Basic Sewing Terms

Starting out , this list of vocabulary words for sewing definitely helped me learn. I thought I'd share.

Bias- diagonal direction of fabric . True bias is at a 45 degree angle to the grainline.

Bias Tape- cotton-covered tape used for binding curved or straight edges and trims.

Bodice- portion of a garment above the waist.

Bodkin-device used to draw elastic, belting and cording through a casing.

Clip-a cut in the fabric to allow ease on curves and corners.

Dressmakers tracing paper and wheel- paper and tool for transferring pattern markings to the wrong side of the fabric.

Edgestitch-top stitching placed very close to the finished edge.

Elastic- a rubberized product used in waistbands and sleeve casings.

Face- the right side of fabric.

Finger Pressing- pressing a small area by creasing with your finger.

Finish- any means of completing the raw garment edge.

Gathers- small, soft folds made by drawing fabric up on a line with hand or machine stitches.

Grain- the direction in which the threads composing the fabric run.

Guidesheet- located inside the pattern; it gives instruction as to the layout of a pattern and directions for sewing.

Hem Facing- lace tape used for hemming.

Layout- cutting chart located on the instruction of a pattern that shows placement of pattern pieces.

Nap- a soft surface with fibers that lie smoothly in one direction.

Notions- Items other than fabric or pattern required to complete a garment.

Raw Edge- an unfinished edge of fabric.

Remnant- an unsold end of piece goods (fabric)

Right side- finished side of fabric , outside of garment.

Seam Allowance-the width of fabric beyond the seamline, not including the garment area.

Seam Binding- Ribbon-like tape used to finish edges.

Seam Ripper- pen-like device that allows careful ripping of mistakes in the fabric.

Self- of same material as rest of the garment.

Selvage- lengthwise finished edges on all woven fabrics.

Trim- to cut away excess fabric.

Twill Tape- a firmly woven tape used to reinforce an area that may receive stress.

Hopefully this helped you as much as it did me!