Sewing glossary
Plain-English meanings of the sewing words you'll meet in our guides.
Stuck on a word? Look it up here.
– Dot
- Bias
- The diagonal of woven fabric, at 45° to the threads. Bias-cut strips stretch, so they curve smoothly round edges.
- Bias tape
- Strips of fabric cut on the bias, used to bind edges and seams.
- Bobbin
- The small spool under the needle plate that holds the lower thread.
- Differential feed
- On an overlocker, front and back feed dogs moving at different speeds to stop stretch fabric waving or to gather fine fabric.
- Drop feed
- Lowering the feed dogs so you can move fabric freely, for darning or free-motion quilting.
- Feed dogs
- The little toothed bars under the presser foot that move fabric along.
- Free arm
- A narrow sewing bed (after sliding off the accessory tray) for sewing cuffs and sleeves.
- French seam
- A seam sewn twice so the raw edges are enclosed inside.
- Grain
- The direction of the threads in woven fabric. Most pattern pieces are cut along the straight grain.
- Hong Kong finish
- Binding each seam allowance separately with bias strips; neat for seams pressed open.
- Interfacing
- A layer added to stiffen or support fabric, often fused on with an iron.
- Invisible zip
- A zip that hides in the seam so only the pull shows. Also called a concealed zip.
- Notions
- Small sewing supplies: zips, buttons, thread, elastic and so on.
- One-step buttonhole
- A machine feature that sews a whole buttonhole in one go, sized to your button.
- Overlocker
- A machine that sews, trims and wraps a seam edge in one pass. Called a serger in the US.
- Presser foot
- The foot that holds fabric flat against the feed dogs while you sew.
- Right side / wrong side
- The right side is the side that shows; the wrong side is the inside.
- Seam allowance
- The distance between the stitching and the raw edge. 1.5cm is common on most patterns.
- Selvedge
- The finished edges of fabric along its length, which don't fray.
- Stitch in the ditch
- Sewing exactly in the groove of an existing seam so the new stitching hides.
- Tension
- How tightly the top and bobbin threads are pulled. Balanced tension makes even stitches.
- Zigzag
- A side-to-side stitch used to finish edges and sew stretchy fabric.