French Sewing vocab Flashcards

1
Q

avantbras

A

forearm

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2
Q

bâtir

A

to baste

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3
Q

boutons/boutonnières

A

buttons/buttonholes (“1 bouton pour la taille” = “1 button for the waistband”)

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4
Q

boutons pression

A

snaps (the kind you press, or hammer, that show from the front, not the sew

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5
Q

les bretelles

A

straps

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6
Q

coté

A

side (“Fermer les cotés…” = “Close the sides…” or “…du coté plat de la poche…” = “… the flat side of the pocket…”). I also saw it used to describe a side gusset, on the tee pattern with the 4 hanging points that are tied into knots.

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7
Q

coucher

A

to place (“Coucher les coutures vers la poche.” = “Place the seams towards the pocket.”)

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8
Q

coudre

A

to sew

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9
Q

coudre à points de surjet

A

to serge (though it literally means “to sew back and forth joining stitches”)

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10
Q

ceinture

A

waistband; also belt or sash

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11
Q

chevaucher

A

overlap

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12
Q

col

A

collar

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13
Q

col châle

A

shawl collar

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14
Q

coutures

A

seams

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15
Q

couture(s) du cote

A

side seam(s)

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16
Q

couture(s) de dessous de bras

A

underarm seam(s)

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17
Q

cranter

A

to notch

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18
Q

dessus

A

top (“sur dessus de poche” = “on top of the pocket”, “dessus de manche” = “upper sleeve”)

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19
Q

dessous

A

below or underside (“dessous de manche” = “under sleeve”); “dessous” can also mean lingerie (similar to “undies”) or interlining

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20
Q

devant

A

front

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21
Q

doublure

A

lining

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22
Q

dos

A

back

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23
Q

droit fil

A

straight of grain

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24
Q

emmancher

A

to fit one part into another, often with a fiddly bit that needs to be adjusted, such as easing a sleeve into an armhole

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25
Q

emmanchure

A

armhole

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26
Q

empiècement

A

yoke. Note that in the directions for the skirt I made with the twisted drape, they refer to the drape pattern piece as an “empiècement.” My French friend thought this strange. She said usually an empiècement refers to a sewn

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27
Q

en piquant

A

(while) catching

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28
Q

éncarter

A

press (“éncarter les coutures au fer” = “press seams open”)

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29
Q

encolure

A

neckline

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30
Q

endroit

A

right (“endroit con endroit” = “right side to right side”)

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31
Q

endroit du patron

A

right side of pattern

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32
Q

endroit du tissu

A

right side of fabric

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33
Q

entoiler

A

to interface

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34
Q

entoilage

A

interfacing

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35
Q

entoilage thermocollant

A

fusible interfacing

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36
Q

entoiler

A

to interface (“entoiler les parementures” = “interface the facings”)

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37
Q

entournure

A

armhole

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38
Q

l’entrejambe

A

inside leg (“fermer l’entrejambe” = “close the inside leg seam” (from ankle to ankle)

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39
Q

envers du tissu

A

wrong side of fabric

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40
Q

les épaules

A

the shoulders (“assembler les épaules” = “sew the shoulder seams”)

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41
Q

double epaisseur

A

double thickness

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42
Q

épingler

A

to pin

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43
Q

faufiler

A

to baste

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44
Q

le fil

A

thread (“1 fil de couleur contrastante épais” = “1 [spool of] topstitching thread in a contrasting color”)

45
Q

finition

A

finishing

46
Q

les flèches

A

arrows (“coucher les plis selon les flèches du patron” = “form the tucks according to the arrows on the pattern”)

47
Q

fond

A

background (“fond de poche devant” = “front pocket back”, as in a front jeans pocket)

48
Q

la fourche

A

crotch (“fermer la fourche” = “close the crotch seam (from bellybutton to bottom)”)

49
Q

le genou

A

knee

50
Q

de hanches

A

hipline

51
Q

haut

A

top

52
Q

jupe

A

skirt

53
Q

lainage

A

woolens (“tissu type lainage” = “wool type fabric”)

54
Q

laine

A

wool

55
Q

lisiere

A

selvedge

56
Q

liens

A

ties (“faire 4 liens” = “make 4 ties”)

57
Q

ligne de pliure

A

fold line

58
Q

ligne de taille

A

waistline

59
Q

largeur pied de biche

A

the width of the presser foot

60
Q

maille

A

a knit stitch

61
Q

maintenir

A

to tack (hold temporarily)

62
Q

manche

A

sleeve

63
Q

milieu

A

center (“faire la couture milieu dos” = sew the center back seam)

64
Q

molleton

A

flannel or fleece—a fabric with some loft, perhaps a Pellon

65
Q

les œillets

A

eyelets, as in the metal kind you press, or hammer (“Poser l’œillet selon repère du patron.” = “Apply the metal eyelet where indicated on the pattern.”)

66
Q

ourlet(s)

A

hem(s)

67
Q

pantalon

A

pants

68
Q

la parement

A

facing

69
Q

parmenture

A

facing

70
Q

parmenture du meme tissu

A

self facing

71
Q

parmenture de la talle

A

waistline facing

72
Q

passepoil

A

piping

73
Q

patron(s)

A

pattern(s)

74
Q

des pattes de boutonnage

A

buttonhole placket (or tab) (“Entoiler la moitié des pattes de boutonnage”

75
Q

le pince/les pinces

A

dart/darts (“fermer les pinces” = “close the darts)

76
Q

piquer

A

to stitch/sew (verb). While the Au Bonheur patterns use the verb “piquer” to indicate stitching, it seems to be a bit inexact. The actual translation of “piquer” is “to sting” or “to bite”. “Piquer a la machine” = a machine stitch. The word for a particular type of stitch is “point”.

77
Q

piquer le bord

A

edgestitch

78
Q

piqure de soutien

A

staystitch; literal meaning is “support stitch”—soutien means “support”, soutien

79
Q

plaquer

A

flatten (“plaquer la poche” = “flatten the pocket”)

80
Q

les plis

A

tucks or folds (“piquer les plis” = “sew the tucks”)

81
Q

pliure

A

to fold (“dans le pli” = “on the fold”)

82
Q

point

A

stitch (noun)

83
Q

point de croix

A

cross stitch

84
Q

point de devant

A

running stitch

85
Q

pointe de poitrine

A

bust point

86
Q

poche(s)

A

pocket(s)

87
Q

rabattre

A

to fold (“puis rabattre les plis” = “then fold the tucks”)

88
Q

rep

A

ribbing made from silk, cotton, or wool (“1m de reps pour les liens” = “1 meter of ribbing”)

89
Q

repasser

A

to iron (“repasser pour aplatir” = “iron flat”)

90
Q

les repères

A

marks (“utilisant les repères B et A” = “using marks B and A”)

91
Q

revers

A

reverse, as in reverse side of the fabric (“pull á col revers” = “pullover with reverse collar”). Also used to describe something that turns back on itself, such as a lapel, a cuff that is formed by folding back the sleeve hem, or a pocket that has a turned

92
Q

scotcher

A

tape (“scotcher les pièces 6a and 6b…” = “tape pattern pieces 6a and 6b…”)

93
Q

le serre cordon

A

cord stopper (for round elastic)

94
Q

simple epaisseur

A

single thickness

95
Q

sous

A

piquer

96
Q

surjet

A

whipstitch. While the translation for surjet is “whipstitch”, most instructions using the term mean a serged stitch (using a serger or overlocker).

97
Q

surjeteuse

A

a serger (overlocker)

98
Q

surpique

A

topstitch

99
Q

surpique nervure / surpiquées nervurées

A

topstitch the seam(s) close to the edge (edgestitch)

100
Q

soufflet

A

gusset

101
Q

tissu

A

fabric

102
Q

tissu fantaisie

A

literally translates to “fancy fabric”, but is used to mean “novelty fabric” or “contrasting fabric”

103
Q

tissu souple

A

“supple” or “pliant” fabric

104
Q

tissu uni

A

solid color fabric

105
Q

triplure

A

underlining

106
Q

valeur

A

amount or width (“surpiquer valeur pied de biche” = “topstitch the width of the presser foot”)

107
Q

veste

A

jacket

108
Q

volant

A

flounce or ruffle

109
Q

zip

A

zipper; this is not the “official” word for zipper, which is “fermeture éclair”, but is used by these patterns (“le zip invisible” = “invisible zipper”)