Reference
Glossary
Terms used across Blockdraft's notes, defined the way we actually use them at the cutting table — not lifted from a textbook. If a term you're looking for isn't here, it's worth asking about on the contact line.
- Block (Sloper)
- A basic pattern piece drafted to a specific set of body measurements, with no style lines or design ease added. The starting point every fitted or loose garment is built from.
- Muslin (Toile)
- A test garment sewn in inexpensive fabric to check the fit of a block or pattern before cutting into the final fabric. Also used as a verb — "to muslin a block."
- Dart
- A folded and stitched wedge of fabric that removes excess width and shapes flat fabric around a curve of the body, most often at the bust, waist, or shoulder blade.
- Dart Rotation
- The process of moving a dart from one position on a block to another (for example, from the shoulder to the waist) while keeping the same amount of shaping, using a pivot point at the bust apex.
- Ease
- The difference between a body measurement and the corresponding garment measurement. Ease can be functional (needed to move and breathe) or stylistic (added for a looser silhouette).
- Wearing Ease
- The minimum ease built into a block so the wearer can sit, reach, and breathe comfortably — distinct from design ease, which is added on top for a specific silhouette.
- Design Ease
- Extra room added beyond wearing ease to create a particular look, such as a boxy or oversized fit. Varies by garment style rather than by body measurement.
- Grainline
- A line marked on a pattern piece showing how it should align with the lengthwise threads (warp) of the fabric when cutting, keeping the finished piece hanging correctly.
- True Bias
- The 45-degree diagonal to the fabric's grainline, where the fabric has the most stretch and drape. Pieces cut on true bias behave differently from pieces cut on straight grain.
- Notch
- A small mark cut or clipped into a pattern edge to show where two pieces should align during assembly, or to indicate front, back, or a specific seam.
- Seam Allowance
- The extra fabric between the cutting line and the stitching line, left so a seam can be sewn without the finished piece coming out smaller than the pattern.
- Bodice Block
- The basic pattern piece covering the torso from shoulder to waist, used as the foundation for tops, dresses, and jackets before style lines are added.
- Sleeve Cap
- The curved top portion of a sleeve pattern that fits into the armhole (armscye). Its shape and ease determine how smoothly the sleeve sets into the garment.
- Armscye
- The armhole opening on a bodice block where a sleeve is set in. Its shape and depth affect both mobility and how a sleeve cap needs to be drafted.
- Waist Suppression
- The total amount of fabric removed (through darts, seams, or both) between the hip or bust measurement and the smaller waist measurement, to shape a garment to the body.
- Princess Seam
- A vertical seam that runs from the shoulder or armhole down through the bust point to the hem, used to shape a garment without a separate dart.
- Balance Lines
- Horizontal reference lines marked on a block (such as the bust line or hip line) used to check that a garment hangs level and symmetrical on the body during a fitting.
- Fish-Eye Dart
- A dart that's pointed at both ends rather than fixed at one edge, typically used at the waist of a garment that's fitted through both the bust/hip and the waist.
- French Curve / Hip Curve
- Clear plastic drafting rulers with continuously varying curves, used to draft smooth armholes, necklines, and hip curves that a straight ruler can't produce.
- Walking the Pattern
- Physically rolling one pattern edge along an adjoining edge, marking as you go, to confirm the two seams are the same length before sewing them together.
- Facing
- A separate piece of fabric, cut to match an edge like a neckline or armhole, sewn on and turned to the inside to finish the raw edge without a full lining.