Quilting Glossary and Abbreviations

 

Analogous Colors
 Neighbors on the color wheel.

Basting
 An extra-large, loose stitch used to hold together layers of fabric or fabric and batting and are usually removed after the layers are quilted.

BDNQ
 Bad Day, Not Quilting

Block Swap
 An organized event where participants exchange pre-made quilt blocks. Each participant creates multiple identical blocks according to a predetermined design, size, and theme. Everyone collects a variety of blocks from different contributors, allowing them to assemble a quilt using a diverse range of patterns and fabrics.

BOM = Block of the Month
 A quilt program where you work on a quilt over a predetermined length of time and make a designated number of blocks each month.

BSK
 Basic Sewing Kit

Chain Piecing
 Stitching pieces of fabric together in a continuous chain without stopping the sewing machine. Short lengths of thread link the pieces, which are then clipped.

Charm Packs©
 Pre-cut 5” squares of fabric with usually at least one square each of a line of fabric packaged together.  Originally coined by Moda, the term is now used by many fabric companies. Also called single scoops (Andover), stamps (Island Batik), 5” stackers (Riley Blake), 5 karat gems (Wilmington Prints), etc. They can also be called nickel squares. A charm pack will have approximately 42 pieces.

Complimentary Colors
 Opposites on the color wheel.

DQ = Dragon Quilt 
 A quilted that is dragged many places to be finished.

DSM
  Domestic Sewing Machine

E2E = Edge to Edge 
 A type of quilting in which the quilting pattern is the same across the entirety of the quilt. It can also be called pantograph quilting.

EQ = Electric Quilt
 A computer program that helps you design your own quilts.

EPP = English Paper Piecing
 A method of piecing where intricate shapes and designs are created by wrapping fabric around a paper template then stitching it into a design.)

FART
  Fabric Acquisition Road Trip

Feed Dogs
  The sawtooth-edge machine component that rests under the throat plate and aids in moving the fabric beneath the presser foot.

FMQ = Free Motion Quilting 
  A process of quilting done with the feed dogs disengaged and using a darning foot or walking foot so the quilt can be moved freely on the machine bed in any direction to create different stitching or quilting patterns.

FE or F8 = Fat Eighth 
  A piece of fabric that is 9” x 21”.

FG = Flying Geese 
 Refers to a patchwork shape often used in quilt blocks and borders. The unit includes one large rectangle, the "goose", and two smaller triangles sewn on either side of the "goose" called the "wings" or the "sky".

FOB
  Fear of Binding

FQ = Fat Quarter 
  A piece of fabric that is 18” x 21”.

FPP or PP = Foundation Paper Piecing or Paper Piecing
   A method of piecing in which fabric is stitched to a base of paper or fabric to stabilize the quilt block, often used to increase accuracy, or create precise shapes and angles.

FS
  Forgotten Stash

Furling
  Also referred to as popping, spinning, twirling, or twisting the seams where the intersection of 3 or more units come together.

Fussy Cut
  Isolating, centering, and cutting out a specific print or image from a piece of fabric.

FW
  Singer “Featherweight” (Model 221 or 222) is small and portable lockstitch domestic sewing machine produced by the Singer Manufacturing Company from 1933 to 1968. They are popular among quilters and often have a high collector's value.

Honey Bun©
  Pre-cut collection of 1 ½” by width of fabric strips with usually at least one strip each of a line of fabric. from the same fabric line packaged together.  Originally coined by Moda. Also called skinny strips (Robert Kaufman), or simply 1 1/2" strips.  A honey bun will usually have around 40-42 strips.

HIPS
  Hundreds of Ideas Piling Skyward

HST = Half Square Triangles 
  A common quilting unit in which two 45-degree triangles are joined together on the diagonal to create a square.

HSY
  Haven’t Started Yet

In-The-Ditch Quilting (also known as Stitch in the Ditch)
  The process of stitching in the existing seams on the quilt top. It’s often used to define blocks or shapes.

Jelly Roll©
  Pre-cut 2½” by width of fabric strips with usually at least one strip each of a line of fabric packaged together.  Originally coined by Moda, the term is used by many fabric companies. Also called double scoops (Andover), rolie polie (Riley Blake), roll up (Robert Kaufman), 40 karat gems (Wilmington Prints), 2 1/2” strips, or simply strips.   A jelly roll will usually have around 40-42 strips.

Layer Cake©
  Pre-cut 10” squares of fabric with usually at least one square of each of a line of fabric packaged together. Originally coined by Moda, the term is used by many fabric companies. Also called sundaes (Andover), stacks (Island Batik), tiles (Northcott), 10” stackers (Riley Blake), 10” squares (Robert Kaufman), 10” karat crystals (Wilmington Prints), etc. or simply 10” squares.

LAQ
  Long Arm Quilter

Leaders & Enders
  A leader/ender is a small piece of scrap fabric that you use to start and end a line of chain piecing.

LOF
  Length of Fabric

Loft
  The thickness of batting.

LQS
  Local Quilt Shop

MAQ
  Mid-Arm Quilter

Mini Charm Pack©
  Pre-cut 2.5” squares of fabric from the same collection packaged together.  Originally coined by Moda. A mini charm pack will have approximately 42 pieces.

Mystery Quilt
  A quilt pattern where the instructions are revealed in a series of clues and the final design is unknown until the final clue is revealed. 

Nesting
 Pressing your seam allowances in opposite directions so that your two fabrics almost interlock as you sew.

NESTY
 Not Even Started Yet

OBW = One Block Wonder
 A quilt composed of kaleidoscope hexagons or octagons. It uses only one fabric for the main body of the quilt.

OOP = Out of Print
   A fabric that is older and not reorderable, it is no longer being printed or easily found in shops.

Partial Seams
  A two-step process of seaming to avoid set-in seams.

PFC
  Professional Fabric Collector

PhD
  Projects Half Done

PIGS
  Projects in Grocery Sacks

PIPS
  Projects in Pizza Boxes

Polychromatic Combination
  A multi-colored or scrappy mix.

Prairie Points
   Folded fabric triangles used as a quilt border or embellishment.

QAL = Quilt Along 
  A quilt program where a group of quilters all work on the same quilt pattern at the same rate over a predetermined length of time.

QAYG = Quilt as You Go
  A technique that allows you to get the whole project finished at one time; the piecing and quilting are done together so that when you've completed the top, all you have left to do is bind the project.

QST = Quarter Square Triangle 
  A common quilting unit in which three or four 45-degree triangles are joined together to create a square. The version with four triangles is often called an "hourglass" block, while the three-piece one is sometimes called a "split quarter square triangle."

RR = Round Robin 
  Typically, the “owner” makes the first or center block. It is then passed around to each person participating, one-by-one, who adds a border of their choosing and then passes it along to the next person. The owner does not see their quilt as it is in progress until the big reveal.  Sometimes known as RRBE or Round Robin Block Exchange.

RST = Right Sides Together
  Assembling fabrics with the printed sides together.

SA = Seam Allowance 
  The distance between the raw edge of your fabric and the line of stitching. In quilting, the seam allowance is typically ¼”.

SABLE
  Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy

Selvage
  The self-finished edge of the fabric and often has the manufacturing details or other information about the fabric printed along the edge.

Setting a Seam
  The first pressing of a seam as it comes from the sewing machine to lock the threads together, smooth out puckers, and even out minor thread tension differences before pressing the seam open or to one side.

SEX
  Stash Enhancing eXperience (or eXcursion)

SID = Stitch in the Ditch also known as In the Ditch Stitching 
  The process of stitching in the existing seams on the quilt top. It’s often used to define blocks or shapes.

SnW = Stack n Whack 
  When identical fabric pieces are stacked on top of one another, cut into specific shapes, and then sewn back together to create a unique design.

SOG = Straight of Grain 
  The threads going parallel to the selvedge of the fabric.

SQUID
  Sewing a Quilt Until I Die AKA Dragon Quilt

Squishy
  Envelopes Full of Fabric Sent by Mail

STASH
  Special Treasures All Secretly Hidden (also a person’s collection of fabric)

TAG
  Touch and Go

Tertiary Colors
  Colors that are a combination of primary colors (Red, blue, yellow) and secondary colors (green, orange, violet). Examples include red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, etc.

TGIF
  Thank God It’s Finished!

TOT = Tone-on-Tone 
  Fabric having different shades of the same color.

UFO = Unfinished Object 
  A project you have started but haven’t finished, also called a WIP.

Walking Foot
  A sewing machine presser foot with grippers on the bottom that act in tandem with the feed dogs to evenly feed multiple layers of fabric and batting beneath the foot. Effective for machine quilting.

WHIMM
  Works Hidden in My Mind

WIP = Work in Progress 
  A project you have started but haven’t finished, also called a UFO.

WISP
  Work in Slow Progress

WIWMI
  Wish it Would Make Itself

WOF = Width of Fabric 
  The width of fabric measured from selvage edge to selvage edge, generally 40-42 inches wide.

WOMBAT
  Waste of Money, Batting, and Time

WOW
  White on White

WST = Wrong Sides Together 
  Assembling fabrics with the unprinted sides together.

WWIT
  What Was I thinking?

Y-Seams
  Seams in which 3 different seams and 3 different fabric pieces meet at one point. The seams will run in a “Y” shape.