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An older term for a very lightweight, smooth plain-weave silk lining fabric similar to habotai, now less common due to its delicacy.

A short, straight-cut workwear jacket with patch pockets and a button front, traditionally made of sturdy cotton twill for manual labor.

French designer who founded his fashion house in 1946 and launched the New Look in 1947, reviving fitted bodices and full skirts after wartime fabric rationing.

Slim, straight-cut trousers that taper slightly toward a cropped or ankle-length hem, offering minimal ease through the leg.

A skirt cut from one or more full circles of fabric with a hole for the waist, producing an evenly flared hem without darts or gathers.

A hem on a flared or circular-cut garment, eased and often narrowed to accommodate the curved raw edge without puckering.

A skirt draft based on radius calculations from the waist measurement, producing a pattern that flares in a full circle or half circle without darts.

American designer credited with founding modern American sportswear in the 1930s-40s, pioneering practical, mass-producible separates such as the wrap dress and using humble fabrics like denim and cotton jersey.

A smooth, flat hardwood block pressed onto a just-steamed seam or edge to flatten and set a sharp crease as it cools.

Stitching a strip of transparent stretch elastic into a knit seam, such as a shoulder seam, to prevent stretching out while retaining flexibility.

A transparent, gridded acrylic ruler used with a rotary cutter for measuring, marking, and cutting straight and angled lines through fabric.

Snipping short cuts into a curved seam allowance, especially an inward curve, so the seam can spread and lie flat once turned or pressed.

Reusable fabric diaper, typically layered with absorbent inner fabric and a waterproof outer layer, closed with snaps or hook-and-loop tape.

An industrial sewing machine motor that runs continuously, engaging the machine via a friction clutch pedal, resulting in a distinctive momentum on start and stop.

Short for 'cut, make, trim,' a manufacturing arrangement in which a factory cuts and sews garments from fabric and materials the client already supplies.

French designer who founded her fashion house around 1910 and popularized relaxed, jersey-based women's wear, the little black dress, and the collarless tweed Chanel suit from the 1920s onward.

The process of constructing a collar pattern shaped to fit a garment's neckline, determining the collar's stand height, fall, and roll line based on the desired style.

A narrow band that attaches the collar to the neckline, allowing the collar to sit upright before folding over on a shirt.

A collar that rolls or buckles instead of sitting smoothly comes from insufficient understitching, poorly graded seam allowance, or interfacing too stiff or too soft. Grade the allowances and match interfacing weight to the fabric.

One of the specific color or print combinations that a single garment design is offered in across a collection.

Fabric looking dull or washed-out after repeated laundering comes from dye breaking down under heat, sunlight, and detergent brighteners. Wash in cold water, turn garments inside out, and use a detergent made for colors.

A fabric's resistance to fading or bleeding dye during washing, light exposure or rubbing, tested before combining contrasting fabrics in one garment.

A close-fitting activewear piece made from firm stretch fabric engineered to apply graduated pressure to muscles during exercise or recovery.

A machine controlled by an onboard computer that stores stitch patterns and adjusts tension and length automatically, typically operated through a digital screen or touchpad.

A dart that curves inward at the middle and points at both ends, shaping fabric closely to the body at the waist without a horizontal seam.

A shaped, curved waistband cut to follow the body's natural waist curve rather than a straight strip, giving a closer fit without a separate casing.

A collar designed to be worn open, exposing a notch-like opening at the top button, or closed at the neck like a mandarin collar.

The practice of drafting or tracing a sewing pattern directly from an existing ready-to-wear garment, used to reproduce or reverse-engineer its fit and construction.

A thin, twisted or braided cord used inside piping, as a drawstring, or couched onto fabric for decorative surface texture.

A durable cotton fabric woven with extra weft yarns cut to form vertical ridges, or wales, of pile; sewn with the nap running consistently in one direction.

A close-fitting, boned undergarment or outer garment that shapes and supports the torso, traditionally laced or hooked to control the waist and bust.

Small lined pouch, typically zippered, sized and shaped to hold makeup or toiletries, often made with a wipeable or laminated fabric lining.

Practice of constructing and wearing costumes that recreate characters from anime, comics, games, and film, often combining sewing, foam work, and prop-making.

Lightweight costume armour built from heat-formed EVA foam sheets, shaped, sealed, and painted to mimic metal or hard plating, then attached to a fabric base or harness.

Process of drafting or adapting patterns for fantasy, sci-fi, or stylised character costumes, often exaggerating proportions or silhouettes beyond conventional garment fit.

A natural cellulose fibre harvested from the cotton plant's seed pods, valued for softness, breathability and absorbency; used in wovens and knits from quilting cotton to denim.

A machine patented by Eli Whitney in 1794 that mechanically separated cotton fibers from seeds, dramatically increasing cotton production and, in the American South, entrenching slave labor on plantations.

A natural-fibre sewing thread with a matte finish and low stretch, well suited to natural woven fabrics such as quilting cotton and linen.

A technique in which a decorative thread or cord is laid on the fabric surface and secured in place with small stitches worked over it.

French for 'sewing' or 'dressmaking,' used in English to describe fine, skillfully constructed garment sewing in general.