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Sewing or stitching is the fastening of cloth, leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
, fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
s, bark
BARK

BARK was an early Electromechanics. BARK was built using standard phone relays, implementing a 32-bit binary machine and could perform addition in 150 ms and multiplication in 250 ms....
, or other flexible materials, using needle
Sewing needle

A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance....
 and thread
Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking....
. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic
Paleolithic

The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or "Old Stone" era is a Prehistory era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human history....
 times (30,000 BCE). Sewing predates the weaving
Weaving

Weaving is the textile arts in which two distinct sets of yarn, called the Warp and the filling or weft , are interlaced with each other to form a textile....
 of cloth.

Sewing is used primarily to produce clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
 and household furnishings such as curtain
Curtain

A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as porti?res....
s, bedclothes, upholstery
Upholstery

Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chairs, with padding, Spring s, webbing, and textile or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English words up and holden, meaning to hold up....
, and table linens.






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Sewingindetroit,michigan
Sewing or stitching is the fastening of cloth, leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
, fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
s, bark
BARK

BARK was an early Electromechanics. BARK was built using standard phone relays, implementing a 32-bit binary machine and could perform addition in 150 ms and multiplication in 250 ms....
, or other flexible materials, using needle
Sewing needle

A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance....
 and thread
Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking....
. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic
Paleolithic

The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or "Old Stone" era is a Prehistory era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human history....
 times (30,000 BCE). Sewing predates the weaving
Weaving

Weaving is the textile arts in which two distinct sets of yarn, called the Warp and the filling or weft , are interlaced with each other to form a textile....
 of cloth.

Sewing is used primarily to produce clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
 and household furnishings such as curtain
Curtain

A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as porti?res....
s, bedclothes, upholstery
Upholstery

Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chairs, with padding, Spring s, webbing, and textile or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English words up and holden, meaning to hold up....
, and table linens. It is also used for sails, bellows, skin boats, banners, and other items shaped out of flexible materials such as canvas
Canvas

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain weave cloth used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required....
 and leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
.

Most sewing in the industrial
Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
 world is done by machine
Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
s. Pieces of a garment are often first tacked
Tack (sewing)

In sewing, to tack or baste is to make quick, temporary stitching intended to be removed. Tacking is used in a variety of ways:* To temporarily hold a seam or trim in place until it can be permanently sewn, usually with a long running stitch made by hand or sewing machine called a tacking stitch or basting stitch....
 together. The machine has a complex set of gears and arms that pierces thread through the layers of the cloth and semi-securely interlocks the thread.

Some people sew clothes for themselves and their families. More often home sewers sew to repair clothes, such as mending a torn seam or replacing a loose button. A person who sews for a living is known as a seamstress (from seams-mistress) or seamster (from seams-master), dressmaker
Dressmaker

A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste....
, tailor
Tailor

A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suit , coat s, trousers, and similar garments, u...
, garment worker, machinist
Sewing machine

A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies....
, or sweatshop worker
Sweatshop

A sweatshop is a working environment with very difficult or dangerous conditions, usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation....
.

"Plain" sewing is done for functional reasons: making or mending clothing or household linens. "Fancy" sewing is primarily decorative
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
, including techniques such as shirring
Shirring

Shirring is two or more rows of gather s used to decorate parts of garments, usually the sleeves, bodice and yoke....
, smocking
Smocking

Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastomer, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable....
, embroidery
Embroidery

File:Kazakh rug chain stitch embroidery.jpgEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating Textile or other materials with sewing needle and yarn....
, or quilting
Quilting

Quilting is a sewing method done either by hand, by sewing machine, or by a Longarm Quilting system. The process uses a needle and thread to join two or more layers of material together to make a quilt....
.

Sewing is the foundation for many needle arts and crafts, such as applique
Applique

In its broadest sense, an applique or appliqu? is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqu? is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration....
, canvas work
Canvas work

Canvas work is a type of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a canvas or other foundation Textile. Canvas work is a form of counted-thread embroidery....
, and patchwork
Patchwork

APatchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of Cloth into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeat patterns built up with different colored shapes....
.

While sewing is often seen as a low-skill job, the task of designing good-looking three-dimensional shapes from non-stretching two-dimensional fabric generally requires extensive hands-on knowledge of the design and principles of mathematical manifolds
Manifold

In mathematics, more specifically topology, a manifold is a topological space in which every point has a neighborhood which "resembles" Euclidean space....
. Flat sheets of fabric with holes and slits cut into the fabric can curve and fold in 3D space in extensively complex ways that require a high level of skill and experience to manipulate into a smooth, ripple-free design. Aligning and orienting patterns printed or woven into the fabric further complicates the design process. Once a clothing designer with these skills has created the initial product, the fabric can then be cut using templates and sewn by manual laborers or machines.

Seam allowance


Seam allowance is the area between the edge of the fabric and the line of stitching. It is usually 1.5 cm away from the edge of the fabric. For the seam allowance is usually 2.5 cm or more. This is often the case for standard home dressmaking. Industry seam allowances vary but are usually 0.6 cm.

Occupations requiring sewing


  • Bookbinding\Bookbinder
  • Shoemaking\Cobbler
  • Corsetier
  • Draper
  • Dressmaker
  • Glove\Glover
  • Hatter
  • Milliner
  • Parachute rigger
  • Quilting\Quilter
  • Sailmaker
  • Seamstress
  • Tailor
  • Taxidermist
  • Upholsterer


Sewing tools and accessories

  • stitching awl
    Stitching awl

    A stitching awl is a simple tool with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. It is also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas....
  • bobbin
    Sewing needle

    A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance....
  • bodkin
    Bodkin

    Bodkin may refer to:* One of the fourteen Tribes of Galway* A bodkin point, a type of arrowhead* A dagger or stiletto knife* A sharp slender instrument for making holes in cloth or a blunt needle with a large eye for drawing tape or ribbon through a loop or hem ...
  • dress form
    Dress form

    A dress form is used to give a Three-dimensional space view on the article of clothes that is being sewing. They come in all sizes and shapes for almost every article of clothing that can be made....
  • dressmaker's or tailor's shears
  • measuring tape
  • needle
    Sewing needle

    A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance....
  • pattern
    Pattern (sewing)

    In sewing and fashion design, a pattern is an original clothing from which other garments of a similar style are copied, or the paper or cardboard stencil from which the parts of a garment are traced onto textile before cutting out and assembling ....
  • pattern weights
  • pin
    Pin (device)

    A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. It is usually made of steel, or on occasion copper or brass. It is formed by drawing out a thin wire, sharpening the tip, and adding a head....
  • pincushion
    Pincushion

    A pincushion is a small cushion, typically 3-5 cm across, which is used in sewing to store pins or Sewing needles with their heads protruding so as to take hold of them easily....
  • rotary cutter
    Rotary cutter

    A rotary cutter is a tool generally used by quilters to cut fabric. It consists of a handle with a circular blade that rotates, thus the tool's name....
  • scissors
    Scissors

    Scissors are hand operated cutting instruments, and for people without hands, there is also the option of using a specially designed foot operated style....
  • seam ripper
    Seam ripper

    A seam ripper or stitch ripper is a small tool used for unpicking stitches.The most common form consists of a handle, shaft and head. The head is usually forked with one side of the fork flattening out and becoming a blade and the other side forming a small point....
  • sewing table
    Sewing table

    A sewing table or work table is a Table or desk used for sewing. Generally is has large amounts of space and a full set of sewing tools....
  • tailor's chalk
    Chalk

    Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. It forms under relatively deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
  • thimble
    Thimble

    A thimble is a protective shield worn on the finger or thumb. It is generally used for sewing.The earliest known thimble was Ancient Rome and was found at Pompeii....
  • thread/yarn
    Yarn

    Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking....
  • tracing paper
    Tracing paper

    Tracing paper is a type of translucent paper. It is made by immersing unsized and unloaded paper of good quality in sulfuric acid for a few seconds....
  • tracing wheel
    Tracing wheel

    A tracing wheel is an instrument with serrated teeth on a wheel attached to a handle. Used to transfer markings from patterns onto fabric with or without tracing paper, this sewing tool also makes slotted perforations....
  • wax
    Wax

    Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs.It is an imprecisely defined term generally understood to be a substance with properties similar to beeswax, namely...
    , often beeswax
    Beeswax

    Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the Beehive of honey bees of the genus Apis. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites on abdominal segments 4 to 7....
  • sewing box


Notions (objects sewn into garments or soft goods)


Closures

  • buckle
    Buckle

    A buckle is a clasp used for fastening two things together, such as the ends of a belt , or for retaining the end of a strap. Before the invention of the zipper, buckles were commonly used to fasten boots and other shoes....
  • button
    Button

    In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for fashion....
     (buttons can be sew-through or have shanks
    Shank (sewing)

    A shank is a device for providing a small amount of space in between a garment and a button. Shanks are necessary to provide space for fabric to sit in between the button and the garment when the garment is buttoned....
    .)
  • toggle
    Toggle

    Toggle may refer to:*Toggle Mechanism*Toggle switch*Toggling harpoon*Toggle , a download website*A type of textile closure, like an elongated button...
  • chinese frog
  • eye
  • hook
    Hook

    Hook may refer to:...
  • hook-and-loop tape
    Velcro

    Velcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers: a "hook" side, which is a piece of fabric covered with tiny hooks, and a "loop" side, which is covered with even smaller and "hairier" loops....
     (often known by brand name Velcro)
  • snap
    Snap fastener

    A snap fastener is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten clothing. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied....
  • zipper
    Zipper

    A zipper is a popular device for temporarily joining two edges of textile. It is used in clothing , luggage and other bags, sporting goods, camping gear , and other daily use items....
  • ties
    TIES

    TIES may refer to:* TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System* TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence...
  • button
    Button

    In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for fashion....


Finishing and embellishment

  • beaded fringe & trim
  • elastic
    Elastomer

    An elastomer is a polymer with the property of elasticity. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, and is preferred when referring to vulcanization....
  • piping/cording/welting
  • eyelet
  • grommet
    Grommet

    Grommets and eyelets are metal, plastic, or rubber rings that are inserted into a hole made through another material. They may be used to reinforce the hole, to shield something from the sharp edges of the hole, or both....
  • heading
  • interfacing
    Interfacing

    Interfacing is a textile used on the unseen or "wrong" side of fabrics to make an area of a garment more rigid.Interfacings can be used to:...
  • rivet
    Rivet

    A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before it is installed it consists of a smooth cylinder shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail....
  • trims
    Trim (sewing)

    Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as Gimp , tassel#passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament....
     (fringe, beaded fringe, ribbons, lace, sequin tape)


List of stitches

The two main stitches that sewing machines make of which the others are derivatives are lockstitch and chain stitch.
  • back tack
  • backstitch
    Backstitch

    Backstitch or back stitch and its variants stem stitch, outline stitch and split stitch are a class of embroidery and sewing stitches in which individual stitches are made backward to the general direction of sewing....
     - a sturdy hand stitch for seams and decoration
  • basting stitch
    Tack (sewing)

    In sewing, to tack or baste is to make quick, temporary stitching intended to be removed. Tacking is used in a variety of ways:* To temporarily hold a seam or trim in place until it can be permanently sewn, usually with a long running stitch made by hand or sewing machine called a tacking stitch or basting stitch....
     (or tacking) - for reinforcement
  • blanket stitch
    Blanket stitch

    The blanket stitch is a stitch used to reinforce the edge of thick materials. Depending on circumstances, it may also be called a whip stitch or a crochet stitch....
  • blind stitch (or hem stitch) - a type of slip stitch used for inconspicuous hems
  • buttonhole stitch
    Buttonhole stitch

    Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-sewing stitches used in tailoring, embroidery, and needle lace-making.Buttonhole stitches catch a loop of the thread on the surface of the fabric and needle is returned to the back of the fabric at a right angle to the original start of the thread....
  • chain stitch
    Chain stitch

    Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft - examples of surviving China chain stitch embroidery worked in silk yarn have been dated to the Warring States period ....
     - hand or machine stitch for seams or decoration
  • cross-stitch
    Cross stitches

    Cross stitches in embroidery, needlepoint, and other forms of needlework include a number of related stitches in which the yarn is sewn in an x or + shape....
     - usually used for decoration, but may also be used for seams
  • darning stitch
    Darning

    Darning is a sewing technique for repairing holes or worn areas in Textile or knitting with needle and thread alone. It is often done by hand, but it is also possible to darn with a sewing machine....
  • embroidery stitch
    Embroidery stitch

    In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery Sewing needle from the backside of the fabric to the front side and back to the back side....
  • hemming stitch
  • lockstitch
    Lockstitch

    A lockstitch is the mechanical stitch most commonly made by a sewing machine....
     - machine stitch, also called straight stitch
  • overhand stitch
  • overlock
    Overlock

    An overlock stitch sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, Hemming or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through , though some are made without cutters....
  • pad stitch
    Pad stitch

    Pad stitches is a type of running stitch, made by taking small stitches perpendicular to the line of stitching.Pad stitches secure two or more layers of fabric together and give the layers more firmness; smaller/denser stitches create more firmness....
  • padding stitch
  • running stitch
    Running stitch

    The running stitch or straight stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the Sewing needle in and out of the textile....
     - a hand stitch for seams and gathering
  • sailmakers stitch
  • slip stitch - a hand stitch for fastening two pieces of fabric together from the right side without the thread showing
  • stretch stitch
  • topstitch
    Topstitch

    Topstitching is a sewing technique. It is used most often on garment edges such as necklines and hems, where it helps facings to stay in place and gives a crisp edge....
  • whipstitch (or oversewing or overcast stitch) - for protecting edges
  • zig-zag stitch


See also

  • Haberdasher
    Haberdasher

    A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons and zippers. In U.S. English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter....
  • Sewing machine
    Sewing machine

    A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies....


External links


  • (free online access to public domain sewing books)