Glossary of Craft Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ
Appliqué- Sewing small pieces of fabric onto a larger background fabric in a decorative design.
Batting: The cotton, polyester or wool filling in a quilt between the top pieced layer and the backing.
Chicken Wire: a mesh of thin, flexible galvanized wire with hexagonal gaps typically used to build cages for birds. Because of it's light weight and flexibility, it is a good material to use to create large paper mache forms.
Die Cut: A method for punching or cutting out any special shapes by using a metal form that is called a die. Also used to refer to the cut out shape. Can be used with paper or fabric.
Dry Embossing: Is done by tracing a stencil with a special tool, called a stylus. The result is a stunning, raised pattern on the object you are embossing.
Embossing Ink: A thick, slow-drying ink used for heat embossing. It can be either clear or have a light pastel tint.
Fat Quarter: A unit of measurement in quilting made by cutting a half yard in half again vertically, yielding a piece measuring around 18” by 22”, instead of the normal 9” x 42” quarter:yard cut.
Grain: The warp (lengthwise) and weft (crosswise) threads of a fabric. The crosswise grain, the weft, perpendicular to the selvage stretches more.
Reverse Appliqué: Instead of sewing on the top of a fabric in traditional appliqué, this method sews on the underside of the background fabric. The top fabric is then cut away and the edges turned under and sewn.
Seam Allowance: amount of extra fabric added to allow for a seam or the area between the seam stitching and the cut edge
Toque: A type of hat with a shallow brim or no brim at all, made popular the 17th and 18th century Europe, well known in France.
UFO/WIP: Un:Finished Products/Works in Progress
Vellum: Real vellum is made from the skin of young livestock, but the kind usually referred to in crafts and scrapbooking is paper that is specially treated so it has some translucency.
Whipstitch: To sew with stitches passing over an edge, in joining, finishing, or gathering.
