A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
ADHESIVE A substance that causes fibers or fabrics to stick together. Paper backed adhesive is commonly used to apply applique.
APPLIQUÉ Material that is cut out and sewn or fused to a fabric. Often Paper backed adhesive is used.
B
BACKSTITCHOne of the strongest hand stitches. The new stitch ends at the left side of the prior stitch.
BAGGING A method of sewing in lining to main curtain fabric where you sew around all edges(right sides to right sides curtain to lining), usually with a sewing machine. An opening is left to turn the curtain right side out which can then either be hand or machine sewn close.
BASTE Sewing a temporary seam. This can be done by hand or machine sewing, or you can use basting glue, pins, or tape.
BATTING Fiber that has been matted or rolled. Made of cotton, wool, silk, polyester, or other natural or synthetic fibers. Used for stuffing, padding, quilting. Can be sold in rolls, quilt sizes, or bags.
BIAS The diagonal direction of fabric between the warp and the weft threads. Or The direction in which woven fabric has the most stretch. It is diagonal to the horizontal and vertical threads.
BINDING A strip of fabric used to cover the raw edge or seam. Bias tape is often used.
C
CASING A pocket to hold elastic, ribbon, or drawstring, usually made by folding over and stitching down the fabric.
CORD TIDY A small plastic or metal object which is used to wrap cords around and keep them tidy.
CROSS-GRAIN The weave perpendicular to the selvage.
D
DART A seam which shapes the fabric. Typically used for bust or waist lines or any where a curve is needed for fitting or molding the fabric. A dart is usually triangular in shape, although may be curved to achieve the shape desired.
DRAPE A characteristic of fabric which indicates the flexibility and way that the fabric hangs. A Drape is also the term for a window covering.
E
EASE When easing two pieces of fabric together, you gather the longer to make it stitch the same length as the shorter. This is used with hem, sleeves, and circular sewing.
F
FAT EIGHTH A 9 inch by 22 inch piece of fabric. Basically one half of one eighth of a yard of 44 inch wide fabric. Typically used by quilters.
FAT QUARTER An 18 inch by 22 inch piece of fabric. Basically one half of one yard of 44 inch wide fabric. Typically used by quilters.
FINIAL The decorative end on a curtain rod. There is a finial on each end. Many are interchangeable.
G
GRAIN The direction the horizontal and vertical treads run.
H
HAND This is a characteristic of fabric. It describes how the fabric feels when it is touched, rubbed, folded, creases or squeezed. Terms sometimes used are how soft, flexible, resilient, dense, or what the surface contour of the fabric is.
LADDER STITCH A stitch which holds two folded edges or ends of fabric together. It is also used to hold a folded edge to a flat edge. The finished stitching should be hardly visible.
M
MARKING
Pillows require very little marking. Usually you mark your fabric to indicate pattern instructions, such as where a dart or a pleat goes. Tailors chalk or a chalk pencil are very handy. There are also disappearing ink fabric pens. Which ever marker you choose, be sure to first test your marker on a scrap of fabric before you use it for the rest of your pillow.
MEASURING TAPE
Measuring your fabric to determine and mark proper pillow size is very important. You will want to have a cloth seamstress’s measuring tape to mark lengths and measure size.
N
NARROW HEM A hem made by folding the fabric twice usually less than a 1/2″ width and then stitching.
NEEDLES
You will also want to pick up a package of assorted “sharps”, which are hand sewing needles. They are often called all-purpose needles. Look for packages of sharps with larger eyes, as they will be easier to thread. Embroidery needles are the same as sharps, except they have large eyes to accommodate embroidery floss, which is thicker then regular thread, but they also work well for general sewing.
NEEDLE THREADERS
You might also want to buy a package of needle threaders. These are little loops of wire attached to a thin metal handle. To use them, you insert the needle threader into the eye of the needle, place the end of your thread though its loop, and pull the threader back though the eye. They are very useful not only for treading hand sewing needles, but also sewing machine needles.
NOTIONS All the items needed to make a project other than the fabric.
O
P
PIN
Pins keep your pattern in place while you cut and hold your fabric together as you sew. There are many different types of pins. Long ones, really, really long ones, short ones, medium ones, and some that climb on rocks (well, not really), and each one is designed for a particular use.
For pillow making, use “quilters pins”. Quilter’s Pins are the long ones, and usually have yellow heads (the head is the little ball on the end), but the heads also come multicolored. These are especially nice for pinning your fabric together and holding it securely. Medium length dressmakers pins also work well. But for ease of use, quilters pins are the best.
Remember to be especially careful when using pins, as they are sharp and can prick you.
PIN CUSHION
Pin cushions hold our pins so they are ready to be used and may be easily reached at all times. They come in many shapes and sizes, but perhaps the most well known sewing icon is the red tomato pin cushion. Even if you find you would prefer a magnetic pin holder, a little red tomato with a small strawberry is a must! What is the little strawberry for? The strawberry is usually filled with course sand and is used to remove rust from pins. If you run a rusty pin in and out of the little strawberry it will remove the rust. You don’t want rust on your pins when you sew, as the rust will stain your fabric. The strawberry also removes small “jaggies”, which can develop on your pins from rust and snag fine fabric.
PIVOT A turning movement made by leaving the needle in the fabric, lifting the presser foot, and rotating the fabric.
POINT TURNER
These can be used to make very crisp corners. However a chopstick also works very well, and you might already have one in your kitchen.
PRESS Gently ironing by lifting and reapplying the iron.
Q
QUILTING A method of sewing a fabric and batting sandwich (batting with fabric on both sides) together. There are many methods of quilting, it can be done my machine or by hand.
R
RIGHT SIDE OF FABRIC This is the outside side of the fabric. Usually this is more boldly printed, but can be the side with the nap, or can visibly look the same as the wrong side. When trying to determine which side is the right side look for the small pin holes along the selvage, the right side will have the holes going away from it.
RULERA large ruler, such as those used for quilting or an L shaped carpenters ruler, come in very handy when measuring and marking your pillow pieces.
S
SCISSOR
Dressmaking scissors can be expensive, but they are well worth the investment. A good pair of stainless steel scissors will last you a life time.
For pillow making, you will want to have a pair of 7 or 8 inch bent handled scissors. Bent handled scissors are designed to make cutting easy, and allow the fabric to lay flat on the surface while you cut.
It is also nice to have a pair of 4 or 5 inch scissors for trimming seams and clipping treads.
Also handy but not a necessity are pinking shears. These scissors are used after you have cut the pillow pieces from your fabric, and make a Zig-Zag “pinking” edge on the seams, which does not easily ravel.
SEAM ALLOWANCE The amount of fabric left between the stitches and the edge of the fabric. 1/2” is the standard seam allowance in home accessory sewing. 5/8″ is the standard for home clothing sewing.
SEAM RIPPER
A Seam Ripper is indispensible when making pillows, and will greatly speed the task of removing unwanted seams.
SELVAGE The finished vertical edge on fabric, woven to prevent raveling.
T
THREAD
A general rule for buying thread is to get one shade darker then your fabric.
Cotton wrapped polyester thread, usually called all-purpose thread, works well for almost all fabrics.
You might also see tread made of all cotton or polyester. This tread has more specific uses then the all-purpose thread. Cotton thread is good for natural fiber fabrics such as cotton or linen, while polyester thread works well for synthetic fabrics.
For your first project it is best to choose all-purpose thread.
U
V
VALANCE A window topper, this can be made of soft fabric in a complementary color or print fabric. Can also be called a Topper. A Valance usually covers the hardware used to hold the main window covering.
W
WARP The thread end that runs lengthwise in a woven fabric, parallel to the selvages. These are the threads that are put on the loom first before the fabric is woven.
WEFT The thread that runs selvage to selvage at right angles to the warp. Also Called the “filling”.
WRONG SIDE OF FABRICThis is the side of the fabric that would normally be on the inside of the garment, or sewn item.
X
Y
Z
ZIGZAG A stitch made by the sewing machine which alternates direction from left to right with each stitch.