Quilting Terms

APNQ

Association of Pacific Northwest quilters. They hold a big quilt show in Seattle once every two years. See the list of Washington state quilting guilds for more information.

applique

attaching of fabric to the surface of other fabric. Applique can be attached by hand, machine, fusible web, or duct tape (ok, just kidding about the last one. we don't see many duct tape quilts), among other things

baste

attaching the layers of the quilt sandwich together in a temporary way, in preparation for quilting or tying. Often done with thread, but also with pins, safety pins, basting spray, and tack guns.

batik

hand-dyed fabric, mottled and textured by using dyeing elements. Each batik is unique as they are all painted by hand. Batik has "crackly" motifs on a differently-colored background, but this term has been expanded to include fabric with no motifs.

BEG

big evil grin

betweens

small sharp needles used in hand-quilting

bias

the direction not along the grain of fabric. Practically, this means that the direction which is very stretchy. True bias is 45 degrees off from the grain of a fabric (either warf or weft). If you pull a fabric on the bias, it will distort out of shape. Bias tape (long thin flat cylinder of fabric) is cut on-bias so that it will curve around corners. Bias binding operates in a similar way: it is cut so that the length of the binding is along the bias. Bias binding is necessary for quilts with curved edges, because of the way the bias stretches.

binding

the strip of fabric that goes on the edge of the quilt and encloses the the batting and raw edges. Or, the act of attaching the binding to the quilt.

Block of the Month

A kit, divided up into twelve sections. You do a block a month and then after a year you have finished the whole top.

BOM

Block of the Month

charms

small pieces of fabric of different patterns and colors, often square and all the same size. Charm quilts are scrap quilts composed of these charms. The goal in these quilts is usually to use as many different fabrics as possible, in small squares. One of the ongoing, participate-whenever-you-want exchanges is a 6.5" square charm swap. See the list of exchanges for more details.

This quilt by Gillie Ewert, Jewel Box No. 1 is an example of a charm quilt.

crazy quilting

A kind of piecing where the pieces are not cut to specific sizes, but simply sewn together (usually on a muslin foundation) in no particular pattern. Traditional crazy quilting is thick with embroidery and were made with scraps of silks and velvets. A picture of an antique crazy quilt

CYA

Cover Your Asphodels. Keep good care of those flowers!

DJ

Dear Jane, a book by somebody about an intricate sampler quilt made during the civil war. Dear Janers make the blocks (4"?) and construct their own version of the quilt

DWR

double wedding ring, a traditional quilt pattern

English paper piecing

A type of hand-piecing using paper templates. Fabric is basted to the paper templates and then sewn together. The paper can remain in or be removed later.

exchange

see "swap"

fat eighth

piece of material measuring about 18" by 11". Constructed by halving a fat quarter. More useful than a traditional 1/8 of a yard, which would be 44" by 4 1/2".

fat quarter

piece of material measuring about 18" x 22". Traditional quilting fabric is 44-45" in width. A yard is 36". A regular quarter yard is 9" by 44"; a fat quarter is made by cutting a half yard (18" x 44") in half in the direction of the length (splitting the 44") instead of the width (splitting the 9").

finished

size of a block, minus a 1/4" seam allowance around the outside edge. "Finished" refers to the size that the block will appear to be once incorporated in a quilt top. For instance: 12" square finished == 12 1/2" square unfinished.

FOCL

Falling out of my chair, laughing

foundation paper piecing

piecing using a foundation (in this case, paper) for stabilization and accuracy. Foundation piecing is also done with muslin or stabilizer foundation.

FQ

fat quarter. See "fat quarter" for definition

fusible, fusible web

an interfacing (thin, treated fabric) used as a foundation for applique and foundation piecing. These come in many varieties, including sticky, woven, non-woven, and gets-sticky in a heat-activated ways.

g

grin

GFG

grandmother's flower garden, a traditional quilt pattern

grain, on-grain

the direction of the threads in fabric. Threads are woven together, horizontally and vertically. Horizontally (the "length" of the fabric) there is no stretch. Vertically (the "width" of the fabric, typically 42"-43" for quilting cottons) there is a little stretch. Blocks are often cut so that all of the grains are parallel to the sides. This is known as "on-grain" and the block distorts and stretches less with ironing and normal handling.

hand-dye

fabric that has been dyed by hand. Each piece is unique. Hand-dyes can be mottled and textured, multi-colored, or even.

jewel tone

vibrant, "jewel"-like colors; usually fully saturated (highest intensity) colors.

LOL

laugh out loud

LQS

local quilt store. The quilt store geographically and/or sympathetically closest to a person.

marble

a not-quite solid fabric that is a tone-on-tone with a kind of "marbled" effect, sort of like swirling clouds. The most famous are the Moda marbles, which come in many different colors.

marbled

fabric that has been colored in a marbled way, like the endpages of old books. The process of marbling involves floating oil-based paints on a water surface. See Marjorie Lee Bevis' site for some gorgeous examples.

paper piecing

see (primary) foundation paper piecing and (secondary) english paper piecing

Patis

plastic hexagons made by Pati Shaumbaugh for constructing hexagon- based quilts (specifically, grandmother's flower garden). Quilt Patis

PIG

Project In Bags (see UFO)

PIM

Project In Mind. Something stewing about your head that has not yet been translated into fabric. After creation, see UFO.

PP

paper-piecing; usually foundation paper piecing

quilt-as-you-go

A quilting/piecing process which incorporates sewing together a block and quilting it at the same time.

rag quilts

quilt, usually using flannel, whose raw edges of seam allowances are exposed and then cut to form a soft fringe.

ROFL

Rolling on the floor, laughing

RR

Round robin, a quilt exchange in which an entire top is passed around and each member of the round robin adds on pieces, forming a larger top. Examples: block RR (each member attaches more blocks), row RR (each member attaches another row to the top), and theme RR (each member makes blocks in a certain theme, specified by the owner/originator).

See the exchanges listing for details on current round robins

sandwich

backing, batting (or wadding, if you're British), and top. Used as a verb, putting these all together and basting.

scrap quilts, scrappy

Patchwork or applique quilt done with many different kinds of fabrics, usually in smaller pieces. The pattern is usually a set of repeating blocks, with similar colors and values in the same places in each block, but with different fabrics. Here's a scrappy storm at sea.

SEX

Stash Enhancing eXperience

sharps

longish, thin, sharp needles used in hand-applique

Slice 'n' Dice

(WASIQ) Local name for the technique of constructing blocks without measuring specific shapes. Somewhat like a more structured form of crazy quilting.

squishie

fabric received in the mail. The contents are nice and squishable.

SS

Secret Sisters, one of the ongoing swaps. Each member is given a secret sister who she then sends gifts to for 6 months. (Note: also Sunbonnet Sue, a traditional applique pattern.)

Stack 'n' Whack

a book and a process published by Bethany Reynolds. Using fabric repeats and cutting multiple layers, you can make kaleidoscope effects.

stash

the contents of one's fabric collection

SUI

Shopping under the influence. Purchases made when influenced by others

SWAN

swap without a name (see exchanges) (WASIQ)

swap

a group of people from the list who are exchanging items. A swap hostess conducts the trading, and may be the central repository who then distributes out the items. See the exchanges listing for details on current swaps

tone-on-tone

fabric comprised of different tones of the same color, such as dark red flowers on a lighter red background.

top

the patchwork of fabric meant to be on top of the quilt.

tying

Attaching the quilt sandwich layers together by tying knots at certain intervals.

UFO

UnFinished Object. A project you started but have not finished yet. Doesn't count if it's just an idea on your mind or a pattern on paper. Some people tend to attract UFOs, and some repel. Most quilters have at least a couple. UFOs are a NON-GUILT-ITEM. You are obviously letting them age (like fine wine) while your creative mind is developing other projects.

unfinished

raw size of a block, including seam allowances on each side. A 12 1/2" unfinished square will make a 12" finished square when sewn together with other blocks

Wedge, or "the Wedge"

Mass of WASIQ members descending upon some poor hapless merchant (either online or in person). Based on the mental picture of such an event, and the idea of forging through crowds.

WOW

white-on-white fabric. A white fabric with printed white design on it. It looks and feels like a silk-screened design on a t-shirt.