and becomes tacky when ironed
between two pieces of fabric,
making it a quick and easy way to
join material.
Fussy cut
To cut around a motif on a
patterned piece of fabric to show
off the design.
Grain
The arrangement of threads in a
piece of woven fabric. Lengthwise
grain is created by the warp
threads on the loom (the ones that
run up and down), and crosswise
grain by the weft (the ones that
run left to right).
Hem
To hem a piece of fabric is to turn
the edge over on itself and sew it
in place to stop it fraying, although
a hem can also be decorative.
Honeycomb
A common quilt top design
made from hexagons of fabric
sewn together.
Jelly roll (Also: Strip roll, Noodle)
A bundle of 20 or so strips of fabric
that each measure 2½x44in. Jelly
rolls are produced by Moda
Fabrics, but other companies
make similar bundles with different
names such as Bali Pops, Stone
Strips and Roll Ups.
Interfacing
A reinforcing material that’s sewn
or ironed to the back of fabric to
make it stronger or more rigid.
Layer cake
Produced by fabric company
Moda, a layer cake is a bundle of
10x10in fabric squares.
Loft
A term for describing the thickness
and weight of wadding. ‘High loft’
wadding will be thicker than ‘low
loft’, although low loft wadding
can be just as warm as high loft
wadding – useful if you want a
warm quilt that isn’t too bulky.
Long-arm quilting
For large projects, such as
bedspreads, it’s possible to pay
to have the quilting stitched
by an industrial ‘long-arm’
sewing machine.
Materials & Tools
Beginner’s Guide to Quilting 19Long-arm sewing machine
A long-arm sewing machine, as
the name suggests, is a domestic
sewing machine that has a
longer arm that creates more
room between the needle and
the body of the machine so that
it’s easier to manoeuvre larger
pieces of fabric.Long quarter
A quarter-yard of fabric cut along
the width of the bolt, which
measures 9x44in.Medallion
A medallion is a centrepiece
block in a quilt, designed to be
the focal point and different from
the surrounding blocks.Mitred corner
This produces a diagonal seam
at 45º to the edges of a square
where two pieces of fabric meet
at a corner.Nap
With a textured fabric such as
velvet or brushed cotton, the nap
is the direction in which the raised
threads lie.Notion
A general term for any tools and
accessories used for quilting,
patchwork and other crafts.
Quilting notions include rotary
cutters, scissors, needles, pins
and so on.Panel
Panels are pieces of fabric with
an illustration or other image on
them that are intended to be
used whole on a quilt top.Patchwork
Patchwork involves sewing
together small pieces of
different fabrics to create a
pattern. The blocks of a quilt top
are usually patchworked.Piecing
Another name for patchworking,
piecing is the act of sewing
together the shapes that make
up a block.Press
Pressing a fabric with an iron
removes unwanted creases but
also sets necessary ones along
seams and edges. Pressing is
different from regular ironing as
the iron is lifted between each
press rather than run backwards
and forwards across the grain of
the fabric.Quilt
To quilt is to sew together layers of
fabric and padding to make an
item such as a bedspread or
garment. Quilting is the stitching
that holds the layers together.Quilt sandwich
The three layers of material that
make up a finished quilt – the
backing, the wadding and the V