Common terms used on the site

There are quilting terms that I use frequently that my non-quilting friends might not be familiar with. Thought I’d give you the low-down!

Basting

Getting two or more pieces of fabric holding together before piecing them or quilting them. Using pins, thread, or glue.

Binding

Binding can be either a verb or a noun. As a verb, it’s the act of finishing the edge of the quilt. As a noun, it’s the fabric used to cover the edge of a quilt. Typically a long strip of fabric, folded in two, stitched on one side of the quilt, folded, then stitched on the other side. There are many different techniques to get this done.

Block

Part of a flimsy. Typically pieced from two or more pieces of fabric. These are the “building blocks” of a quilt.

Fat quarter

A piece of fabric that is a quater of a yard. Instead of four long cuts, you cut it to have four pieces of fabrics that are a more “fat” rectangle, nearly square.

Finger pressing

Folding the seams with your fingers. This is not giving a crisp seam, but it can be useful to “place” the fabric in the right direction.

Flimsy

Also known as “top”, this refers to the finished patchwork top part of what will be a quilt.

Piecing

Sewing together different pieces of fabric.

Pressing

Folding seams with an iron. It’s not like ironing clothes. It’s more like putting the iron down and letting it be for a moment. You can press seams closed to one side, or opened. There’s quite a technique to pressing that I’ll write about in the future.

Quilt

A finished product that consists of a top and bottom layer of fabric, with batting in between, and quilting to hold it all in place.

Quilting

What I call the activity as a whole - cutting and piecing fabrics, adding binding, sewing, etc. When I say II’m going to do some quilting, typically that’s what I mean.

Also, sewing by hand or machine to hold all the parts of a quilt together. These sewing lines are often decorative.

Squaring or Squaring up

Trimming a block so the edges are straight and the exact size it should be. Most blocks are square, hence “squaring up”. I’ve found using a square ruler makes this a lot easier, but any ruler with at least one 90°.

More tips and tricks

Other posts with the #Tips tag