All articles

Fabric pulled down into the needle plate at the start of a seam happens when feed dogs grab thin fabric before the stitch locks. Start on a scrap leader and hold both threads taut behind the foot.

Thread, commonly rayon, polyester, or metallic, engineered with a fine, glossy finish and high strength to withstand the stress of high-speed decorative stitching.

A machine that locks up, often with a knot of thread underneath, usually means the bobbin is threaded backward or wound around the case. Clear the jam by hand, rewind the bobbin, and rethread from scratch.

Routine application of sewing-machine oil to designated moving metal parts to reduce friction, prevent wear, and keep the machine running smoothly and quietly.

Skipped stitches on knit fabric happen when the needle pushes fabric down into the plate hole instead of piercing it, usually from a sharp needle or overly stretched fabric. Switch to a ballpoint needle and support the fabric.

The precise synchronization between the needle's position and the hook's rotation required for the hook to catch the thread loop and form a stitch.

A buttonhole formed by a dense zigzag stitch worked around a slit, either with a buttonhole foot or an automatic buttonhole function.

A hem finished by turning the raw edge up once or twice and securing it with a straight line of machine stitching visible on the right side.

French couturier, born Germaine Krebs, known from the 1930s onward for intricately hand-pleated silk jersey gowns draped directly on the body in a technique resembling classical Greek sculpture.

French couturier active from 1912 to 1939, celebrated for pioneering the bias cut and draping fabric directly on a miniature mannequin rather than working from flat sketches.

Fastener using paired magnets sewn behind a garment placket to replace buttons or snaps, allowing a garment to be closed with one hand or reduced dexterity.

Patterns sold by post directly to home sewers from catalogs or magazines, a distribution model that let rural and small-town customers access current fashions from the 1870s onward.

A British government campaign launched in 1943 during wartime rationing that taught households to repair, alter, and repurpose existing clothing rather than buy new garments.

A short, straight standing collar that encircles the neck without folding over, named for its resemblance to Chinese formal dress.

The historical occupational term, common through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for a dressmaker who specialized in making women's gowns.

The manufacture of garments in large standardized batches using factory division of labor and specialized machinery, a shift that accelerated after the sewing machine's spread in the mid-19th century.

A traditional training path in which a novice works for years under an experienced tailor, progressing from basting and pressing to pattern drafting and full garment construction.

Stretch fabric panel inserted into the front of trousers or skirts to accommodate a growing abdomen while keeping the waistband in place.

A dress with a hemline extending to the ankle or floor, cut in varying silhouettes from fitted to flowing.

American sewing pattern company founded in 1870, known for the long-running McCall's Needlework and Crafts magazine and for pioneering printed, rather than perforated, pattern markings in the 1920s.

An annual online sewing challenge, started in 2010, in which participants pledge to wear garments they made themselves throughout May and document the experience on social media.

Clothing that was sewn by the wearer themselves, as distinct from clothing that was bought ready-made or store-bought.

A sewing machine controlled by manual dials and cams rather than a microprocessor, offering a fixed set of stitches driven by mechanical linkages and gears.

Fabric going stiff or glossy under the iron has actually begun to melt, which happens with polyester, nylon, or spandex pressed too hot. Always test heat on a scrap first and use the lowest workable setting.

A seam that has come apart along its stitching line, usually at a stress point like the underarm, needs the old thread trimmed away and the seam restitched, often reinforced with a bar tack.

Clothing designed and constructed according to conventions of masculine dress, typically featuring structured tailoring and standardized sizing.

A fabric woven or knitted with metallic yarns, or coated with a metallic finish, prone to fraying and heat sensitivity during pressing.

Ultra-soft, plush polyester knit fabric with a short pile, popular for baby items, blankets, and stuffed toys for its softness and warmth.

Seams that won't align smoothly, bunching at one end, usually trace to notches cut wrong or omitted entirely. Cut notches outward from the seamline as small triangles, matching the pattern exactly, and never skip them.

Side seams that don't align at the waist, hem, or underarm when laid flat usually come from uneven seam allowances or one piece eased more than the other. Pin at key match points and check the allowance.

A seam that imitates the appearance of a flat-felled seam by pressing both allowances to one side and topstitching them, without actually wrapping the raw edge.

A rough, quickly sewn test version of a garment or design, made to check fit or check a construction method before committing to the final fabric.

A regenerated cellulose fibre from beech tree pulp, softer and more shrink-resistant than viscose, often blended into knits for underwear and loungewear.

A lustrous, resilient animal-hair fibre from the Angora goat, known for a fuzzy halo and durability, used in sweater knits and specialty wovens.

A hand-stitched reverse-appliqué textile made by Guna women of Panama and Colombia, formed by layering and cutting through colored cotton fabrics to reveal patterns beneath, traditionally worn as a blouse panel.

Garment or product design approach that uses a single fibre type throughout fabric, thread, and trims so the finished item can be more easily recycled.

Short for 'minimum order quantity,' the smallest amount of fabric or finished product that a manufacturer or supplier is willing to sell in one order.

A French draping technique of shaping fabric directly on a body or dress form to create a closely fitted base pattern from scratch.

An embroidery machine fitted with several pre-threaded needles that the machine switches between automatically for multicolor designs without manual rethreading.

A pattern printed with several nested cutting lines for different sizes on the same sheet, letting a sewist choose or blend sizes as needed.