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

ClipA 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

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

Weft

What the line of thread moving from selvage to selvage is called

In sewing, the weft is mostly referred to as the crosswise grainline

I like to think of it with this rhyme: right to left, weft. Kind of cheesy, I know, but it helps!

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!