Terms & glossary

The technique of moving a dart from one location on a pattern to another while keeping the garment's overall fit and shape unchanged.

Sewing a garment under real time pressure so it will be ready for a specific event, often finishing the final stitches at the last minute.

Surplus fabric left over from fashion industry production runs and resold in limited quantities rather than being sent to landfill.

Extra room added into a pattern beyond the minimum wearing ease, chosen purely to create a looser, more relaxed silhouette in the finished garment.

A printed circular marking on a pattern piece indicating a pivot point, dart tip, or matching point that gets transferred onto the cut fabric.

The way a fabric falls and moves under its own weight, ranging from stiff and structured to soft, fluid, and clingy.

A person, historically almost always a woman, who makes women's clothing to custom order or to a client's individual measurements.