33 Quilting Acronyms Every Quilter Should Know

Every special interest group has its own set of special vocabulary, niche terms, and acronyms that mean nothing to an outsider! The world of quilting is no different, and we have our acronyms that are special to the craft and art of quilting. This can be a challenge for new quilters, who may not know what the acronyms mean. Let’s go over some common acronyms in quilting! 

Common Quilting Acronyms 

1. AOD – All Over Design
   • Quilting motif that goes from top-to-bottom and side-to-side without differentiating between different blocks. 
2. BOM – Block of the Month
   • A new block design that comes out once a month; all completed blocks form a quilt top. Often found a local quilt shops or by specific quilt pattern designers. 
3. BSS – Basic Sewing Supplies
   • The basic supplies that you need to sew; often used on sewing/quilting class supply lists.
4. DSM – Domestic Sewing Machine
   • A home sewing machine of any brand. Different from a midarm or long arm quilting machine, and different from a serger or embroidery only machine. 
5. EPP – English Paper Piecing 
   • English Paper Piecing hand-sewing technique where paper inserts are used to create perfect seams and points. The paper pieces are removed before finishing the quilt. 
6. FMQ – Free Motion Quilting
   • Quilting by moving the needle/fabric freely in any direction. ON a Domestic Sewing Machine, one lowers their feed dogs to free motion quilt. 
7. FPP – Paper Piecing 
   • A sewing technique that uses paper as a foundation. Often used to create blocks that are very detailed or that have very sharp points. The paper is removed before quilting.
8. FQ – Fat Quarter
   • A quarter yard of fabric that’s cut at 18” x 22”. It’s made by cutting a half-yard off of the bolt and then cutting that piece in half along the top fold. 
9. GFG – Grandmother’s Flower Garden
   • An English Paper Piecing pattern made of a center hexagon surrounded by six hexagons. The design looks like a flower; flowers are sometimes connected by a single color hexagon “path.” 
10. HP – Hand Piecing
    • Sewing a quilt top together by hand. 
11. HQ – Hand Quilting
    • Quilting a quilt top, batting, and backing together by hand. Can be done in a quilting frame or hoop. 
12. HST – Half Square Triangle 
    • Two triangles combined to make a single square. 
13. LAQ – Long Arm Quilting
    • Using a long arm quilting machine to quilt a project; typically uses a quilt frame and a machine that is perpendicular to the quilt top. 
14. LQS – Local Quilt Store
    • Your local quilt store, as compared to a big box store or other chain store. 
15. MP – Machine Piecing
    • Piecing a quilt top using a sewing machine; in contrast to hand piecing. 
16. MQ – Machine Quilting
    • Quilting using a sewing machine. Used to indicate quilting that was done on a domestic, midarm or longarm machine. 
17. OBW – One Block Wonder
    • Also known as a “stack’n’whack” quilt. Fabbern is layered, cut, and reassembled to create a kaleidoscope pattern. 
18. OOAK – One Of a Kind
    • Something that is completely original and cannot be reproduced or duplicated. 
19. PHD – Project Half Done
    • Projects that are started but not yet completed. A synonym for UFO and WIP (see below). 
20. QAL – Quilt Along
    • A group of people all sewing the same pattern at the same time. Is often set over several weeks (or longer) where each week has a sewing assignment. 
21. QAYG – Quilt As You Go
    • A quilting technique where each block is quilted as they are assembled. 
22. RST – Right Sides Together
    • Placing fabric with the right/front sides together before sewing. 
23. SA – Seam Allowance
    • The distance between the edge of the fabric and where the seam is sewn. This is typically ¼” for most machine sewing projects. Garment construction may use a slightly larger seam allowance, and applique may use a smaller seam allowance. 
24. SABLE – Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy
    • You’ve accumulated so much fabric that you’ll never be able to use it all during your lifetime. 
25. SID – Stitch In the Ditch
    • A quilting technique where the stitches are sewn directly on top of the seam. 
26. SOG – Straight Of Grain
    • Following the grain of the fabric; typically used when cutting fabric. 
27. TOT – Tone On Tone
    • Fabric that uses the same tone with very limited contrast. Can be used to refer to fabric itself (white-on-white, black-on-black) or a whole quilt top (only tones of blue). 
28. UFO – Unfinished Fabric Object
    • A quilt (or any other sewing project) that you’ve started but haven’t finished. Also see PHD and WIP. 
29. WIP – Work In Progress
    • A quilt that you’ve started and are still working on; has a better chance of being complete than a UFO.
30. WST – Wrong Sides Together
    • Placing fabric with the wrong/back sides together before sewing. 
31. WOF – Width of Fabric
    • The width of fabric on a bolt. Most often measures from 40” to 44”, but there are also extra-wide bolts that can go all the way to up to 120”. 
32. WOMBAT – Waste of Money, Batting, and Time
    • A project that you dislike so much that you wonder why you wasted so much time, money, and supplies on it. 
33. WWIT – What Was I Thinking
    • The moment partway through a quilting project where you question why on earth you chose to start that project. Can also be used when reevaluating color selection, fabric choices, or any other aspect of quilting

How many of the above quilting acronyms did you know? Were there any that were new to you? 

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