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Japanese designer known for technical innovation, notably the Pleats Please line launched in 1993, which heat-set permanent pleats into finished polyester garments rather than pleating fabric before cutting.

A mechanical loom attachment invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804 that used punched cards to control individual warp threads, enabling complex woven patterns and influencing early computing.

Trousers made from denim, traditionally featuring a five-pocket layout, riveted stress points, and a button or zip fly, originally developed as durable workwear.

A coarse, inexpensive bast fibre mainly used for burlap, backing and rustic home-decor fabrics rather than garments, with limited drape.

A brightly printed rectangular cotton cloth from East Africa, worn wrapped as clothing and often printed with a Swahili proverb along its border, used for dress, carrying children, and ceremony.

Interfacing with a knitted construction that stretches to match jersey and other stretch fabrics, preserving their flexibility while adding light support.

A narrow strip of lace fabric, often with one finished scalloped edge, applied to garment edges or seams as embellishment.

A zipper insertion in which one side of fabric overlaps the zipper tape, concealing it under a flap of fabric, commonly used at side seams.

Durable, often historically inspired costume made for live action role-play, prioritising freedom of movement, washability, and comfort over screen-accurate detail or fragile materials.

Extending sleeves that fall short requires a deeper hem let down, an added cuff, or a contrasting fabric extension at the wrist. Check there's enough hem allowance before promising extra length.

Adding room to a garment that's too tight relies on unpicking the existing seam and resewing with a narrower allowance, which only works if enough seam allowance remains. Check the seam before promising this alteration.

A rippled, wavy hem edge created by stretching a knit fabric while stitching a narrow zigzag or rolled hem, causing the edge to curl and flute.

A knit edge that ripples into an unwanted wavy, frilled finish happens when fabric was stretched while being serged or hemmed. Ease the fabric through the machine without pulling and use a less dense stitch.

American company founded in San Francisco in the 1850s; with tailor Jacob Davis it patented riveted denim work trousers in 1873, creating what became known as blue jeans.

A hook-like mechanism on an overlocker or coverstitch machine that carries thread beneath the needle plate to interlock with needle threads, forming the stitch's underside.

DuPont's trademark name for spandex, an elastic polyurethane fiber developed by Joseph Shivers and launched in 1958, which revolutionized fitted and stretch clothing from swimwear to leggings.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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 raised, directional surface texture, as on velvet, corduroy or fleece, that reflects light and feels different depending on which way it is stroked; pattern pieces must be cut in one direction.

Pattern pieces cut with pile running in different directions on fabrics like velvet or corduroy look a different shade once assembled. Always cut all pieces with a with-nap layout, following the pattern's nap arrow.

A cutting layout in which all pattern pieces are placed facing the same direction, required for fabrics with a directional pile, shine, or print.

Running short of fabric or ending up with mismatched shading happens when a with-nap layout wasn't used for pile or one-way print fabrics. Check the pattern's nap yardage, usually higher, and lay pieces facing one way.

Panels of the same fabric appearing to be different colors under light is an optical effect from pile fibers lying in opposing directions, not a dye issue. Cut every piece in the same nap direction.

A back width narrower than the standard pattern block assumes, causing excess fabric to pool between the shoulder blades and the armhole to hang away from the body.

A pattern alteration that shortens the shoulder seam of a bodice pattern to fit shoulders narrower than the standard block assumes, preventing the sleeve seam from drooping.

Fabric colouring method using dyes extracted from plants, insects, or minerals rather than synthetic dyestuffs, often requiring a mordant to fix colour to the fibre.

A modification made to an existing neckline pattern, such as lowering it, adding a facing shape, or changing it from a round to a V or square neckline.

A narrow strip of fabric, typically cut on the bias and interlined, worn knotted around a shirt collar as a decorative accessory.