Applique
A
design made by cutting one or more fabric into shapes and applying them
to a background fabric.
Backing
Fabric
that is used
on the back of a quilt. In general, the backing needs to be
four inches larger on all sides than the quilt top.
Bargello
A style of piecing
where you sew fabric strips together horizontally then cut and arrange
the pieces vertically in steps to form a geometric design that looks
like a wave.
Basting
A means of
temporarily holding the three
layers of the quilt sandwich- top, batting, and backing - together in
preparation for quilting. Hand quilters use long loose stitches,
and machine quilters use safety pins.
Batting
The middle
layer of a
quilt. This can be cotton, wool, silk, polyester, or a
blend. 100% polyester is not recommended for machine quilting as
the quilt layers tend to slip. Called "wadding" in Great
Britain. Choose batting at least four inches larger on all sides
than the quilt top.
Bearding
When
the batting
seeps through the surface of the quilt. Can be caused by cheap, low thread count fabrics, fat needles, burrs on your needles, or cheap quilting thread.
Bias
The true 45-degree
diagonal of a woven fabric. Bias has the greatest amount of
stretch. Curved-edged quilts must be bound with bias
strips. To achieve a flat quilt top, care should be taken
to avoid bias edges on the outside of blocks or borders
Binding
Strips
of fabric
used to cover the raw edges of a quilt sandwich. Crosswise grain
or bias strips are appropriate binding for straight-edged quilts.
Curved-edged quilts must be bound with bias binding.
Block
The basic unit of a
quilt top. Care should be taken
that the outer edges of a block are not bias edges. Either
crosswise or lengthwise grain will work for the outer edges.
Border
The outer edge of
the quilt used to frame the central
section of the quilt top. Can be plain, pieced, or appliqued.
Calico
A multi-colored
patterned type fabric. Usually a tiny floral print. Called
"muslin" in Great Britain.
Chain piecing
The
recommended method of sewing patchwork on the machine. Patches
are butted up one after the other, without lifting the presser foot,
and without cutting the threads connecting them. Saves time and
thread, and avoids thread snarls. The ends of the thread only
have to held when sewing the first patch.
Charm quilt
A one-patch quilt
where each patch is cut from a different fabric.
Cornerstone
square of fabric
joining sashing to sashing
Crosswise
Grain
threads of a woven fabric running
perpendicular to the selvage.; Crosswise grain has a slight amount
of stretch, which makes it appropriate for binding straight-edged
quilts.
Directional Prints
A printed
fabric that has a clear direction.; There are both 1-way
directional and 2-way directional prints.
Fat
Quarter
A quarter
yard of fabric, formed by first
cutting a half yard of fabric and then cutting the half yard in the
other direction to make two fat quarters.; Thus fat quarters can
range from 18"; x 20"; to 18"; x 22 1/2",;
depending on the width of the fabric.;; A conventional 1/4
yard is 9 inches wide x the width of the fabric. Fat
Quarters are often a more useful configuration for both
patchwork piecing and applique, plus they don′t wrap around the machine
agitator as bad during pre-washing.
Feed
Dogs
The
mechanical teeth on the sewing machine bed
that moves the fabric through the machine.;
Finger
Pressing
A method
of temporarily pressing with your fingers.
Sometimes used during the preliminary steps of block construction, to avoid
stretching bias edges with your iron.
Finished
Size
The final
sewn measurement of a patch, block, or
quilt without the seam allowances.
Four
Patch Block
A
block
design based on a 2 x 2 grid.; A simple four-patch block will
comprise of four square fabric patches.
Foundation
Piecing
A
method of assembling a block by sewing fabric pieces to a foundation of
fabric. This gives the block added stability
during piecing. Foundation piecing consists of sewing
the printed fabric on top of the foundation which is left inside the quilt. Paper piecing is sometimes referred to as foundation piecing, but the process is different. See paper piecing.
Free Motion
Quilting
Machine
quilting with the feed dogs down. The quilter is thus in
full control of moving the quilt and can sew in any direction.
Fusible
An applique technique
that involves adhering a webbing to the
back of the fabric and fusing the fabric to the background with the
heat of the iron.
Fussy Cutting
Carefully
selecting a specific area or image of the fabric.
Grid
Squares of uniform size
Grain
The
lengthwise and
crosswise threads of a woven fabric.
Hand Quilting
Stitch
A small
evenly-spaced stitch used to hold the layers of the quilt together and
to form a design on the surface of the quilt.
Hanging Sleeve
A tube sewed
on
the back of the quilt so that it can be hung.
Hue
color
In the Ditch
Quilting on the
edge of the appliqued shape or right next to a patchwork seam on the
side of the seam with no seam allowances.; Both a machine quilting
and a hand quilting style.
Intensity
The strength of a
color.; Color intensity is diluted when white, black, gray, or any
other hue is added.
Loft
A term used to describe
the thickness, height, and resilience of the quilt batting
Long Arm Quilting
Machine
quilting using a commercial long arm sewing machine.;;;
Fundamentally different than standard machine quilting on a domestic
machine, as in this system the machine head is moved, while the quilt
is held stable.;; The
three layers on the quilt are set up on a roller system, which makes
basting unnecessary.;;;
Lengthwise
Grain
threads of a woven fabric running
parallel to the selvage. A good choice for borders.
Meander Quilting
machine
quilting a loose meander throughout the quilt top. Similar to
stippling but the quilting lines are much further apart. Does not
require marking, and is done on both domestic and long arm machines.
Medallion Quilt
A quilt with
a
center block surrounded by multiple borders.
Mitered Corner
A method of making borders by joining
a Vertical and Horizontal Strip of fabric in a 45 degree angle.
Muslin
A plain cotton fabric
available bleached or unbleached.; Called "Calico" in Great
Britain.
Nine Patch Block
A
block design based on a 3 x 3 grid.; A simple nine-patch block
will comprise of nine square fabric patches.
One Patch Quilt
Any pieced
quilt pattern that uses a single patch shape.
Paper Piecing
A technique of sewing your fabric under a thin substrate of printed paper. Excellent method for making perfect points. When the block is completed, the paper is removed by tearing it out.
Quilting frame
A large
free-standing floor apparatus made of wood or plastic tubing used;
to hold the three layers of the quilt together during the hand quilting
process.
Quilting hoop
A circular,
square, or oval apparatus made of wood or plastic tubing used to hold
the three layers of the quilt together during the hand quilting process.
Quilt
sandwich
the three layers of the quilt together:;
quilt
top, batting, and backing
Quilt top
the top layer of
the
quilt sandwich.; Can be pieced, appliqued, a combination of
piecing and applique, or whole cloth.
Rag Quilt
A quilt style where
the seam allowances are intentionally exposed and allowed to fray.
Sashing
A strip of fabric used
between blocks to set them together.
Seam
Allowance
The distance
between the cut edge of the fabric and
the stitching line.; In quilting, the seam allowance is usually 1/4 inch.
Selvage
The finished edges of
the woven fabric. Along the lengthwise grain.; The selvages
should be cut off and not included in the seam allowance.
Setting
the arrangement of
completed blocks forming the quilt top.
Setting square
A plain fabric
square used to set completed patchwork or applique blocks in a quilt
top.
Shade
A graduation of a color
made by adding black to lessen its saturation.;
Stash
a term used to refer to
a quilter′s fabric collection.;; Important to a serious
quilter as certain colors are not available every year, and fabrics are
rarely reprinted.
Straight of grain
lengthwise
or cross grain.; Not bias.
Stippling
Very closely
stitched background quilting.; Can be done by hand or machine.
Tint
A
gradation of a color made by adding white to it to lessen its
saturation.;
Template
A shape cut from
cardboard or plastic used to cut units of a pattern for patchwork or
applique.
Tone
A graduation of color
made by adding gray to it to lessen its saturation.
UFO
An abbreviation
meaning
unfinished quilting projects.
Value
The lightness or
darkness of a color.
Walking
Foot
A necessary sewing
machine accessory for straight-line
machine quilting and binding.; Ensures an even feed of the three
layers of the quilt.
Whole Cloth Quilt
Quilt top
that is composed of one fabric only.; Minimal piecing may be
required if the quilt is wider than the fabric.; Usually a solid
fabric is used in order to display the quilting.
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