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A pleat formed by two folds turned away from each other on the front, creating a flat panel with fabric hidden behind it on both sides.

A close-fitting underwear or swimwear bottom cut with legs extending toward the upper thigh, offering fuller coverage than a bikini brief.

An undergarment designed to support and shape the bust, typically constructed with cups, a band, and shoulder straps.

An unstructured, unpadded bra typically without underwire, made from soft or stretch fabric and intended for light support or as outerwear.

A line of hand or machine stitching that secures twill tape along a jacket's roll line and front edge, controlling stretch and maintaining shape during tailoring.

A pattern alteration that adds width across the upper back of a bodice pattern, usually by slashing and spreading, to accommodate a back broader than the block assumes.

A tightly woven, plain-weave cotton or cotton-blend fabric similar to poplin but slightly heavier, with a subtle sheen from a calendering finish.

A whitework embroidery technique featuring patterns of small cut-out holes stitched around their edges, often sold ready-made as a fabric or trim.

A skirt with an outer layer gathered at the waist and again at the hem into a lining, creating a rounded, puffed silhouette.

Bag pattern with a round or oval base and cylindrical body that tapers slightly, typically closed with a drawstring, zip, or flap at the top.

A very stiff, heavily sized woven or non-woven fabric used to add rigid structure, notably in hat brims, belts and structured bag panels.

Lumpy, hard-to-press seams at corners or curves come from leaving full seam allowance width in places that need to fold or turn. Trim, grade, and clip curves to reduce bulk before pressing.

Excess fabric that folds or gathers at the underarm seam of a bodice or sleeve, typically caused by an armhole cut too large or too deep for the wearer.

German pattern and fashion magazine founded by Aenne Burda in 1950, distinctive for printing many patterns overlapping on shared sheets; it expanded into an international sewing brand and website.

Construction technique for enclosing a shoulder or yoke seam by rolling the garment body between the yoke layers before stitching, so the seam turns right side out fully finished.

The horizontal circumference of the torso taken around the fullest part of the bust, used as a primary reference point for bodice and dress pattern sizing.

A fitted, often boned bodice-length undergarment or top that shapes the torso from bust to waist, typically worn without a separate bra.

A framework or padding worn under a skirt to add fullness and projection at the back, fashionable in two main phases during the 1870s and again in the mid-1880s.

One of the oldest home sewing pattern companies, founded in Massachusetts in 1863; it published patterns and the fashion magazine The Delineator, shaping American home dressmaking for over a century.

A disc or shaped fastener sewn to one side of an opening and passed through a buttonhole or loop on the other side to close a garment.

A collared shirt closing at center front with a full button placket, traditionally structured with a yoke, cuffs, and sleeve plackets.

A reinforced slit or bound opening in fabric sized to admit a button, finished by machine zigzag stitching, a bound technique, or hand stitching.

A presser foot, often with a sliding or automatic template, that guides the machine through the multiple stitch passes needed to form a buttonhole.

Threads pulling loose around a cut buttonhole usually means the stitching was too loose, the fabric wasn't stabilized, or it was cut open before sewing finished. Interface the area and cut open last with sharp scissors.

A dedicated industrial machine that automatically cuts and stitches buttonholes at high speed with consistent quality for mass garment production.

Small scissors, sometimes with an adjustable screw stop, designed specifically to cut open the center of a stitched buttonhole without overcutting.

A narrow, dense zigzag stitch sewn in a rectangular path with bar tacks at each end to create a reinforced opening for a button.

A buttonhole that won't let the button through without straining the fabric usually means it was sized to the button's diameter instead of its circumference. Measure the button's girth and test on scrap before cutting.