How to Speak Like a Quilter

Definitions, Phrases, and Acronyms

I have several readers who have questions about some of the quilting terms I use. Who am I kidding? Those readers are mostly my non-quilting family members who don’t understand a word I’m saying! So, for my family and for those of you that maybe are still learning about quilting, I’ve put together a list of commonly used quilting phrases and acronyms.

A-E
  • BOM: Block of the Month
  • Bundle: a sample of prints in a designer collection, usually tied up in twill tape or a pretty ribbon (code: I want ALL the fabric, every last piece!)
  • Designated Shopper: someone who goes with you to your LQS (see LQS) solely to keep you from buying out the store (usually a spouse)
  • Domestic Machine: just a regular sewing machine, sadly not a badass longarm
  • Enabler: someone who encourages you to buy a lot of fabric; or even better, someone who buys it for you!
  • EPP: English Paper Piecing (don’t let the name fool you, it’s different from PP)

F-K
  • FART: Fabric Acquisition Road Trip
  • FMQ: Free Motion Quilting
  • FQ or Fatty: Fat Quarter
  • Frogging: annoying but necessary use of the seam ripper… rippp-it, rippp-it, rippp-it
  • Fussy Cut: cutting around details in fabric in order to highlight them in your block, then fussing about the fabric waste
  • Happy Mail: when you get new fabric and/or quilting goodies in the mail, usually accompanied by squeeing
  • HST: Half-Square Triangle
  • HRT: Half-Rectangle Triangle (now you’re just saying shapes)

L-O
  • LQS: Local Quilt Shop
  • My precious… : your favorite fabric (usually a collection or bundle) that you never actually use but just pull it out from time to time for some heavy petting
  • OBW: One Block Wonder
  • ONS or One Night Stand: a quickie project that feels good now but has you questioning your quilting identity the next morning
  • Orphans: little lost blocks with no homes, usually extra blocks that never got put into a quilt top

P-R
  • PIW: project in waiting, not yet a WIP (see WIP)
  • PP or FPP: Paper Piecing or Foundation Paper Piecing
  • QAYG: Quilt As You Go
  • QST: Quarter Square Triangle
  • Quilty Bucket List: I want to make ALL the things!

S-T
  • SABLE: Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy (you'll be 182-years-old before you use it all)
  • Scant ¼ or Scant Seam: just a hair, a scoach short of a 1/4” seam
  • SID: Stitch in the Ditch
  • Square Up: make sure your block/quilt top has right angles and is the right size (same as True Up)
  • Stash: your hoard of fabric
  • Studio: for the majority it’s the kitchen table; for the lucky few it’s an entire room
  • SUI: shopping under the influence (usually with a enabler)
  • TGIF: Thank Goodness It’s Finished!
  • True Up: make sure your block/quilt top has right angles and is the right size (same as Square Up)
  • Tute: tutorial

U-Z
  • UFO: Unfinished Object
  • WIP: Work In Progress
  • WISP: Work in SLOW Progress
  • WIVSP: Work in VERY SLOW Progress (use this term when you don’t want to admit that it’s a UFO)
  • WOF: Width of Fabric
  • WOMBAT: Waste of Money, Brains, and Time
  • Wonky: a quilt block with off-kilter elements… it’s supposed to look that way
  • Work Triangle: the setup between your ironing board, cutting mat, and sewing machine; bears some resemblance to the Bermuda Triangle

9 comments:

  1. Just happened upon this and it's awesome fun. I'm going to link to it in my next newsletter!

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  2. Oh, this had me laughing! I'm a seasoned quilter, but even FART was new to me! Thanks for the clever humor!

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  3. very funny! I especially liked SABLE!

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  4. I never thought about how others don't understand us. You've thrown in some I haven't heard.

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  5. Great post! Loved your definition of Happy Mail.

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  6. Very funny, I guess I have lots of WIVSP :)

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  7. My favorite was "now you're just saying shapes." :) And I'm not a paper-piecer at all, so I had no idea EPP was different than PP.

    I sort of had an ONS last week. I made a quick and dirty jelly-roll-type quilt for my grand-niece's bears and dolls. I used the no binding, layer-sew-flip method, and the quilting was straight on one side but super-wonky on the other.

    It wasn't up to my standard quality, but it was cozy and done and she loved it. It was also a way to engage with a toddler who doesn't know me very well -- she picked out the (wildly mismatching) strips, watched my husband fix my travel machine, and watched me sew and iron.

    Thanks for the fun and informative post.

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  8. Ingenous and fun. I will link to this at some point.

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