dashed line.

Like walking in a straight line and leaving footprints!

Edgestitch Straight stitching very close to the edge of a seam, trim, or outer edge. It secures seam allowances, prevents the edge from stretching, and supports the fabric.

When you are walking on the edge you are walking on the outer part of something

Slip stitch Used to join two folded edges or one folded edge to a flat surface, for an almost invisible stitch.

Slip your needle into your fabric, slide it through and repeat above your initial slip to make an invisible seam!

Stitch Width How wide each stitch can be made, from a narrow stitch to a wide stitch. The stitch width adjustment gives the machine the ability to go from a straight line stitch to a zigzag stitch

Zig-Zag Stitch looks like a ‘W’ pattern! Woo!

Stitch Length Length of a stitch determined by the movement of the feed dogs

The higher the number for your height the taller you are. The higher the number of the stitch length, the longer your stitch!

Seam allowance This is the amount of space between the edge of the fabric and where you will sew the fabric together.

Seam line This is the line on which you sew. The straighter this line is, the more tailored your garment or project will look

Look down at the side of your leg right now. You can SEE the Seam!

Pins should be PERPENDICULAR to the raw edge. The heads of the pins should be facing OUT!

The head of your pin should be along the outside of your fabric. Think about roasting marshmallows; the marshmallow is like the head of your pin!

Special Cuts Clip A small cut into the seam allowance to allow fabric to bend at curves and points. Trim To cut away excess fabric How to cut Want to trim weight…you also want to trim fabric! Clip so you can flip!

Right side of the fabric This is the side you see when the garment is finished. This side may be brighter or smoother than the wrong (or inner) side.

Wrong side Usually the inside of a garment or the backside of fabric

The RIGHT side is the BRIGHT side!

Selvage the part of fabric where you often see manufacturer’s information, contrasting trim, etc. The selvage does not fray

Hey what do you say?! The selvage won’t fray!

Lengthwise grainline This thread runs the entire length of the fabric and is parallel to the selvage. When you place a pattern on the fabric, you align the pattern’s grainline with the fabric’s lengthwise grain

GrainLine L-LENGTH

Notches Pattern marks shaped like diamonds or triangles that are printed on the cutting line of a pattern to indicate where the seams should match

If you don’t cut your NOTCH…you’ll have an uneven CROTCH!

Raw edge Unfinished, cut edge of fabric

Hem This is at the edge of a finished sewing project. Usually it is folded over at least once and then sewn in place.

Inseam The inside seam on pants—runs from the hem of the pant to the point of the crotch

Tracing wheel An instrument with a smooth-edged, small serrated or needle-pointed wheel mounted on one end of a handle to transfer markings onto paper or fabric

Tracing paper Paper which has been coated on one or both sides with white or colored wax or chalk—used in conjunction with the tracing wheel

Seam Ripper A tool with a small curved blade that has a sharp point on one end and a plastic tip on the other end that is used to remove stitches

When a seam is no good, rip it out! RIP seam!

Sewing Tape Measures A tape measure is a must-have tool for sewing. It is a flexible ruler to allow you to measure your body’s curves.

Hand Sewing Needles Make the correct choice when choosing a hand sewing needle to eliminate damaging fabric and make the task easier “Eye” of the needle

Sewing Gauges Sewing gauges are hand tools for measuring small areas as you are sewing

Shears Accurate cutting for any given sewing task helps maintain accuracy For fabric only! The raised handle shape of shears is so you can lay them flat on the cutting surface and guide your cuts accurately.

Now you have your very own sewing dictionary!