The Quilter’s Fabric Dictionary: 57 Terms You Need to Know

Picture this: It’s your first quilting class. You’ve got shiny new scissors, a rainbow of thread, and that giddy excitement that comes with starting a creative journey. Then the instructor says, “Today we’ll be working with FQs, WOF, and SID on our UFOs—just mind the scrim in your low-loft batting!”

Cue the internal panic.

I’ll never forget how my stomach dropped in that moment. I’d walked in feeling prepared, only to realize quilters spoke what might as well have been a foreign language. The other students nodded along while I frantically scribbled nonsense in my notebook: FQ = fancy quilt? WOF = width of… fabric? Maybe?

That night, I went down an internet rabbit hole that left me more confused. Every tutorial assumed I knew terms like “bias grain” and “bearding.” Fabric store employees talked about “blenders” and “mottled prints” like I should just know. And don’t get me started on batting—why did something called “80/20” sound like a highway exit?

After a disastrous first project (where I used the wrong fabric, misunderstood the grainline, and wound up with a quilt that puckered like a prune), I made a vow: I would decode this language once and for all.

What followed was two years of:

• Embarrassing fabric store moments (“You want substrate for what now?”)

• Costly mistakes (RIP that $80 batik that bled everywhere)

• Late-night epiphanies (“OH! ‘FQ’ stands for fat quarter!”)

This dictionary is the guide I desperately needed back then. It’s not just definitions—it’s the context, the “why it matters,” and the hard-won lessons behind each term. Like how:

• Pre-washing isn’t just about shrinkage—it’s about saving your masterpiece from dye disasters

• That innocent-looking bias cut can turn your perfect square into a parallelogram overnight

• “UFO” doesn’t mean you’re in an X-Files episode—it’s the quilt in your closet that’s been half-finished since 2019 (we all have one)

Whether you’re:

• Reading your first pattern and wondering what “WOF” means

• Choosing fabric online and puzzling over “thread count vs. GSM”

• Prepping for a quilt show and need to sound like you know what “whole cloth” entails

…this guide will be your translator, your cheat sheet, and your secret weapon. No more nodding along while secretly confused. No more buying the wrong materials. Just clear, practical explanations from someone who’s made every mistake so you don’t have to.

Fun Story: The first time I heard “SID,” I thought it was a new sewing machine feature—not “stitch in the ditch.” My attempt to “turn on the SID function” had the shop clerk in stitches (pun intended).

Pro Tip: Keep this bookmarked on your phone for fabric store emergencies. That moment when someone asks if you want “shot cotton” or “double gauze”? You’ll be ready.

 Fabric Types

 Cutting & Piecing

 Batting & Backing

 Quilting Techniques

 Color & Design

 Tools & Notions

 Quilt Anatomy

 Quilt Math