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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

The double-headed arrow printed on a pattern piece that shows how the piece should be aligned with the fabric's lengthwise grain when laid out.

A diagram showing exactly how pattern pieces are positioned on a given fabric width to minimize waste, used especially in production cutting.

A simple black-and-white technical sketch, shown on a pattern envelope or in the instructions, illustrating a garment's design without color or fabric texture.

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

The way multiple sizes of a pattern piece are layered and printed as concentric cutting lines on a single sheet, one inside the other.

A small triangular or single mark cut or printed along a pattern piece's edge, used to line pattern pieces up correctly with each other during sewing.

A modification made to an existing commercial or indie sewing pattern to change its style, features, or fit without drafting an entirely new pattern.

One individual printed or drafted shape from a sewing pattern, representing a single part of the finished garment to be cut from fabric.

The process by which sewists outside a designer's own team sew a new pattern before its release, checking fit, instructions, and grading across sizes.

A sewing pattern sold as a digital file, printed at home across multiple sheets of paper or sent to a copy shop for large-format printing.

The fixed reference point on a pattern, often a bust point or hip point, around which a dart is rotated during dart manipulation.

A finished, reinforced opening in a garment, strengthened with an extra strip of fabric, that allows buttons, a zipper, or the head to pass through.

The line printed or drafted on a pattern piece marking precisely where the stitching should go, set in from the cutting line by the seam allowance.

A table listing body measurements matched against pattern sizes, used by a sewist to decide which size to cut for the best fit.

A pattern alteration method that involves cutting a pattern piece apart along marked lines and spreading the resulting pieces to add fullness or length.

The American term for a basic, made-to-fit pattern with no seam allowances or style lines, used as a foundation when drafting new pattern designs; called a block in British usage.

A seam or design line on a pattern that also performs a shaping function, such as a princess seam that both fits and decorates.

The task of trimming and taping together the individual letter or A4 sized pages of a home-printed PDF pattern into one complete, full-size sheet.

A 'tried and true' pattern that a sewist has made successfully before, knows fits well, and can sew again with confidence.

The minimum extra room built into a pattern beyond a person's exact body measurements, needed so a finished garment can be put on and moved in comfortably.