Tailoring Glossary

E-405 05-06

Glossary Glossary of Sewing Terms Terms

F

ashion designers and seamstresses seem to have a vocabulary all their own. The ollowing list is a collection o the more common terms used to describe the silhouettes, styles, and details o clothing design, as well as abric qualities, notions, and construction procedures. Having a working knowledge o these terms will increase your condence when discussing and constructing garments.

Extension Family Development and Resource Management Specialists

A-line –

Dress or skirt resembling the shape o an A.

Alter –

To change the pattern or garment so that it ts the body and represents  body measurements and proportions.

Applique –

A cut-out decoration, design or moti applied to base abric.

Armscye –

Armhole; opening or a sleeve.

Asymmetrical –

One-sided, not geometrically balanced.

Baste –

Stitches made by hand or machine to hold abric pieces together temporarily.

Bias –

Diagonal direction o abric. True  bias is at a 45-degree angle to the grain line.

Binding –

Strip to encase edges as a nish or trim.

Blind hem –

Sewing a hem invisibly with hand or machine stitches.

.

Blouson –

Bloused eect o ullness gathered in at and alling over a seam, typically the bodice over a skirt.

Dart –

A tuck in the abric that helps in tting the garment over the  body curve.

Dolman –

Sleeve set into a deep armhole so as to resemble a kimono sleeve.

Bodice –

Portion o garment above the waist.

Bolt –

Unit in which abric is packaged and sold by the manuacturer. Usually contains 12 to 20 yards.

Double-breasted –

Front closing that overlaps enough to allow two rows o  buttons.

Boning –

Flexible strips used to stien seams or edges.

Drum lining –

Lining not sewn into garment seams.

Casing –

A olded-over edge o garment or area through which elastic or ribbon is threaded.

Ease –

Chevron –

V-shaped stripes.

Clean fnish –

A method or nishing the raw edges o pockets, hems or seams.

The even distribution o slight ullness when one section o a seam is joined to a slightly shorter section without orming gathers or tucks. Used to shape set-in sleeves, princess seams, etc.

Edge stitching –

Stitching placed 1⁄16 inch rom the edge; may be stitching detail, such as topstitching or stitching done to nish the outer edge o a seam or acing edge.

Empire –

High waistline bodice with a loose, straight skirt.

Enclosed seam –

A seam allowance along a aced edge that is stitched and turned to orm an enclosed seam between two layers o abric.

Eyelet –

Small, round, nished hole in a garment or abric.

Fabric hand –

The way a abric eels and drapes; its fexibility, smoothness and sotness.

Clip –

A cut in abric to allow ease on curves or corners. Also used to indicate notches in pattern.

Closure –

That which opens or closes a garment (buttons, snaps, etc., or the area on which they are placed).

Colorfast –

Fabric that will not ade or run during cleaning or laundering.

Contrasting –

Opposing; showing o dierences o color, abric, shading, etc.

Crease –

A line made by olding the abric and pressing the old on this specied line.

  

Facing –

To nish an edge by applying a tted piece o abric, binding, etc. Also the right side o the abric.

Fell stitch –

Neat, tiny, vertical stitches used in tailoring.

Finger press –

Pressing a small area by creasing with the ngers.

Finish –

Any means o completing a raw garment edge to keep it rom raveling, rolling or raying.

Flap –

Shaped garment piece attached  by only one edge, such as a fap pocket.

Flare –

Portion o garment that spreads out or widens.

Fly –

Fabric used as lap to conceal an opening in a garment.

Fold line –

The line where abric is olded, usually vertically, when cutting out a garment. It is common or the center ront o a garment to  be placed on a old line.

Fusible web –

A web-like adhesive that melts when you apply heat and moisture.

Gather –

To draw up abric ullness on a line o stitching.

Give –

The amount o stretch on abric that yields to pressure without tearing or breaking.

Gore –

Tapered section o a garment; wider at the lower edge.

Grade –

To reduce the bulk o enclosed seams by trimming the individual seam allowances dierent widths, clipping inward curves and corners, notching convex curves, and trimming away excess abric at outward corners.

Grosgrain –

Silk abric or ribbon having heavy crosswise ribs.

Gusset –

A abric piece inserted at the underarm to give ease in the sleeve area.

Hem –

The nished portion on skirts,  jackets and sleeves held in place with a hemming stitch.

Interfacing –

A careully selected abric placed between the garment and the acing abric or added  body, to give support, and to maintain shape.

Join –

A term used in pattern directions that usually means to stitch together the pieces reerred to using normal seam allowances and regular stitches.

Keyhole –

Rounded neckline with an inverted, wedge-shaped opening at ront or back.

Lap –

To old or extend a garment piece over another.

Lapels –

Part o a garment that turns  back, especially the ront neckline old o a jacket.

Layout –

Cutting chart on instruction guide sheet showing the placement o pattern pieces.

.

Line –

Marking –

Match –

Style, outline or eect given by the cut and construction o a garment. Transer o construction sym bols rom paper pattern to abric.

To orm a diagonal seam at a square corner.

Motif –

Unit o design; used as decoration or pattern.

Nap –

Sot surace with bers that lie smoothly in one direction.

Notch –

Cutting wedges rom seam allowances o an outward curve. Also a pattern symbol transerred to abric to indicate seaming.

Pattern markings –

Peplum –

Pinning seams beore stitching.

Pinking –

Cutting raw edges with pinking or scalloping sheers to prevent raveling.

Pintuck –

A narrow channel o abric stitched together to orm tuck design detail, used in rench hand sewing.

Pivot –

Stitching around a corner by leaving the needle in the abric, raising the presser oot, and turning the abric in a new direction.

Placket –

Garment opening astened with zipper, snaps or buttons. Finish applied to sleeve opening with cu.

Pre-shrink –

Washing/dry-cleaning abric to allow or shrinkage o abric  beore construction.

Princess line –

Garment tted with seams instead o darts.

Ravel –

To ray.

Raw edge –

Unnished edge o abric.

Right side –

Finished side o abric, outside o garment.

Rip –

To remove stitches improperly placed; also tearing abric along the straight grain.

Roll –

Desired curve and old (commonly on a collar); shaping established by pressing, pad stitching, etc.

To bring notches or other construction markings on two pieces together.

Miter –

Notions –

Pin basting –

Items other than abric or a pattern required to complete a garment, such as buttons, thread, zipper, etc. The symbols or construction printed on the pattern, such as or darts, buttonholes, notches, dots or tucks. They are transerred rom the pattern to the abric by means o tailor’s tacks, notches, chalk, basting or temporary abric markers. Small founce or extension o garment around the hips, usually rom the bodice.

  

Seam –

Two or more edges o abric held together by sewing. Seam should be well constructed and appropriate or the abric, type o garment, and the location on the garment.

Seam allowance –

Width o abric beyond the seam line, not including the garment area.

Seam binding –

Ribbon-like tape used to nish edges.

Secure –

Fasten permanently by means o a knot, backstitching, etc.

Self fabric –

O the same material as the rest o the garment.

Selvage –

Lengthwise nished edges on all woven abrics. Running parallel to the lengthwise grain.

Semi-ftted –

Fitting to conorm partly, but not too closely, to the shape o the gure.

Serger –

A machine that overcasts and trims an edge simultaneously.

Shank –

Link between button and abric to allow or the thickness o overlapping abric.

Sheath –

Close-tting dress with a straight skirt.

Shirtwaist –

Dress with bodice details similar to a shirt.

Shrinking –

Constricting abric with steam or water to eliminate excess in a specic area. Also done to abric  beore cutting out a garment to prevent urther abric shrinkage.

Silhouette –

Outline or contour o a gure or garment.

Single-breasted –

Center ront closing with enough fap to allow one row o  buttons.

Slash –

Cut taken in abric to acilitate construction or turning o abric at a point or corner.

Slip stitch –

A hand stitch used to join two layers o abric rom the right side.

Stay –

Means o maintaining the shape o a garment area, by using a small piece o abric or tape that is sewn to an area o the garment to reinorce and secure a position.

Stitching in the ditch –

The technique o sewing a straight stitch inconspicuously in the seam well on the correct side o a previously stitched seam. Used to complete waist bands, cus, collars, and rench  bias binding.

Tack –

Joining two garment layers with small, loose, hand stitches or thread loops.

Tailoring –

Construction technique requiring special hand sewing and pressing to mold abric into a nished garment.

Taper –

Cutting or stitching at a slight diagonal, generally to make gradually smaller.

Template –

A shape made o a sti substance, such as reezer paper, usually the size o the nished design. (i.e., pocket, applique shape or quilt pattern)

.

Tension –

Amount o pull on thread or abric during construction. Also the relationship o the needle and bobbin thread and how they interlock to orm the sewing machine stitch, creating a balanced, looser or tighter stitch.

Underlining –

Lining joined in garment seams that is used to give shape or support.

Understitching –

Folding the entire seam allowance to the acing side or underside and then stitching on the correct side o the acing close to the seam edge. This allows the seam to lie fat and keeps the seam edge rom showing on the correct side o the garment.

Thread count –

Number o threads in 1 square inch o abric.

Topstitching –

Line o machine stitching parallel to a seam or edge, done rom the right side o a garment.

Vent –

Faced or lined slash in a garment or ease.

Trim –

To cut away excess abric.

Welt –

Strip o material stitched to a seam, border or edge.

Trimming –

Feature added to a garment or ornamentation, such as braid or sel abric.

Wrap-around –

Garment or part o a garment wrapped around a person, such as a skirt.

A garment section, usually a collar or cu, that olds back upon itsel.

Wrong side –

The inside o a garment or back side o abric.

Turnover –

Twill tape –

Firmly woven tape used or tailoring to reinorce and prevent stretching.

 Yoke –

Fitted portion o garment, usually at shoulders or hips, designed to support the rest o the garment hanging rom it.

This publication was adapted from “Garment Construction Terms” by Cynthia Klumpp, Master Clothing Volunteer Coordinator, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas.

Produced by Agricultural Communications, The Texas A&M University System Extension publications can be found on the Web at: http://tcebookstore.org Visit Texas Cooperative Extension at http://texasextension.tamu.edu Educational programs conducted by Texas Cooperative Extension serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, Acts of Congress of May 8, 1914, as amended, and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. Edward G. Smith, Director, Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System. New