If you’ve been bitten by the quilting bug, you probably have already heard quilting references that use everyday language (e.g. quilt sandwich, snowballing) and your mind could be swimming in quilting-related acronyms. All the abbreviations and terminology can be really confusing. When I first started, I was baffled over all the different terms used when watching how-to videos and looking at Instagram posts.
If you’re a confused beginner like I was, this post offers some help. I have listed the most common quilting acronyms, their meaning, and a few examples.
WOF – Width Of Fabric – The width of the fabric from selvage to selvage (side to side). It’s important to know what that measurement is when purchasing, cutting and sewing fabric.
RST – Right Sides Together – When quilting, fabrics are sewn with the ‘right’ sides facing. ‘Right’ sides are the printed side, or what some call ‘the pretty side.’ You’ll see this term used in patterns and tutorials.
WIP – Work In Progress – Any project in the works. Many quilters tend to have several at once. 🙂
UFO – UnFinished Object – Just what it says…something you haven’t yet finished. A lot of the time UFOs are abandoned projects, usually due to something else that’s caught a quilter’s eye. 😉
FMQ – Free Motion Quilting – This is a quilting process where you drop the feed dogs on your sewing machine and move your quilt sandwich around freely. Stippling or meandering is commonly the first design beginners learn to quilt. Here’s an example of what meandering looks like:
This is the extent of my FMQ abilities…however, some people are phenomenal at this! 🙂
HST – Half Square Triangle – HSTs are one of the most popular quilt block units used in quilting. There are a variety of methods to making HSTs.
QAL – Quilt Along – A quilt along consists of a host posting tutorials on a blog/website for other quilters that join in at home. Goals are set, example: make blocks 1-10 this week, and everyone makes the same project. Often times I see QALs taking place on Instagram but I’ve never participated in one.
LQS – Local Quilt Shop
TBQ – To Be Quilted – (I just learned this one!)
Hopefully this helps clear up some of the obscurity in the quilting world! I will continue to provide information for beginning quilters in my Quilting 101 series. My next post will provide a rundown on other popular terms you’ll come across throughout your quilting journey.
Monday Morning Designs 