stitchu / sewing guide / glossary
Sewing glossary
- armhole: the opening the arm goes through; the sleeve is sewn into it.
- baste: long, loose temporary stitches to hold pieces together for a fitting; you pull them out later.
- bias binding: a fabric strip cut on the bias that wraps and finishes a raw edge.
- dart: a folded, stitched wedge that takes in fabric to shape it over a curve like the bust or waist.
- ease: a tiny bit of extra length on one seam edge, gently distributed (not gathered) so a curved piece like a sleeve cap fits smoothly.
- facing: a shaped piece sewn to a raw edge (like a neckline) then turned inside, giving a clean finished edge with no raw fabric showing.
- gore: a shaped vertical panel of a skirt or bodice; several gores seamed together shape the garment over the body.
- grainline: the arrow on each piece, line it up parallel to the fabric’s selvage (the woven edge) so the garment hangs straight.
- interfacing: a stiffening layer fused or sewn inside areas like facings and waistbands to give them body.
- muslin: a quick test version of the garment sewn in cheap fabric first, so you can check the fit before cutting your real fabric.
- notch: a small mark on a seam edge; match the notches on two pieces so they line up correctly when you sew.
- selvage: the finished, non-fraying woven edge that runs down both long sides of the fabric.
- staystitch: a line of stitching just inside the edge that stops a curve (like a neckline) from stretching out of shape while you handle it.
- understitch: stitching that catches the seam allowance to the facing so the facing rolls to the inside and never peeks out.