Sewing and quilting glossary

A machine setting that forms a buttonhole in a programmed sequence.

The fabric layer on the back of a quilt.

Sewing a few stitches in reverse to help secure a seam end.

A needle tip that parts knit fibres rather than sharply piercing them.

Temporary stitches used to hold layers or pieces in place before final sewing.

The middle layer of padding inside a quilt.

A direction diagonal to the grain of woven fabric. A true bias cut is at 45 degrees.

A strip of fabric used to cover and finish the outer edges of a quilt.

A unit of a quilt design, often made by joining smaller fabric shapes.

The small spool that holds the lower thread on many sewing machines.

The part that holds the bobbin and helps control the lower thread.

Quilt padding made with cotton fibres.

A stitch with parallel rows on top and looping thread underneath, often used on knit hems.

A small quilt sized for a nursery project; dimensions vary by pattern.

Joining diamond-shaped patches to create an angled quilt design.

A serger system with separate feed sections whose speeds can differ to control stretch or gathering.

A fabric cut made by halving a half-yard across its width, rather than cutting a long quarter-yard strip.

A collection of quarter-yard fabric cuts in the fat-quarter shape.

The toothed bars under the presser foot that move fabric through the machine.

A quilt block made from four squares in a two-by-two grid.

Sewing with the feed dogs lowered or covered so you guide the fabric in any direction.

A presser foot used while you steer quilting stitches by hand.

The direction of the threads in woven fabric.

A square quilt unit divided diagonally into two triangles.

Making quilting stitches with a hand needle.

An edge finish, often made by folding the fabric edge and stitching it down.

The thickness or puffiness of quilt batting, which affects the finished feel and stitching.

A quilting machine with a large working throat, often used on a frame.

Attaching a quilt edge finish using machine stitches.

The flat plate under the needle, with openings for the needle and feed dogs.

A needle designation describing its shaft size; match it to fabric and thread.

A device that helps pass thread through the eye of a needle.

A quilt block arranged as a three-by-three grid.

A stitch that wraps thread around a fabric edge to join or finish it.

Fabric pieces joined to form a larger design or panel.

Sewing separate fabric pieces together to make a quilt top or block.

The machine part that presses fabric against the feed dogs while you sew.

The backing, batting and quilt top assembled together.

The upper fabric layer carrying a quilt design.

Quilting smaller sections before joining the finished units.

Stitching through the layers of a quilt to hold them together.

A narrow edge finish in which the fabric edge is rolled under and stitched.

A cutting tool with a round blade, used with a suitable mat and ruler.

The fabric between a line of stitching and the cut edge.

A small tool with a pointed blade used to cut and remove stitches.

A machine that forms overlock stitches around a fabric edge and usually trims it as it sews.

Gaps where the machine failed to form a stitch, often linked to the needle, threading or fabric.

The distance between successive needle entries along a seam.

The distance between quilting lines, limited by the batting maker.

The side-to-side span of a stitch, such as a zigzag.

A stitch that forms a straight line, commonly used to join fabric.

Quilting with rows of straight machine stitches.

The pull placed on thread as it passes through a machine, affecting how the stitch forms.

One of the discs that press on upper thread to control its tension.

A machine part that directs thread along the correct threading path.

A tangled cluster of thread beneath the stitching.

The working area between the needle and machine body.

A visible row of stitching on the outer side of fabric, used for strength or decoration.

A foot that helps move the top fabric layer with the lower layer to reduce shifting.

A stitch that moves from side to side, used for tasks such as finishing edges.