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A pen filled with ink or dye designed to mark fabric temporarily, with the mark later removed by water, heat, or exposure to air.

Fabric that stalls under the presser foot is typically caused by dropped feed dogs, too-light foot pressure, or lint packed under the plate. Check the feed dog setting, raise foot pressure, and clean out lint.

Pattern pieces ending up slightly distorted despite careful layout often come from fabric sliding under the pattern weights or shears as you cut. Use a rotary cutter with a mat, or weight the pattern heavily.

The reduction in a fabric's dimensions after washing or steaming, caused by relaxation of finishing tension or fibre swelling, addressed by pre-washing before cutting.

Layers shifting out of alignment as they're stitched, common with silky fabrics, comes from insufficient friction between layers and the feed dogs. Pin generously, hand-baste, or use tissue paper and a walking foot.

A home sewist's personal accumulated collection of fabric purchased for future projects, a common feature of hobbyist sewing culture often documented and discussed in sewing communities online.

A fabric's mass per unit area, commonly measured in grams per square metre, used to judge suitability for a garment and to match pattern recommendations.

A shaped piece of fabric sewn to an edge such as a neckline, armhole, or hem and turned to the inside to finish the raw edge cleanly.

A retail business model built on rapidly translating runway and trend ideas into cheap, mass-produced clothing with quick turnaround, expanding globally from the 1990s alongside globalized garment manufacturing.

A quarter-yard cut of fabric shaped as a roughly square piece rather than a long narrow strip, popular for quilting and small projects.

Openwork hand embroidery stitch made of alternating angled loops branching from a central line, producing a feathery, vine-like border often used on smocked or heirloom garments.

Metal teeth beneath the needle plate that rise, move forward, and drop in a rotating motion to grip and advance fabric through the machine with each stitch.

The actual dimensions of a completed garment as it lies flat, distinct from the body measurements it is intended to fit, showing the ease built into the design.

The actual dimensions of a completed garment, including all built-in ease, as opposed to the raw body measurements the pattern was originally drafted around.

A second person who helps assess and pin fit corrections on a garment being fitted, since many fitting problems are difficult to see or reach alone.

A structured process of trying on a toile or garment in progress, observing wrinkles and balance, and marking or pinning changes to correct the fit.

A loop of thread pulled from a knit's surface, leaving a puckered dot, should never be cut. Use a small crochet hook or needle to work the slack back to the fabric's wrong side.

A soft, loosely woven fabric, traditionally wool and later cotton, brushed to raise a light nap for warmth; associated with Welsh textile production from at least the 17th century.

A loose, straight-cut dress with a dropped waist and hemline typically at or above the knee, worn by young women of the 1920s who embraced a modern, active lifestyle.

A sewing machine with a continuous flat sewing surface and no removable arm, providing a larger work area suited to flat garment pieces and yardage.

A brushed, napped knit fabric, typically polyester, engineered for warmth and softness with a plush pile on one or both sides.

Hand embroidery stitch resembling an open V anchored by a short tacking stitch, used singly or in rows to suggest foliage, texture, or decorative seam ornamentation.

Thick foam interfacing fused or sewn between fabric layers to give bags and structured accessories body, shape retention, and padding.

A term for a basic block or sloper used as the structural starting point for developing new pattern designs through slashing, spreading, or adding style lines.

The gradual unraveling of a cut fabric edge as individual threads work themselves loose from the weave over time or handling.

Cut edges unraveling before a seam is even sewn is common on loosely woven fabrics like linen. Finish edges early with pinking shears, a zigzag stitch, or fray-check liquid.

A machine whose bed narrows into a slim, removable arm, allowing tubular items such as sleeves, cuffs, and trouser legs to be sewn without flattening the fabric.

Small raised hand embroidery stitch made by wrapping thread around the needle before reinserting it close to the exit point, used for dots, flower centres, and texture.

A soft knit fabric with looped, uncut loops on the reverse side and a smooth face, lighter than fleece and common in casual sweatshirts.

Decorative trim made of hanging threads, cords, or strands attached along one edge, applied to hems, shawls, or cushions for added texture and movement.

To rip out a section of stitching, or abandon a project entirely, from the rhyme 'rip it, rip it' echoing a frog's croak.

A measurement taken horizontally around the body at the fullest, most projecting point of the bust, one of the core measurements used to choose pattern size.

Applique method in which motifs are bonded to a background fabric with fusible web before the raw edges are secured by straight, zigzag, or satin machine stitching.

Interfacing coated with a heat-activated adhesive resin that bonds to fabric when pressed, offering a quick, even application without hand stitching.

Heat-activated adhesive sheet or tape, without a fabric backing, that bonds two layers of fabric together under an iron, used for applique and no-sew hems.

A fitting problem in which a neckline stands away from the body in loose folds rather than lying flat, usually caused by excess fabric or an overly wide curve.

A skirt formed by gathering a rectangular or panelled length of fabric into a waistband, producing soft, even fullness below the waist.

Drawing fabric along one or more rows of stitching to reduce its width into soft, even fullness before attaching it to another piece.

A lightweight plain-weave cotton fabric woven from dyed and white yarns to form even checks, popular for shirts and summer dresses.

The direction of the warp and weft yarns in woven fabric, or the wales and courses in knit fabric, which pattern pieces are aligned to for correct hang and stretch.