S
Sateen
A cotton or wool fabric that has a glossy, satin-like surface. It is commonly used for dress linings and corsets.
Satin de Chine
A Chinese firm silk that has a dull satin finish.
Satin Stitch
A satin stitch is a series of zig-zag stitches which are formed closely together. A satin stitch is normally anywhere from 2 mm to 12 mm.
Satin Stitch
A very tight zig zag stitch that is available on most sewing machines. If it is not automatically available, the stitch length can be set to almost 0 to achieve a satin stitch with a plain zig zag machine.
Satinet
An imitation satin; it may also be a thin satin.
Scarf
A length of fabric which is neatened and draped across the top of a window treatment.
Seam
A way of stitching two pieces of fabric together.
Seam
The result when two pieces of fabric are sewn together along a line.
Seam Allowance
The amount of extra fabric added to make a seam.
Seam Allowance
The fabric between the edge of the fabric and the line of stitching, about 5/8" for most patterns. (Craft patterns often allow 1/4" seam allowance.)
Secure Stitches
Back stitch 3 or 4 stitches to secure threads or the threads at the beginning and end of seams.
Self-Fabric
The fabric from which the garment is made.
Selvedge
The woven outside edge of the fabric.
Selvedge, Selvege, Selvage
Often marked with information from the manufacturer (color code, identifying data, etc.), this is the edge of the fabric which generally does not fray due to manufacturer's finish. In most cases, this edge should not be included when you cut your fabric, as it may cause puckering of your seam later. on.
Separating Zipper
A zipper that comes completely apart when unzipped. There is a special tab at the bottom of a separating zipper for bringing it together and starting the zip.
Serge
Twilled cotton, or wool, or silk, or a blend of wool and silk.
Serger
A type of sewing machine that stitches the seam, encases the seam with thread, and cuts off excess fabric at the same time. These are used for construction of garments with knit fabrics mostly, or to finish seams of any fabric. Some sergers are combination overlock and serger machines. They do not, though, do the locking stith that a regular sewing machine does.
Shank Button
A button with space left between the button and fabric. A shank button is one made with a shank. Other buttons can be "shanked" by wrapping thread under the button to create a shank.
Shantung
A plain, rough fabric made from wild silk.
Shoddy
A term reputedly of Welsh origin that originally meant inferior-quality quarry stone or coal of inferior burning quality, it came into popular use during the War Between the States and was used to describe something cheaply imitative, or hastily and poorly done. The term also refers to a wool of better quality and longer staple than mungo (reclaimed wool of poor quality and short staple) made from materials that are not felted (felting being a process in which wool, fur, and natural fibers together make a fabric through the action of heat, moisture, pressure, and chemicals). Typically the process began with old woolen rags that were passed through a machine that reduced them to wool, then saturated with oil or milk, mixed with new wool, and then run into large shallow pans, partially dried, and finally pressed between cylinders to make new cloth. The recycled end product had the appearance of good wool, but had a short life span in use. Many of the Federal uniforms of 1861 were made of shoddy. Another version of the origin of the name "shoddy" asserts that a manufacturer called Shoddy Manufacturing in Easton, Massassachusetts provided wool clothing made from blended wool scraps to the Federal War Department. The wool was notorious for its inferior quality and brevity of life; being nothing more than scraps of wool pasted together with a glue of sorts, it even separated or fell apart when it got wet. The Massachusetts manufacturer's mill was located by a pond called "Shoddy Pond", and it was from that pond that they derived the name of Shoddy Manufacturing. Once the War Department canceled its contract with them, such was the reputation of the manufacturer that, ever after, anything provided to the government that was found to be substandard was referred to as "shoddy".
Shot Silk
Woven with the warp and weft threads of different colors in such a way that the fabric changes in tint according to the angle from which it is viewed.
Shrink
Some fabrics become tighter/smaller when washed and dried, whether by machine or by hand. See Preshrink.
Silk
A strong, lustrous fabric made from threads produced from cocoons of the silk worm. Highly elastic, it can be woven in many ways, and silk accepts dye well. One cocoon produces roughly three miles of extraordinarily fine silk thread.
Silk Serge
Twilled silk fabric that is most often used for linings.
Silk Tissue
A fine, transparent silk fabric.
Sizing
Typically made of flour paste, china clay, and glue, it was used to add stiffness to fabric.
Sizing
A starch-like finish, added in the manufacture of some natural-fiber fabrics and rayon. It is water and steam-soluble.
Sizing
Fabric finish that provides crispness without stiffness; a light starch finish.
Slit
An open part of a seam, the bottom usually, often found in skirt side or back seams.
Sloper
Very simply, a sloper is a trial pattern, a custom-fitted muslin or gingham pattern which has been altered for the individual. Slopers can be created through trial and error, using computer programs such as CAD and pattern making software, and other methods of individual taste and style.
Snips
Very small cutting tool resembling scissors used to snip threads. Usually used with hand sewing or portable projects.
Spool
The holder of thread. There are wooden spools, plastic spools, cardboard tube spools, and cone spools, as well as others.
Stability
The degree to which a fabric resists pulling out shape.
Stackback
The amount of space taken up by the curtains or draperies when they are open.
Stash
Collection of fabric.
Stay-stitching
Stitching done inside the seam allowance, before construction, to stabilize curved or slanted edges. Usually done on a single thickness, but also used to attach interfacing.
Stay
A tape added to a garment part to keep it in shape.
Stay Stitch
A line of stitching just inside (about 1/8") the intended permanent stitching line (seam line) on curved edges that stabilizes and keeps the curve from distoring. The direction of the stay stitching is shown on the pattern. If not, it generally goes from shoulder to center on necklines (usually going with the grain of the fabric). There are other indications for stay stitching, but this is one of the more common.
Stitch in the Ditch
Stitching in the ditch is used as a method of understitching and also as a form of simple machine quilting for craft projects. It is a method of stitching close to a seam allowance or in the seam itself in order to hold it down.
Stitch Length
In general, regular sewing is about 11-12 stitches per inch, basting/gathering/bunching/sleeve easing is about 6 stitches per inch (plus or minus 1 or 2 stitches for some applications). There are rare occasions when stitches need to exceed 12 per inch, but they are few.
Stitching-in-the-Ditch
Stitching on the right side through a seam (in the ditch"), to fasten something underneath.
Stockinette
A knitted fabric with an elastic quality, it is sometimes used to make stockings.
Straight Stitch
Stitching made with single forward stitches. This is the regular stitch that most sewing machines make and may or may not require a special presser foot.
