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The difference between a garment's finished measurements and the body measurements it is intended to fit, allowing for movement, comfort, or a specific silhouette.

A line of long machine stitches sewn within a seam allowance and gently pulled up to shrink an edge slightly without forming visible gathers.

Distributing a small amount of extra fullness in one fabric edge smoothly over a slightly shorter matching edge, without leaving visible gathers or puckers.

American tailor who in 1863 introduced graded, multi-size tissue paper sewing patterns sold to home sewers, founding a company that made dressmaking accessible beyond professional tailors.

A row of topstitching sewn very close, often about an eighth of an inch, to a finished edge or seam to keep it flat and crisp.

American inventor who patented a working lockstitch sewing machine in 1846, using a needle with an eye near its point and a shuttle carrying a second thread.

A sewing machine needle with a larger eye and a light ballpoint to reduce thread fraying and shredding during dense decorative stitching.

A bodice draft with the horizontal seam positioned just below the bust rather than at the natural waist, used for empire-waist dresses and tops.

A dress style with a high waistline gathered just below the bust and a slim, flowing skirt, fashionable in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and named for the Napoleonic era.

A dress with a seam positioned just below the bust, from which the skirt falls loosely, historically associated with early 19th-century fashion.

A decorative shoulder strap or tab, often buttoned at one end, originally used on military uniforms and later adopted on trench coats and shirts.

A zipper inserted so the teeth and tape are visible on the outside of the garment as a design feature, rather than concealed by fabric.