Glossary

Words are in alphabetical order. A word in bold inside a meaning has its own entry.

A to C#

• Appliqué. A patch of cloth stitched onto a garment. An E-stitch edge is often used to hold it.
• Aspect ratio. The relationship between width and height. Locking it keeps a shape from squashing.
• Auto digitize. Lilo turns a picture into stitches in one step. Read Turn a picture into stitches.
• Backing. Another word for stabiliser.
• Bean stitch. Another name for a triple run.
• Birdnesting. A tangle of thread under the cloth that jams the machine.
• Bobbin. The small spool under the needle plate that makes the back of the stitch.
• Colour block. A run of shapes sewn in one thread, with no thread change inside.
• Colour change. A stop to swap the top thread for the next colour.
• Column. A satin stripe. Its width is the distance across it.
• Cut-away. A stabiliser you trim around the design. It stays in the garment.

D to H#

• Density. How close stitches sit together. A smaller gap means higher density.
• Digitizing. Turning a picture or drawing into stitch instructions.
• DST. A file format used by many commercial machines. It does not keep thread colours.
• E-stitch. A comb-shaped run stitch.
• Edge outline. A running line sewn round the edge of a fill.
• Fill. Rows of stitches covering an area.
• Font (embroidery). Letters drawn to be sewn, with a height range where they sew well.
• Format. The kind of file a machine reads, like PES or DST.
• Gradient. A fade in a fill, made by changing row spacing across the shape.
• Hoop. The frame that holds cloth tight while it is sewn.

I to O#

• Inset. How far inside the edge an underlay stops, so it stays hidden.
• Jump. Thread that travels from one point to another without sewing.
• Knit. Stretchy cloth. It needs more pull compensation and a firm stabiliser.
• Lilo Link. The part of Lilo that sends designs to a machine over Wi-Fi.
• Lock stitches. Tiny stitches at the start and end of a run that stop it unravelling. Also called tie-in and tie-off.
• Manual stitch. A stitch placed exactly where you click.
• Monogram. Initials sewn as a mark, like "JK" inside a jacket.
• Motif. A small shape repeated across a fill.
• Needle drop. One point where the needle goes through the cloth. Also called a stitch.
• Needle size. The thickness of the needle, like 75/11.
• Origin. The point in the design that sits at the centre of the hoop.

P to S#

• PES. The file format of Brother and Baby Lock machines. It keeps thread colours.
• Pile. The fluffy surface of cloth like towel or velvet.
• Pull compensation. Making a shape slightly bigger to allow for the thread pulling cloth inward.
• Pucker. Ripples in the cloth around a design.
• Realistic view. A preview that draws each stitch as shaded thread.
• Registration. How well one shape lines up with its neighbour.
• Row spacing. The gap between rows of stitches in a fill.
• Run. A stitch that follows a line.
• Satin. Side-to-side stitches in a column. Smooth and shiny.
• Sew-out. The real stitched result.
• Sewing area. The part of the hoop the machine can sew.
• Stabiliser. A sheet under the cloth that stops it moving and bunching.
• Stitch length. The distance between two needle drops.
• Split satin. A wide satin column divided so no stitch is too long.

T to Z#

• Tatami. The common name for a standard fill with offset rows.
• Tear-away. A stabiliser that rips off after sewing.
• Thread weight. How thin thread is. 40 wt is standard. 60 wt is finer.
• Tie-in and tie-off. See lock stitches.
• Tolerance. How far a stitch may stray from the line you drew.
• Topping. A thin water-soluble sheet on top of fluffy cloth.
• Trim. A cut of the thread between shapes, done by the machine.
• Underlay. Light stitches sewn first, under the top stitches.
• Underpath. Travelling through a fill under the stitches instead of jumping.
• Zig-zag underlay. An underlay that goes back and forth across a column.