Quilters should know quilting terms because it helps them understand patterns, follow tutorials, communicate with other quilters, and shop for supplies more efficiently.
This page has a long list of common quilt terms that a quilter should know.
Why does a quilter need to know quilting terms?
Many quilting instructions use specific terms like “fat quarter,” “stitch in the ditch,” or “bias binding.” Knowing these terms ensures that the quilter can follow directions accurately.
Whether a quilter is in a quilting guild, an online quilting group, or taking a class, using the correct terminology helps them ask questions and share ideas clearly.
Fabric shops and online stores list materials using quilting terms like “jelly roll” and “batting loft.” Knowing these terms helps the quilter buy the right supplies for their project.
It is essential to understand “scant ¼ inch seam” or “press vs. iron” to ensure better technique and precision in quilting.
Knowing the correct quilting terms makes everything more straightforward when it comes to quilting.
Some examples below of fabric and cutting terms:
- Fat Quarter
- Jelly Roll
- Charm Pack
- Layer Cake
- Bias
You will learn sewing and piecing terms such as:
- Chain piecing
- Seam allowance
- Applique
Check out this page for quilt piecing techniques!
Examples of quilt construction terms to be found:
- Block
- Sashing
- Batting
- Binding
A sampling of quilting and finishing terms below:
- FMQ (Free-Motion Quilting)
- Echo quilting
- Longarm quilting
- Hand quilting stitch
The glossary of quilting terms goes on and on! Scroll down to learn important terms in the world of quilting.
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Amish Quilts are made with solid, bold-colored color fabric using a lot of black and deep navy fabrics.
The Quilt Show
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A needlework technique that involves adding smaller fabric shapes onto a larger piece of fabric.
The Quilt Show
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The fabric used as the background and upon which smaller fabric shapes are sewn (applique pieces).
Virtual Quilter
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On a sewing machine, a backstitch (sometimes called a staystitch) is the process of reverse stitching over a few stitches to secure them.
Cucicucicoo
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These quilts are made up of a number of intricate appliqued blocks. This quilt was very popular in the 1800s in Baltimore, Maryland.
Wikipedia
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A bargello quilt is a quilt made of long, narrow strips of fabric sewn together to create a wavy, colorful pattern.
Create Whimsy
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Basting is a way to temporarily hold the quilt's three layers together, the quilt sandwich, while you quilt. There are three methods - thread basting, spray basting, and pin basting.
String and Story
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Batik is a method of dying fabric in which wax is applied to the fabric creating a design.
Needlepointers.com
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Quilt Batting is the middle layer of a "quilt sandwich"; the layer between the quilt top and back of the quilt.
Needlepointers.com
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A term meaning when bits and pieces of the batting appear on the quilt top and form a fuzz or halo on the surface of the quilt. Pokies is when the batting fibers pull through the fabric with your thread.
Quilters Dream Batting
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Betweens are a type of needle used in hand quilting.
Needles By John James
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The bias of a fabric is diagonal to the grain of the fabric. The true bias is 45-degree angle to the selvage.
Cucicucicoo
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The material used to cover the raw edges of a quilt, and the process of attaching it.
Needlepointers.com
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An embroidery stitch used to attach appliqued fabric to a main fabric. It can be done by hand stitching or machine stitching.
Needlepointers.com
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A quilt block is a single unit that has been sewn together. Then quilt blocks are sewn together to make a finished quilt top.
Needlepointers.com
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A strip or strips of fabric sewn around the outer edges of the main quilt design to frame it and make the quilt larger.
Sew Can She
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Chain piecing is an assembly line style of sewing together quilt blocks or pieces; saving time and thread.
Needlepointers.com
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A charm pack is a bundle of 5" pre-cut fabric squares usually containing 42 squares to a pack.
The Quilt Show
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As the name suggests, a quilt is made using a charm pack. Here is a tutorial on using a charm pack of 5" square to make a baby quilt.
Needlepointers.com
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This is a free-motion quilting pattern that features overlapping circular shapes that resemble clamshells. It serves as a filler quilting pattern.
Quilty Love
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A quilting pattern where the design line flows uninterrupted.
All People Quilt
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Cornerstones are small contrasting squares of fabric found between the sashing strips and located at the corners of the quilt blocks.
The Spruce Crafts
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This describes a quilting block made using irregularly shaped fabric pieces. It's an excellent way to utilize scraps from your stash.
Needlepointers.com
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A quilt is constructed from crazy blocks or patches. Crazy quilts were popular during the Victorian era, often made with silks and velvets and embellished with embroidery.
Create Whimsy
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A type of fabric design in which the design clearly goes in one direction.
Scissortail Quilting
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Echo quilting is a quilting technique that involves stitching multiple rows of parallel lines around shapes in a quilt.
Quilts By Jen
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Paper piecing is a quilting technique that uses paper to create small hexagons, which are sewn together to form geometric patterns to form a quilt.
Polka Dot Chair
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Electric Quilt is a computer program for designing quilts.
Needlepointers.com
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The narrow strips or border runs down the length of the fabric edges.
The Spruce Crafts
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A fat eighth is a pre-cut piece of fabric usually 9" x 22" in size.
Patchwork Posse
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Fat Quarter is a piece of fabric cut to 18-inch x 21-inch.
Alanda Craft
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The sawtooth-edge machine component under the throat plate which move to aid in moving the fabric beneath the presser foot through the sewing machine.
The Spruce Crafts
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The process of pressing using a finger to gently press press a seam open or to the side.
Learn How To Quilt
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A quilting technique where patchwork pieces are sewn onto a paper or fabric piece to stabilize a quilt block during construction.
The Quilt Show
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A block or unit comprised of four equal-size squares sewn in two horizontal rows.
Alanda Craft
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A method of quilting where the feed dogs of the sewing machine are lowered so the fabric can freely move under the sewing machine's needle.
Pin Cut Sew Studio
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Fusibles are basically fabric with adhesive on it when heat is applied with an iron the adhesive is activated and adhere to the fabric.
International Pleating
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Fussy Cutting is the practice of carefully selecting and cutting printed fabric pieces to feature a specific image for the center of a quilt block.
Polka Dot Chair
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It is how the threads of a woven fabric - straight grain, cross grain and bias grain.
Sussex Seamstress
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Half square triangle units consist of square units formed by two 90-degree triangles. Each triangle occupies half of the square's area.
Needlepointers.com
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A series of small, even running stitches made through all layers of a quilt with a needle and thread.
Needlepointers.com
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A piece of fabric sewn to the back top of a quilt which allows the insertion of a rod so the quilt can be hung on a wall or at a quilt show.
Create Whimsy
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Interfacing is a woven or non-woven refers materials used on the backside (either fused or sewn in) of a fabric to provide stiffening to certain areas of garments, quilting and sewing projects.
Treasurie
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Pre-cut fabric 2 ½ inches wide and wound into a roll. It's used for strip piecing, other quilt and sewing patterns, and also for binding.
The Quilt Show
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Forty pieces of ten-inch square of cordinating fabric in a bundle pack.
Stitchin' Heaven
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Piecing is the process of sewing fabric pieces together to form a quilt block.
Needlepointers.com
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The backing is the bottom layer of the quilt usually made of one or multiple pieces of fabric.
Needlepointers.com
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A glossary of quilting terms
eQuilters.com
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Sashing refers to strips of fabric used to separate the blocks, framing them and making the quilt larger.
Madam Sew
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Seam Allowance is the amount of fabric between the stitching line and the raw, cut edge of the fabric. In quilting, it is typically 1/4 inch.
Lo and Behold Stitchery
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A string quilt is a wonderful scrap-busting quilt pattern where narrow strips of fabric are sewn together to create a block.
Needlepointers.com
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