Glossary of Quilting Terms for Beginners
Yay! You have caught the quilting bug. However, quilting terminology can be daunting. Quilters use so many new words and acronyms. Below, I have listed the most common quilting terms and acronyms. This glossary is in alphabetical order to help you find what you are looking for quickly and easily.
If there is a term or acronym that I have left out of this glossary, please let me know here on my contact page. I’m so glad you are here!
A
Acrylic Ruler: A ruler made out of acrylic (plastic). Quilters guide their rotary cutter along the ruler when cutting fabric in a straight line. There are several varieties and sizes of rulers available, including specialty rulers to help you trim up your blocks after piecing.
Acrylic Template: A shape or pattern formed out of acrylic (plastic) to assist with cutting fabric into specific quilting pieces. There are several varieties and sizes of templates available, including hexagons and diamonds.
All Over Quilting: A quilter stitches one pattern or design over the entire quilt sandwich.
Applique: The process of stitching a piece of fabric on top of a larger piece of fabric. There are many different methods of applique, such as freezer paper applique, fusible applique and needle-turn applique.
B
Backing: This is the third layer in a quilt sandwich. The quilt backing fabric is placed with the right side out.
Backstitch: A type of stitch where you repeat over a previous stitch.
Basting: This is the process of loosely attaching all three layers of your quilt sandwich together in preparation of quilting. There are many different methods of basting, such as pin basting, spray basting or thread basting.
Batting: The middle layer of the quilt sandwich. This is located between the quilt top and the quilt backing. There are many choices in quilting batting materials and lofts.
Bearding: Bearding is when your quilt batting migrates through your quilting needle holes to your quilt top or backing.
Bias: A 45 degree angle between the crosswise and lengthwise grain of fabric. Fabric cut on the bias has more stretch and can distort.
Bias Binding: A quilter cuts their binding strips on the bias. This makes the binding more stretchy so that it can be easily maneuvered around curves.
Binding: Binding is the fabric strip that covers the raw edge of a finished quilt sandwich.
Bleeding: Bleeding is when dye from one piece of fabric has run onto another piece of fabric. This is typically in situations where a darker fabric, such as red, has run onto a lighter fabric, such as white.
Block: A unit of a quilt. This can be a single piece of square fabric.
Bolt: A bolt is a commercial length of fabric. For quilting cottons, a bolt is 15 yards of fabric.
Borders: Borders are strips of fabric that surround your quilt center. They may be made of one piece of fabric or a border may be pieced.
Bundle: A bundle is a grouping of fabric that is sold together. These come in a variety of fabric cut sizes including, fat sixteenths, fat eighths, fat quarters, half yards and full yards.
Burr: A burr is a rough spot on a needle. This spot can cause the needle to snag the fabric.
C
Chain Piecing: Chain piecing is the technique of continuously stitching fabric pieces together without cutting or breaking your thread. After you have finished chain piecing, you then cut apart your sewn pieces into their separate units.
Charm Pack: A charm pack is a bundle of 5″ squares of fabric.
Color Retention: Color retention refers to how well a fabric keeps its dye.
Cornerstones: Cornerstones are square pieces of fabric that are pieced between quilt sashing. The cornerstone’s corners line up to the block’s corners.
Crosswise Grain: Crosswise grain refers to the threads of fabric that run perpendicular to the selvage edge.
Cutting Mat: A quilter uses a cutting mat when cutting fabric with a rotary cutter. The mat is self-healing and it protects your tabletop from scratches and cuts. There are a lot of sizes and manufacturers of cutting mats available.
Cutting Ruler: See “acrylic ruler.”
D
Design Wall: A quilter displays their quilt blocks on a design wall during the quilt making process. Design walls make it easier to decide on a final layout for a quilt. There are many varieties of design walls available, such as portable design walls for those quilters who are short on quilting space.
Destash: A destash occurs when a quilter has decided to sell some of their fabric stash.
Directional Fabric: Directional fabric has a clear orientation, such as strips or a chevron pattern.
Dog ears: Dog ears are points of fabric that stick out beyond your pieced block. Some quilters choose to trim these dog ears off before finishing their piecing.
Drape: Drape refers to the way a fabric lays.
E
Ease: Easing is the process of working in extra fabric, such as in sewing curves.
Edge-to-Edge Quilting (E2E): See “All Over Quilting.”
English Paper Piecing (EPP): English Paper Piecing is a quilting technique where the quilter bastes fabric pieces to paper. After basting, the quilter than stitches the pieces together by hand. The two main methods of basting for EPP is glue basting and thread basting.
F
Fat Eighth: A 1/8th yard of fabric that is cut into a 9″ x 22″ piece.
Fat Quarter: A 1/4th yard of fabric that is cut into a 18″ x 22″ piece.
Fat Sixteenth: A 1/16th yard of fabric that is cut into a 9 x 11″ piece.
Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP): Foundation Paper Piecing is a quilting technique where the quilter uses paper to stabilize their fabric while they stitch. The quilter stitches on lines printed on their paper with their sewing machine.
Freezer Paper Applique: A form of applique where the quilter forms their applique piece around freezer paper before stitching to their background fabric.
Frogging: A term used to describe ripping out stitches.
Fusible Applique: A form of applique where the quilter irons a fusible material to the wrong side of the fabric. The quilter then irons this piece onto the background fabric and stitches it down.
Fussy Cutting: Fussy cutting is cutting your fabric piece to highlight a particular part of fabric’s pattern. The quilter often times repeats the same process for multiple pieces in a quilt block.
G
Glue Basting: The quilter uses glues to form the fabric around the paper template before stitching the quilt pieces together.
Grain: The direction the threads are running in your fabric.
H
Half Yard: A half yard of fabric is 18″ long by the width of fabric.
Hand Stitching: Hand stitching is the process of sewing by hand.
Half Square Triangle (HST): A half square triangle is a square made up of two 90 degree triangles.
J
Jelly Roll: A bundle of 2 1/2″ strips of fabric that are offered for sale. Fabric manufacturers will offer a jelly roll of a fabric line. This is a fun way to get a full line fabric at a fairly affordable price.
L
Layer Cake: A bundle of 10″ squares of fabric that are offered for sale. Fabric manufacturers will offer a layer cake of a fabric line. This is a fun way to get a full line fabric at a fairly affordable price.
Local Quilt Shop (LQS): A shop that is you are able to go to physically because it is located so close to your home.
Length of Fabric (LOF): Length of fabric refers to the fabric measurement along the fabric selvage.
Lengthwise Grain: Lengthwise grain refers to the threads that are running along (parallel) to the fabric selvage.
Loft: Loft refers to the thickness of a quilt batting.
Longarm Quilting Machine: A longarm quilting machine allows a quilter to attach a quilt sandwich to a frame and pull it taut. The quilter than uses a quilt head to machine quilt the sandwich in the chosen quilting design. The machines can be either hand-guided or computer-guided depending on the machine and setup.
M
Machine Applique: Machine applique is a method of attaching a prepared applique piece to the background fabric by machine. Quilters use a variety of stitches for this such as a blanket stitch or zig zag stitch.
N
Needle Turn Applique: Needle turn applique is a form of applique where the raw edges of the fabric shape are sewn under while the quilter is attaching the shape to the background fabric. This method differs from the other applique methods because the shape is not preformed into the final shape before stitching it to the background fabric. The shape is formed while being stitched to the background fabric.
Nesting Seams: Nesting seams is a technique of pressing that allows your seams to lock into each other.
Notions: Notions are small tools that help a quilter. Examples would include a seam ripper, scissor or rotary cutter.
O
On Point: The quilter rotated their quilt blocks 45 degrees in the finished quilt top.
P
Pantograph: A pantograph is a quilting design that is used to stitch the quilt sandwich together.
Piecing: Piecing is when a quilter sews together the fabric pieces to form a quilt block or quilt top.
Pressing: Pressing is when the quilter places their iron straight down on their seam. It is important that the iron is not moved side to side. The side to side movement stretches and distorts the fabric.
Prewash: Prewash is when the quilter washes their fabric before using it to make a quilt.
Q
Quilt Label: A piece of fabric on the back of the quilt identifying the maker and the date the quilt was completed. A label also can identify other important facts of the quilt, such as why the quilt was made.
Quilt Sandwich: A term to identify the three parts of a quilt before quilting: the quilt top, the batting, and the backing.
Quilt Top: The upper layer of a quilt sandwich. This is the piece of fabric that was pieced or appliqued. In the case of a wholecloth quilt, a quilt top is a single piece of fabric.
Quilting: Quilting refers to the step of stitching the layers of the quilt sandwich together.
Quilting Density: Density refers to the amount of stitching that is completed on a quilt sandwich. A densely quilted item has a lot of stitching in a small area. Whereas, a loosely quilted item has stitching that is more spread out.
Quilting Distance: Quilting distance is the amount of space between the lines of your quilting design.
R
Rotary Cutter: A rotary cutter is a notion that has a circular, sharp blade. It is used with a cutting mat and ruler to cut fabric into straight lines.
Right Side of Fabric: The right side of the fabric is the printed side of fabric. On solid fabric this is incredibly hard to determine. Most of the time, you do not have to differentiate between the right and wrong side of solid fabric.
Right Sides Together (RST): Putting the right sides together refers to placing the printed side of two pieces of fabric together so they are touching. You would see the non-printed side of fabric for both pieces.
S
Sashing: Sashing are strips of fabric that are sewn around blocks in a quilt top.
Scant ¼”: A scant ¼” is a seam allowance that is slightly smaller, like one or two threads smaller, than a ¼”.
Seam: A seam is where two pieces of fabric are sewn together with thread.
Seam Allowance: A seam allowance is the fabric that is between the raw edge of the fabric pieces and the sewn thread line of the seam. In piecing, this is typically a scant ¼”.
Seam Ripper: A seam ripper is a tool that helps you rip out stitches.
Selvage Edge: This is lengthwise edge of fabric. Fabric has two selvage edges. On quilting cotton, one selvage edge is printed with the manufacturer’s name, the designer’s name and the fabric line’s name.
Setting a Seam: Setting a seam refers to the process of pressing an iron onto a freshly sewn seam before opening the piece up for the final press. This step helps the thread to tighten up into the fabric.
Spool: In quilting, a spool is a cylinder that has thread wrapped around it.
Stash: A stash is a fabric collection that was not purchased for a specific project.
Stitch in the Ditch: Stitch in the ditch is a quilting process used on a quilt sandwich. The quilter stitches on the lines of existing seams in a quilt top when quilting the quilt sandwich. This method hides the quilting design in the seams.
Strip Piecing: Strip piecing is the process of cutting fabric into strips, sewing the strips together and then sub-cutting those sewn strips.
T
Template: A template is a shape that is used as a pattern for tracing quilt pieces. Templates are frequently used in english paper piecing and applique.
Tension: Tension refers to how a top thread and bobbin thread are locking together to create a stitch when using a sewing machine.
Thread Basting: Thread basting is a technique used in english paper piecing. The quilter uses a running stitch around the edge of the fabric forming it to the paper template. This process is completed before stitching the quilt pieces together.
Thread Cone: A thread cone is a larger cylinder of thread that is frequently used in longarm machine quilting.
U
Unfinished Object (UFO): A project that has not been finished. This is a common term that you will see on social media. Often times, it is used in reference to projects that were put aside before you finished them. A similar term to WIPs.
W
Walking Foot: A walking foot is a special foot for a domestic sewing machine. This foot has feed dogs on the foot. Therefore, fabric is fed through the machine with the machine feed dogs and the walking foot feed dogs. This enables the sewing machine to easily stitch through more layers of fabric.
Whip Stitch: A whip stitch is a type of stitch where the stitches circle the edge of the fabric pieces. This is a popular stitch to use in english paper piecing.
Width of Fabric (WOF): Width of fabric refers to the fabric measurement running from selvage to selvage. Quilting cotton typically has a width of fabric between 42″ and 44″. Other fabric, such as Liberty of London’s tana lawn, is 52″ wide. Therefore, when purchasing fabric for a pattern, it is important to note what the pattern designer has assumed the width of fabric is as this will impact how much fabric you need.
Work in Progress (WIP): A project that has not been finished. This is a common term that you will see on social media. Often times, it is used in reference to projects that were put aside before you finished them. A similar term to UFOs.
Wrong Side: The wrong side of the fabric is the non-printed side of fabric.
Wrong Sides Together (WST): Putting the wrong sides together refers to placing the non-printed side of two pieces of fabric together so they are touching. You would see the printed side of fabric, or right side of fabric, for both pieces.
Y
Yard: Fabric is sold by the yard. A yard of fabric is 36″ long. For example, if your pattern calls for a yard of fabric, you would need a piece of fabric 36″ long and 42″ wide. Some fabrics are wider than 42″ as well.
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