Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 1: Essential Sewing Terms about Fabric You Need to Know

As a beginner, the world of sewing may appear to hold many dark and mysterious secrets. I am here to show you that by learning a few basic sewing keywords, going fabric shopping and sitting down at a sewing machine will become much less intimidating and way more fun!

Words like “tension” and “bias” and “allowance” almost sound like they come out of a how to get along with people in business text book! But these sewing terms are really used in sewing speak and actually extremely important for preparing to sew and actually putting your foot to the pedal

Recently I shared a post about how you can avoid 5 common mistakes that sewing beginners make. Have a read of that article in conjunction with this post to help you start your sewing journey.

In today’s post I will be focusing on the most common words you’ll come across in fabric terminology. These can help you understand different fabrics and what fabric your sewing pattern recommends for your project. Be sure to stay tuned for more upcoming parts in this sewing dictionary series 😉.

Let’s dive in to learn these important fabric terms!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

I have listed these sewing words and phrases in alphabetical order to help you quickly find any specific words you are looking for. They are not listed in order of importance! But you can be sure that all of these fabric terms will come in handy at one time or another 😉.

15 Fabric Terms Sewing Beginners Should Know

Bias

The bias grain of the fabric runs at a 45-degree angle to the selvedge (see below). While woven fabrics don’t have any stretch along or across the grain, along the fabric on the bias angle there is some give in the fabric.

Cutting along the bias is often used in sewing patterns for curved edges, for example skirts and dresses, because it has that little bit of stretch in it and drapes more nicely. Cotton fabrics are often used to make bias tape.

Binding aka Bias Tape

Binding, or bias tape, is a strip of fabric cut along the bias (45 degrees angle, see above).

Bias tape can be used decoratively for edging around fabrics, but is usually used to enclose the raw edge of a fabric and prevent the fabric edge from fraying. Binding can be in the same fabric as the project or something completely different!

Cross Grain

The cross grain, aka crosswise grain, refers to the threads that run directly across the fabric at a right angle (90 degrees) to the selvedge.

Woven fabrics have almost no stretch, but if you tug the ends of the fabric along the cross grain you will notice a little amount of stretch.

Fabric Grain

Fabric grain refers to the direction of the threads used to weave the fabric.

The sewing terms you will often hear are cross grain (see above), bias grain (see above) and lengthwise grain (see below).

Read your sewing patterns carefully and look out for these terms. Different parts of a sewing project may require you to cut your fabric and different angles to the grain.

Fusible Interfacing aka Iron-on Interfacing

Fusible interfacing is a type of material used to give fabric additional strength, support or shape.

Fusible interfacing comes in a large variety of thicknesses and weights but the one thing they all have in common is that one side of the interfacing has a type of bumpy “glue” that melts (hence the name “fusible”) when you iron it onto the wrong side of the fabric (see below).

Fusible interfacing can be used in any number of projects ranging from collars to quilts to handbags.

Grainline aka Lengthwise Grain

Grainline refers to the threads that run parallel to the selvedge (see below). That is, the threads run the length of the fabric, not across it.

Many sewing patterns include an arrow to indicate the direction of the fabric grainline and how the pattern pieces need to be laid out on the fabric in relation to that grainline. Generally, fabric pieces are cut so that the grainline runs the length of the body (for example trousers or a blouse).

Interfacing

Like fusible interfacing (see above), interfacing is a special type of fabric used to provide strength and support to a sewing project.

Interfacing if the umbrella term for all sorts of these types of fabric, including iron-on interfacing, webbing (a special type of fusible interfacing where both sides are covered in the “glue” so that it can adhere to 2 pieces of fabric rather than just 1) and interfacing that can be sewn onto the main fabric.

Interfacing is almost always white and should not be heavier than the fabric it will be attached to.

Knit Fabric

Knit fabrics are so named because of the method of producing the fabric using a single yarn which is looped and “knitted” together.

Knit fabrics come from variety of threads, including cottons and polyesters. Knit fabrics are known for their excellent stretch and non-wrinkling properties and include jersey knit and lycra. Because of their stretch, knit fabrics are commonly used for t-shirts (take a look at this layered-look shirt sewing tutorial HERE), dresses, sweaters and sports gear.

Another bonus of knitted fabrics? They don’t fray 😊.

Polyester Stuffing aka Polyfil

This is the white fluffy stuff that teddy bears and cushions are filled with.

And this is exactly the type of sewing projects that you might want to use stuffing for too: stuffed animals, cushions (I used this sort of stuffing in my reading pillows! Read all about it HERE) and in costumes for my kids (polyfil makes a great stuffing for tiger tails or superhero muscles! See for yourself HERE.)

My kids claim this filling makes them imagine playing in the clouds or patting baby lambs, LOL.

Raw Edge

Sounds rather drastic, but it actually isn’t! The raw edge of the fabric is simply the edge of the fabric where is has been cut. It is rough, unfinished and if it is a woven fabric (see below) it will fray.

But fear not, there are a multitude of ways of hiding the raw edge from sight and/or from fraying, including certain sewing machine stitches (such as a zig zag stitch), binding (see above) and enclosing the edge within a seam.

Rib Knit aka Ribbing

Ribbing is a type of knit fabric with very clear alternating vertical raised and lowered rows.

Rib knits are extremely stretchy and are usually used on other stretch sewing projects such as the trim on T-shirt necklines, waistbands and sleeves.

Like other fabrics, ribbing comes in a multitude of colours and patterns (spots, stars and stripes are popular rib knit patterns!).

Right Side of the Fabric

Saying that there is a right side of the fabric implies that there must be a wrong side, correct? You’d be right. Not wrong (see below for the wrong side). But let’s not get ourselves confused here!

The right side of a fabric is the side that you want to see on the outside of your finished sewing project, whether it is a pillow cover or a gorgeous maxi dress.

It is especially important to pay attention to which side is the right side when sewing with patterned fabrics, regardless of whether it is a knit fabric (see above) or a woven fabric (see below). Why? You chose the fabric because of the pattern and you want to it end up on the outside, right?

In a solid-colour, no-pattern, woven fabric, it can be really hard to determine the right side. Some people claim to be able to feel the difference. Some people claim that the holes punched through the selvedge (see below) will indicate which is the right side and which is the wrong side. While many other people simply suggest, that if you can’t tell the difference after staring down your fabric for hours, other people won’t be able to see a difference either. (Note: I tend to be in that last category 😉.)

Most sewing projects instruct you to sew fabric pieces right sides together so that the stitches of the seam will be on the inside.

Selvedge aka Selvage

Depending where on this planet you come from, selvedge and selvage are actually just 2 different spellings for the same thing.

Selvedge is the “self-finished” edge on either side of a fabric, which has been treated to prevent the fabric from unravelling.

It often is firmer to the touch, may contain the brand name, manufacturer, or copyright information and is often missing the pattern that is otherwise on the right side of the fabric (see above).

Woven Fabrics

Woven fabrics differ from knit fabrics (see above) in the way they are manufactured. Woven fabrics are made by weaving 2 or more threads together at right angles to one another. (Picture a criss-cross pattern.)

Woven fabrics are breathable but contain very little stretch. Which is why you won’t be sewing your next bikini using woven fabrics. Examples include denim, linen, cheesecloth and cottons like popeline.

Woven fabrics are commonly used in quilting, upholstery, jackets, tailored shirts and suits.

Wrong Side of the Fabric

I warned you that there was a wrong side coming! As discussed above, the right side is the nicer side of a fabric you want to see on the outside of your finished sewing project.

Therefore, the wrong side of the fabric is the reverse side without a pattern or otherwise the side of the fabric destined to remain unseen by others.

When stitching together 2 or more layers of fabric, the seams are almost always made on the wrong side.

I hope that you now feel more confident when it comes to shopping for and preparing to work with different fabrics!

If you’re feeling ready set go to buy some new fabric supplies and need a simple way to keep track of what you need and how much, don’t forget to grab my absolutely FREE Ultimate Sewing Supplies Shopping Planner HERE.

Are there any more mysterious fabric words and phrases that I missed here? Which words in this article had you not come across before? Drop a comment below!