"We can't, however, discover ourselves by introspection. We have to jump in before we learn to swim." --Charles Handy

Glossary of Quilting Terms

Some useful definitions to enhance your Legacy Quilts Experience. 

[Click underlined terms to view in Anatomy of a Quilt diagram.]

Appliqué
A design made by cutting shapes from one or more fabrics and sewing them on top of  another piece of fabric. 

Baby Size
A baby size quilt or wallhanging is typically 38” x 38”.  

Background Fabric
The lighter or receding color fabrics in patchwork, or the base fabric onto which appliqué shapes are sewn.

Backing
A large piece of fabric that makes up the back of the quilt. 

Batting
The ‘fluffy’ middle layer of a quilt, giving it warmth and thickness.  It also enhances the quilting by puffing up slightly around the lines of stitching, adding an important element to the overall quilt design.  

Binding
A strip of fabric sewn over the edges of the quilt layers to finish the raw edges, add strength, and/or decorate the outer edge.  

Block
One unit of patchwork design, usually square, that is repeated (the unit, not necessarily the pattern on the block) to build an overall pattern in a quilt top.  Can be either pieced or appliquéd. 

Border
Outermost edge of a quilt top. Borders are often used to ‘frame’ the inner, pieced quilt top. Quilts can also have multiple borders. Much like ‘mats’ on a framed piece of art, interior borders delineate concentric patterns radiating out from the center of a quilt.   

Charm Quilt
Quilts made from a single shape (square, triangle, etc.) utilizing many small pieces of fabric, where no two patches are from the same fabric.  

Corner Blocks
A square unit at the corner of borders on a quilt top.  Used in place of Mitered Corners.  

Crazy Quilt
A method of stitching irregular and random pieces of fabric to form a quilt block.  Many have decorative stitching added to the seam lines. 

Crib Size
A crib size mattress is 27"x52".

Embellishments
Decorative stitching, lace, buttons, etc. on a quilt; Crazy Quilts are often lavishly embellished.  Adding embellishments will often reduce the washability of a quilt.

Embroidery
Decorative top stitching.

"Fantasy" Fabrics
A technique whereby fabrics are combined to 'capture' colorful items- such as thread, ribbons, yarns, lace, silk flowers, beads, glitter and more -  under a layer of sheer fabric to create unique designs.  These original fabrics can then be used in larger quilting projects to add dimension and texture.

Feedsack Fabrics (also called Floursacks)
Dating back as far as the early 1800’s, these sturdy bags were used to carry flour, sugar, meal, grain, salt and feed home from grain mills.

Thrifty wives quickly discovered that the cotton bags were a great source of fabric for dish cloths, diapers, nightgowns and other household uses. Manufacturers took advantage of this trend and began offering sacks in prints and solid colors. At their peak in the 1930’s-40’s, Post WWII technological innovations greatly reduced availability of feedsacks, and their popularity waned.  Today, there remains an active trade in these ‘antique, collectible fabrics’ among specialty quilt and fabric collectors and dealers.  Consider yourself extremely lucky if you’ve got a stash of these special fabrics, or even better, a quilt made from these lovely pieces of the past.

Full Size
A full (double) size mattress is 54"x75".

Hand-Dyed
Fabric that has been dyed by hand to create unique colorations, often looking more ‘natural’ or subtle than commercial fabrics.   

Hanging Sleeve
A fabric tube sewn on the top back of a quilt in order to hang the quilt from a dowel for display. Usually 3-4" wide and attached during the binding process.  (also called a Sleeve) 

King Size
A king size mattress is 76"x 80".

Label
A piece of fabric affixed to the back of a quilt to document the quilt name, recipient, quilt maker, date completed, special messages for the recipient, care instructions and/or other pertinent information.  

Lap/Throw Size
A youth size mattress is 36”x 66”.  (This size is also often called a Throw Quilt) 

Loft
Term for the thickness and resilience of quilt batting.

Low loft batting is thinner and shows off quilting stitches to better advantage.  Usually made of cotton, this batting gives a quilt a softer, more traditional feel, which will continue to grow softer and more comfortable with passing years.

High loft batting is usually made of polyester.  It is thicker and fluffier than cotton and is used more often for tied quilts.

Machine Quilting
The method of stitching together the three layers of a quilt (decorative quilt top, batting and backing) using a sewing machine.  Provides the advantages of strength, durability and speed over traditional hand-quilting.  Decorative and intricate patterns can be utilized to full advantage in machine quilting.   

Medallion
A central block, motif or patterned area on a quilt top, surrounded by a border or borders radiating outward in concentric patterns. The center is often a large square or on-point. 

Memory Quilt
A quilt pieced from a loved one's clothing or other special fabrics.  Can be made from outgrown baby clothes, T-shirts, uniforms, jeans, ties, curtains, direct printed photos or documents, or almost anything holding special meaning for the user.

Also, quilts made to commemorate an occasion such as a wedding, anniversary, retirement, new baby, or birthday.  Individual quilt blocks can be made of 'signable' signature blocks, printed photos, or theme related blocks (i.e. schoolhouses for graduation).  

Mitered Corner
A corner (usually of a border) joined at a 45 degree angle to form a 90 degree corner, like a picture frame.  

Motif
A design element, image or drawing used on a quilt block or for an appliqué. An example is a quilt using a "heart motif" or other themed image.

On Point
A term used to define the orientation of a square quilt block when the square is “standing up” on one of its points, instead of resting on a side. 

Overhang
The ‘extra’ fabric/quilt that extends over the edge of a standard sized mattress.  Includes allowances for ‘drop’ to the floor and ‘pillowtuck’, if desired.  Dimensions are often referenced by the terms ‘comforter’, ‘coverlet’ and ‘bedspread’ sizes.  (see Sizes of Quilts for more information.) 

Patchwork
This generally refers to the process of sewing together fabric pieces to make the colorful quilt top.  

Pre-Washing
The practice of washing fabric before cutting and sewing into a quilt top. Pre-washing is important to prevent fabric colors from bleeding and for pre-shrinking fabrics.  

Queen Size
A queen size mattress is 60"x 80".

Quilting
Once a quilt top is pieced, it is layered with a middle layer of batting and a backing layer.  The three layers are secured together with patterned lines of stitching, called quilting, to add strength and decoration to the quilt.

The three layers can also be secured by tying, or ‘tufting’, in which a series of knotted ties are spaced about 3-5" apart all over the quilt. (see also Tied Quilt)
 

Glossary of Quilting Terms, continued...