Hilarious Sewing Terms & Lingo You’ll Want to Know Now

When you’re just starting to sew, it can feel like there’s a whole secret language everyone else already knows. What the heck is a feed dog? Why are we basting something that’s not a chicken? And who’s playing chicken with their bobbin thread?

Welcome to the wonderful (and sometimes weird) world of sewing lingo—those funny little phrases and slang sewing terms that seasoned sewists toss around like it’s no big deal but make sewing beginners frantically run to Google for help.

The good news? You don’t have to know everything. But getting familiar with a few of these in-the-know sewing terms will make you feel more confident, connected, and a little more “official” every time you sit down to sew.

So here are 10 (plus a bonus!) sewing terms that sound confusing, funny, or just plain odd—but are actually super helpful to know.

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.

Don’t miss! There’s loads more sewing tips to be found at the end of this article too! 👇

Sewing for Beginners: Be in the Know with These 11 Hilarious Terms

1. Baste

Nope, not just for Thanksgiving turkeys. 🦃 In sewing, basting means using long, temporary stitches to hold fabric pieces together before you sew the real seam. It’s like putting bobby pins in your hair before styling—it’s not permanent, but it helps keep everything where it should be.

2. Feed Dogs

Keeping with the misleading animal references… These are not actual dogs. I repeat: there are no animals inside your sewing machine.

Feed dogs are the little metal teeth under your presser foot that grip the fabric and move it through the machine while you sew. If your machine ever tries to “eat” your project… yep, blame the feed dogs.

3. Playing Chicken with the Bobbin

Why does sewing keep referring to food and animals?!? 🙈

If you’ve ever looked at your almost-empty bobbin and thought, “I can totally finish this seam before it runs out,” then congratulations—you’ve played bobbin chicken. It’s a high-risk sewing sport, and I’ll be honest with you… we rarely win.

4. WIP

A WIP is a Work In Progress. Any half-finished sewing project that’s sitting around, waiting for you to return.

It might be lovingly folded. It might be stuffed in a drawer with a measuring tape on top. Either way, it’s technically not done… yet.

And then, of course, there’s the WISP, with the S standing for Slow. Which is far more my style lately… 😂

5. UFO

This is a WIP’s cooler, more mysterious cousin. A UFO is an UnFinished Object, a project you started ages ago, fully intended to finish, and then… life happened. It’s now floating somewhere in your home, like a forgotten relic from a past creative burst.

No shame—every sewist has at least one.

6. Sewjo

Short for “sewing mojo.” That magical, hard-to-predict spark of motivation that makes you want to sew all the things. It usually arrives late at night, when you’re supposed to be doing laundry, or a couple of hours before you need the thing you’ve been working on.

Can you lose sewjo? Yes. If you’re just not feeling that into sewing right now, take the time to tidy up or sewing space rather than sitting at the machine, or walk away for a few days and do something else that makes you happy and energised.

7. Stash

Everyone who’s been sewing for a while has one. Maybe even if you’ve only been sewing for a week. 😅

A fabric stash is your growing pile of fabrics that you plan to use “someday.” And yes—you’ll be absolutely certain you needed all of them, even the ones you forgot you had.

Do you need to have a fabric stash? Despite all those sewing memes you’ve seen, no, you don’t. But after completing a few projects, it’s kinda unavoidable.

8. Stash Busting

When you try to use up your fabric stash instead of buying new fabric. Sounds responsible, right? The irony is, stash-busting often leads to more stash… because now you need just one more coordinating print. Oops.

Tip: try looking for scrap-busting projects to help you work through your fabric stash. Take a look at these Spring Cleaning and Valentine’s Day ideas to get you inspired!

9. Hack

This sounds practically illegal and something that involves a lot of data. But it’s actually super creative.

To hack a pattern means you make little tweaks or customizations to change up the original design. Like turning a dress into a top, adding sleeves, or turning a basic tee into a unique work of art. Totally allowed. Totally fun. Totally you. 🥰

10. Frosting vs. Cake

So, it appears we’re back to the food theme again…

OK, this one was new to me too—but I’m definitely intrigued. In sewing, “cake” means your everyday, wearable basics (think t-shirts, joggers, things you’ll wear often). “Frosting” is the fun, fabulous, maybe-not-so-practical stuff—party dresses, statement pieces, or anything that just makes you happy.
Cake is delicious, and now we know sewing cake is too. 😜

11. BONUS: Seam Ripper

Also known as your sewing BFF… but more likely a frenemy, depending on the day. The seam ripper is your trusty “undo” button.

Everyone makes mistakes (especially when your sewjo is high but your brain is tired), and this tiny tool lets you fix them. It’s humbling, essential, and—fun fact—most of us have cursed at ours after we’ve used it too many times in one sitting.

More Sewing Basics for Beginners

💡  Sewing Terms About Fabrics  

💡 Sewing Pattern Terminology to Learn

💡 Basic Sewing Machine Terms Explained  

💡 Sewing Tools You Need in Your Kit!

💡  Set Up Your Sewing Machine the Right Way  

💡  Sewing Machine Skills You’ll Use Over and Over  

💡 Sewing Questions You Always Wanted to Ask  

💡 The Simple Sewing Project to Knock Over in 15 Minutes!  

💡  Master Sewing Straight Lines with These Practice Sheets

There you have it—some of the funniest (and most confusing) sewing terms for beginners that’ll make you feel a whole lot more “in the know” and like a “real” sewist.

You don’t need to memorise everything, but knowing your WIPs from your UFOs and your feed dogs from your frosting makes sewing feel a lot less intimidating—and a lot more fun.

And if you’re ever confused? Just ask. We all started somewhere.

Just remember: Sewing doesn’t have to be serious to be successful. 🤩