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SubjectFree lesson

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION 1

ClassNotes Team 5 MIN READUPDATED 1 JUL 2026

HOME ECONOMICS J. S. S THREE SECOND TERM

WEEK SIX

THEME: FAMILY LIVING AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/FOOD AND NUTRITION/CLOTHING AND TEXTILE

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION 1

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

    1. Explain some terms used in garment making
    2. State their importance to garment construction.

CONTENT

Terms used in Garment Construction

  1. Basting

Basting stitches are temporary long running stitches, made by machine or hand, that hold the fabric together before the final permanent stitching.

  1. Bias 

Bias refers to the diagonal of the fabric; a cut that's made diagonally across the crosswise and lengthwise grain of the fabric.

  1. Clipping

When you clip fabric, you make snips in the seam allowance, up to but not through the stitching, to allow the fabric to open around curves or to lay flat.

  1. Crossgrain

The line of fabric perpendicular to the selvedge edge of the fabric.

  1. Dart 

A dart is a folded wedge of fabric used to shape a garment, particularly over curves.

  1. Ease

Ease refers to the difference in the amount of fabric in a garment compared to the wearer's measurements. For example, a garment with a 40" bust made to fit someone with a 38" bust would have 2" of positive ease. If the garment was made with a 36" bust, it would have 2" of negative ease.

  1. Edge stitch

A line of stitching very close to a seam line or garment edge.

  1. Facing

A fabric piece used to create a finished edge on a garment, mirroring the edge it is sewn to and creating an enclosed edge. Typically used for necklines, edges with closures, or armholes.

  1. French seam

A French seam is a finished seam in which the seam is initially stitched with wrong sides together, then flipped inside and stitched right sides together. This encloses the seam allowance, creating a clean finish on the inside of the garment.

  1. Gathering

The process of taking up a length of fabric in order to seam it to a shorter piece of fabric.

  1. Grading

After a seam is stitched, the two layers are trimmed to a different width in order to prevent a ridge showing on the outside of the garment seam. The second definition of Grading is the process of converting a pattern size to a larger or smaller size.

  1. Grain

Grain describes the direction of the warp and the weft in a woven fabric. The threads in a woven fabric are set up on a loom in a lengthwise and crosswise orientation. The lengthwise grain is used to layout the garment pattern pieces. The crosswise grain runs from one selvedge edge to the other.

  1. Grainline

The imaginary line running lengthwise on the fabric, always parallel to the selvedge edge. The grainline is marked on pattern pieces with a straight line, usually with arrows at either end and marked as "grainline" or "straight grain."

  1. Hem

The finished bottom edge of a garment usually folded up and sewn.

  1. Interfacing

A layer of fabric used to stabilize the fashion fabric in a garment. Interfacing can be woven or non-woven, fusible or sew-in.

  1. Nap

A fabric texture that runs in a specific direction (for example, velvets and corduroys). Nap requires that all pieces be placed and cut in the same orientation. Prints that have directionality may not have a textured nap but also need care when placing pattern pieces.

  1. Right side

The side of the fabric designed to be on the outside of the garment. Sewing directions usually instruct to put right sides together and stitch, resulting in fabric seamed together with the seam allowances on the inside of the garment.

  1. Seam

The line where two pieces of fabric are sewn together.

  1. Seam allowance

The seam allowance is the distance from the edge of the cut fabric piece to the stitching, which can vary according to the pattern and fabric.

  1. Selvedge

The woven edge of a fabric that runs parallel to the lengthwise grain. When you purchase fabric, it is cut across the crosswise grain, at a 90-degree angle to the selvedge. (Also spelt selvedge in the U.K.)

  1. Stay stitch

A line of machine stitches on or near the seamline, stitched on a single layer of fabric, used to stabilize a cut edge.

  1. Stitch length

The length of a single stitch, which affects the amount of fabric moved through the machine per stitch. Fewer stitches per inch mean each stitch is longer, up to and including basting stitches.

  1. Topstitch

Topstitching is a row of stitches seen on the outside of a garment. They can be decorative and also add strength and wearing ability to an item.

Under stitch

A row of stitching that attaches the facing to the seam allowance on the inside of the garment.

  1. Wrong side

The side of the fabric intended to be on the inside of the garment. On some fabrics, it is apparent which is the wrong or right side, such as on prints, but on other fabrics, both sides can look the same.

  1. Yardage

A length of fabric. Patterns will indicate required yardage needed for a garment in a specific size, detailing how much yardage is needed.