.png)
This post may contain affiliate links and ads to generate income and support this blog. This is at no additional cost to you and helps me keep providing you with great quilting content. All my opinions are honest and I wouldn't recommend something I wouldn't buy myself.
Are you a new quilter looking for a new healthy habit, but can’t decipher all those quilting terms? Or perhaps you're an experienced quilter that has encountered a quilt pattern that has some interesting abbreviations?
I compiled a list of common terms, like WOF, used throughout quilting to help you with your next quilt. Understanding these terms can help you turn a quilting pattern into your own beautiful quilt. Sometimes keeping all the quilting jargon straight can be a challenge for new quilters.
When you don't understand all the terms it can lead to lots of frustration and a date with the seam ripper. This is not a comprehensive list and different patterns may use different abbreviations and terms. Be sure to check the notes at the beginning of each pattern where they may explain uncommon terms and abbreviations unique to that pattern.
So Here you go; 20 top basic quilting terms you need to know:
1. Width of Fabric (WOF)
Width of fabric or WOF is a term used to describe the fabric length from selvage edge to selvage edge. The selvages are the edges of the fabric that have a tighter weave to prevent it from fraying. The usual measurement from selvage to the selvage of usable fabric is 42 inches (the selvages add one or two inches to the width, but don't use it). It's important to make sure that your fabric width is at least 42 inches so that you have enough fabric to make the pattern.
Interesting fact: fabric also comes in wider widths including 108 inches which is great to use for backing.
2. Yard of Fabric (yd. or yds.)
All fabric in the United States is measured in yards and inches. When you buy a yard of fabric you are buying 36 inches of fabric times 42 in or greater width. It's usually folded in half to be easier to handle. Most patterns write their fabric requirements in yards. When I buy fabric for a pattern, I like to add at least a 1/4 yd to the requirements just in case I make a mistake.
3. Seam Allowance
The seam allowance is very important to create a beautiful quilt. The usual seam allowance used in quilting patterns is a quarter (1/4) inch. this is a one-quarter (1/4) inch from the edge of the fabric piece. Please consult your pattern as it is possible a pattern could use a different seam allowance and it will be noted in the pattern. If the seam allowance is not noted anywhere in the pattern, assume that it is a quarter (1/4) inch. There are also special sewing feet for your machine available that can help you sew an accurate quarter inch. Check out my choice of 1/4" sewing feet.
4. Quilt Blocks
Quilt blocks are the foundation of a quilt top. Quilting fabric is cut into small pieces and then sewn together to make quilt blocks, which are then sewn together to make the quilt top. Quilt blocks come in all different sizes and shapes. some quilt blocks are only one piece of fabric while other quilt blocks are made up of many different types and colors of fabric.
5. Quilt Top
Quilt patterns give instructions to make a quilt top, which is made up of many different colors of cotton quilting fabric that are cut up and then sewn together. quilt tops come in many different sizes: mostly rectangles, but also squares and hexagons are also popular choices. A quilt top is usually layer together in a quilt sandwich and then bound to make a quilt.
6. Quilt Sandwich
A quilt sandwich is a term used to describe the three layers of the quilt when they are put together. The three layers of the quilt are the quilt top, batting, and quilt backing. The layers of the quilt are attached together by quilting or tying, and then the edges of the quilt sandwich are finished with binding.
7. Right Sides Together (RST)
Right Sides Together, or RST, is the term used to describe how we sew our quilt pieces together so that the seams are hidden. the right side of the fabric is the side with the nicest and brightest pattern. There are some fabrics that don't have a right or wrong side; in that case, it's all up to you. The point is, that all your seams and raw edges are on one side of the quilt top and none on the other. The side with no raw edges is the right side of the quilt top.
8. Half Square Triangles (HST)
Many of the most popular quilt patterns out there use Half Square Triangles or HST. Half-square triangles are made from two isosceles triangles sewn together along their long edge to make a square. They are usually made with two different colored fabrics. There are many patterns that you can make from just half-square triangles. My Happy Little Tree pattern uses half-square triangles to make pinwheel blocks for the top of the tree.
9. Quarter Square Triangles (QST)
Quarter square triangles are similar to half-square triangles except that there are four triangles that meet at a point that makes a square. Usually, each triangle is a different color or opposite triangles are the same color.
10. Fussy Cut
The term fussy cut means to very carefully cut the fabric in order to show off a design on the fabric. For example, your fabric has cute little mushrooms on it and you want the mushrooms to be centered on the piece of fabric in the quilt block. you would very carefully cut out your piece of fabric so that it would feature the little tiny mushroom on the center of the piece. That's fussy cutting.
11. Fat Quarter (Fat Quarter Bundles)
Usually, if you wanted a quarter of a yard of fabric you would get a 9x42-inch piece. This long strip of fabric is not super useful. To make a quarter yard of fabric more useful, a half yard of fabric is cut along the folded edge to make a rectangle about 18x20 inches. This rectangle of fabric is more useful in making quilt blocks.
12. Fat Eighth
A fat eighth is very similar to a fat quarter except that instead of cutting a half yard of fabric in half along the fold a quarter yard of fabric is cut along the fold to give you a nine by 20 in piece.
13. Jelly Roll
A jelly roll is a collection of two-and-a-half-inch wide strips by WOF (remember number 1 above?). There are usually 20 different coordinating fabrics with two strips of each included. One or Two jelly rolls are enough to make a quilt. My "A Rainy Day" quilt pattern can be made with two jelly rolls. It saves a lot of time by not having to cut all those strips.
14. Layer Cake
A layer cake is a collection of coordinating fabrics cut into 40-42 10-inch squares. They offer a wide variety of options. You can sew the squares together to make a fun beginner quilt or you can cut them in various ways to make some really cool patterns. Below is one of my favorite fabric types, batiks, in a rainbow layer cake, just waiting to be turned into a quilt!
15. Charm Pack
A charm pack is very similar to a layer cake except that the coordinating fabrics are cut into 5-inch squares. Both charm packs and layer cakes are a good way to sample all the designs in a fabric line and a fun, quick way to get lots of variety in a quilt.
16. Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP)
Foundation paper piecing is one of my favorite quilting techniques. You sew your fabric pieces directly to a piece of printed paper. It can be very helpful when working with very small blocks or blocks that need extreme precision. Foundation paper piecing is a little different than typical quilting.
17. English Paper Piecing (EPP)
While English paper piecing may sound very similar to foundation paper piecing, they are very different techniques. English paper piecing uses little paper templates, usually hexagons but they can be other shapes. You baste your fabric around the template and then whip-stitch the different fabric-basted templates together to make a quilt top. English paper piecing is done by hand and many quilters find it very relaxing.
18. Block of the Month
Block of the Month (BOM) programs are usually put on by shops. The shop will send you fabric for a portion of the quilt pattern each month for a period of several months until the quilt top is finished. The idea is that you won't feel overwhelmed with the amount of work in a large quilt top if it is divided into smaller sections. These can be really fun if you like just having a little chunk to work on at a time. Usually, in the course of a year, you will have made an entire quilt top.
19. Un-finished Objects (UFO)
Long-time quilters are very familiar with UFOs. Not the extraterrestrials kind, but unfinished projects. Many times quilters will become distracted by beautiful quilt patterns while working on another quilt top. They will have many projects going at once. The unfinished quilts are called Un-finished Objects or UFOs.
20. Free Motion Quilting (FMQ)
Free Motion Quilting or FMQ, is a technique used to create beautiful quilted patterns on a quilt sandwich. Using a darning foot or free motion foot, and either a sit-down domestic machine or a long arm machine, a quilter can create beautiful patterns such as feathers, flowers, and other designs on the quilt sandwich. Know that there is no wrong way to finish a quilt: using a walking foot, tying and free-motion quilting are all acceptable ways to finish a quilt. Not interested in finishing the quilts yourself? There are many long-arm quilters that will quilt the quilt sandwich for you.
Now that you are familiar with all these common terms used in quilting, you can go to your favorite quilt shop, pick up a jelly roll or layer cake, and make your own quilt.
Comments