Terms & glossary

A version of a PDF sewing pattern formatted to print as a single large sheet at a copy shop, sized to the international A0 paper standard.

French for 'workshop,' used in the fashion world to describe the studio space where a designer's garments are actually made, especially at couture houses.

Reversing the machine over the first and last few stitches of a seam to lock the thread ends so the seam will not unravel.

Long, loose, temporary stitches, sewn by hand or machine, used to hold layers of fabric in place for fitting before permanent stitching.

Originally a term for custom tailoring made entirely to one individual customer's specifications, now used more loosely for any made-to-order garment.

An early, not-yet-finalized version of a sewing pattern sent out to testers for feedback before the pattern's official public release.

Any diagonal direction across a woven fabric that is not parallel or perpendicular to the grain, where the fabric has more give and stretch.

The measurement taken around the fullest part of the upper arm, used to check and adjust the fit of a sleeve pattern.

A nickname for the four long-established American pattern companies: Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity, and Vogue Patterns.

A basic pattern shape, drafted to fit a specific set of body measurements without seam allowances or design details, used as the foundation for other patterns; called a sloper in American usage.

The set of measurements taken directly from a person's body, such as bust, waist, and hip circumference, used to choose or draft a pattern size.

A large roll of fabric as sold in a shop, wound around a flat cardboard or plastic core and holding many yards of material.

A whitework embroidery technique featuring patterns of small cut-out holes stitched around their edges, often sold ready-made as a fabric or trim.

A hand stitch worked in a loose zigzag pattern, catching only a thread or two of the outer fabric, commonly used to secure a hem invisibly.

The abbreviation marked on pattern pieces and fabric for the center back, the vertical line running down the exact middle of the back of a garment.

The abbreviation marked on pattern pieces and fabric for the center front, the vertical line running down the exact middle of the front of a garment.

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

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

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

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

A simplified, elongated figure template used by fashion designers to sketch clothing designs quickly onto a consistent body proportion.

The width measured straight across the upper back from one armhole seam to the other, used to check the fit of a garment's shoulders and back.

The direction fabric threads run from one selvedge to the other, perpendicular to the lengthwise grain and usually with a bit more give.

The diagram included in pattern instructions showing exactly how to arrange all the pattern pieces on folded or open fabric before cutting.

The outer line marked on a pattern piece indicating exactly where to cut the fabric, positioned beyond the seam line by the width of the seam allowance.

The technique of moving a dart from one location on a pattern to another while keeping the garment's overall fit and shape unchanged.

Sewing a garment under real time pressure so it will be ready for a specific event, often finishing the final stitches at the last minute.

Surplus fabric left over from fashion industry production runs and resold in limited quantities rather than being sent to landfill.

Extra room added into a pattern beyond the minimum wearing ease, chosen purely to create a looser, more relaxed silhouette in the finished garment.

A printed circular marking on a pattern piece indicating a pivot point, dart tip, or matching point that gets transferred onto the cut fabric.

The way a fabric falls and moves under its own weight, ranging from stiff and structured to soft, fluid, and clingy.

A person, historically almost always a woman, who makes women's clothing to custom order or to a client's individual measurements.

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.

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.

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

The common abbreviation for 'full bust adjustment,' a pattern alteration frequently discussed by name in sewing forums and pattern instructions.

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 person with standardized body measurements who tries on sample garments during development so a design house can check and refine the fit.

A pattern drafted using measurements, rulers, and math directly on paper, as opposed to draping fabric on a body or dress form.