A

Appliqué: A sewing technique where fabric shapes are sewn onto a larger piece of fabric to create designs.

Arm Quilting: Quilting done using the longarm quilting machine.

B

Backing: The bottom layer of a quilt that backs the quilt top.

Basting: Temporarily holding the quilt layers together with stitches, pins, or adhesive spray.

Batting: The middle layer of a quilt, providing warmth and thickness.

Bias: The diagonal direction of the fabric, often used for binding because it stretches.

Binding: The strip of fabric sewn around the edges of a quilt to finish it.

C

Chain Piecing: Sewing multiple fabric pieces together in a continuous chain to save time and thread.

Charm Pack: A collection of 5" x 5" pre-cut fabric squares.

Crazy Quilt: A quilt style made from irregularly shaped scraps of fabric.

D

Design Wall: A vertical surface, often covered with flannel, used to arrange quilt pieces before sewing.

Ditch Quilting: Stitching along the seams of a quilt top to emphasize the design.

E

English Paper Piecing (EPP): A hand-sewing technique using paper templates to achieve precise shapes.

Echo Quilting: Quilting that follows the outline of a design repeatedly, creating a rippled effect.

F

Fat Quarter: A quarter-yard of fabric cut to be 18" x 22", instead of a standard 9" x 44" strip.

Feathering: A decorative quilting design resembling feathers.

G

Grainline: The lengthwise or crosswise direction of fabric threads.

Graduated Quilt: A quilt with colors or patterns that fade or intensify gradually.

H

Half-Square Triangle (HST): A common quilt block made from two triangles sewn together to form a square.

Hand Quilting: Sewing the quilt layers together by hand rather than machine.

I

Interfacing: A stabilizer applied to fabric for added strength or stiffness.

In-the-Ditch Quilting: Stitching directly along a seam line for a subtle quilting effect.

J

Jelly Roll: A roll of 2.5" wide fabric strips, typically used for patchwork and quilting projects.

K

Kaleidoscope Quilt: A quilt design that creates a kaleidoscope effect with fabric pieces.

L

Layer Cake: A stack of 10" x 10" pre-cut fabric squares.

Loft: The thickness or puffiness of batting.

Longarm Quilting: a method of quilting that uses a specialized sewing machine, called a longarm machine, to stitch together the three layers of a quilt (quilt top, batting, and backing). 

M

Modern Quilting: A quilting style characterized by clean lines, bold colors, and geometric designs.

Mitered Corner: A neatly folded corner, often used in quilt binding.

N

Nine-Patch Block: A basic quilt block made of nine squares arranged in a three-by-three grid.

O

Off-Grain: When the fabric’s threads are not perfectly straight and aligned.

Orphan Block: A leftover quilt block that doesn’t fit into a project.

P

Patchwork: The art of sewing pieces of fabric together to create a larger design.

Piecing: Joining pieces of fabric to create a quilt top.

Q

Quilt Sandwich: The three layers of a quilt: the quilt top, batting, and backing.

Quarter-Inch Seam: The standard seam allowance in quilting.

R

Raw Edge: The unfinished, cut edge of fabric.

Rotary Cutter: A circular blade used to cut fabric with precision.

S

Sashing: Strips of fabric that separate quilt blocks.

Scrappy Quilt: A quilt made from a mix of leftover fabric scraps.

Stitch in the Ditch: Quilting along the seam lines of a pieced quilt top.

T

Templates: Patterns used to cut fabric pieces accurately.

Trapunto: A quilting technique where areas of a design are stuffed for extra dimension.

U

Unpicker/Seam Ripper: A tool used to remove stitches.

UFO (Unfinished Object): A quilting project started but not completed.

V

Vintage Quilt: A quilt made in or resembling a style from a past era.

W

Walking Foot: A sewing machine attachment that helps feed fabric evenly, often used for quilting.

WOF (Width of Fabric): The width of a fabric from selvage to selvage, usually 42-44 inches for quilting cotton.

Y

Y-Seam: A challenging seam formed by joining three pieces of fabric in a "Y" shape.

Z

Zig-Zag Stitch: A stitch often used in decorative quilting or for appliqué edges.