APPLIQUé
Appliqué is the art of sewing cut-out
fabric shapes onto a backing fabric to
create patterns and pictures. The pieces
can be sewn by hand or on a sewing
machine, or even stuck on with fabric
glue, although sewing can prevent the
edges from fraying.
BACKING FABRIC
This is a large piece of fabric that forms
the back of a quilt (it can be one piece or
made up from several). Plain or patterned,
in colours that complement the colours
on the patterned top of the quilt, the
backing is best made from 100% cotton.
Look for ‘extra wide’ fabrics when buying
a backing, to save you from having to sew
two pieces together.
BASTE
Basting is the process of loosely fixing the
layers of a quilt sandwich together before
quilting them by hand or on a machine.
Often known as tacking, there are several
ways of doing this: with a basting spray
adhesive; with curved quilting pins; by
using fusible batting that can be ironed
on; sewing tacking stitches by hand; or
using a specialist basting gun that secures
the layers in place with plastic tags. Each
method has its advantages and
disadvantages – experiment to see which
one you prefer!
BATTING
Available in different weights, batting forms
the padded layer of a quilt sandwich
between the top and the backing. Some
patterns refer to batting as ‘wadding’.
BETWEENS
Betweens, or quilting needles, are slightly
shorter than the usual ‘sharps’ that are
used for general sewing and embroidery.
They’re designed to make detailed
stitches on heavy fabric.BIAS
The bias runs diagonally to the weave of a
fabric. Material that’s cut on the bias has a
great deal of stretch and ‘give’ so it’s ideal
for making the binding edge of a quilt.BIAS BINDING
This is a length of material that’s been cut
on the bias and will therefore fit more
easily around curved edges. Ready-made
bias binding is available in many widths
and colours, making it really useful for
finishing off a quilt.BINDING
The binding runs all the way around the
edge of a quilt, holding the three parts
of the sandwich together and providing
a neat, strong finish.BLOCK
A block is one of a series of components
that make up a quilt top. Blocks can be
patchworked or appliquéd, and can be
repeated across the quilt or each one
can be different.BOLT
A long piece of fabric – usually 44in wide,
but anything from 25 to 100 yards long –
that’s kept wound around a flat piece of
cardboard. Most haberdashers display
their fabrics as bolts, with informationglossary
about the material displayed on one end
of the roll.BORDER
On a quilt top, the border is a fabric
framework that surrounds all the other
decorative elements (blocks, sashing and
so on). The border itself is contained by
the binding at the very edge of the quilt
that holds the three layers the quilt
sandwich together.CHARM
A charm is a 5in pre-cut fabric square,
often sold in a ‘charm pack’ bundle that
includes examples of every design in a
fabric range.CORNERSTONE
Cornerstones are decorative features of
a quilt top. They’re the squares that sit at
the corners of sashing or borders.CREWELS
Crewel needles (also known as
embroidery needles) are very similar
to standard ‘sharp’ needles but have an
elongated eye, rather than a round one,
to make it easier to thread thicker
multi-stranded cottons.DESSERT ROLL
Also known as a ‘fat roll’, this is a bundle
of 20 pre-cut fabric strips that are 5in wide
and as long as the width of the fabric bolt.ENGLISH PAPER PIECING
A method of hand pieced patchworking
in which templates for every piece are cut
out of paper. Fabric is then sewn aroundIf there are words that have you baffled,
our glossary has all the answers