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Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Sewing & Construction

Seam

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/siːm/nounCore term

In fashion & textiles, seam means: The line where two or more pieces of fabric are joined together, usually by sewing, such as the side seam or shoulder seam of a garment.

In Turkish: dikiş, dikiş yeri

How it is used

Every garment description mentions seams: side seam, shoulder seam, centre back seam, inside leg seam. Seams are sewn, pressed, finished, opened and sometimes taped. Quality reports mention seam slippage, puckering and broken seams.

Example sentences

  1. The side seam is twisting after washing; please check the cutting direction.

  2. Press the seam open before you attach the lining.

Common collocations

  • side seam
  • shoulder seam
  • seam slippage
  • press the seam open
  • taped seam
  • seam allowanceThe extra fabric between the stitching line and the cut edge of a pattern piece, which makes it possible to sew and finish the seam.
  • stitchA single loop of thread made by a needle in sewing, or a particular type of stitching such as lockstitch, chainstitch or coverstitch.
  • overlockA stitch, or the machine that sews it, which wraps thread around the edge of fabric to stop fraying and often trims and joins the seam at the same time.
  • topstitchingA row of stitching sewn on the right side of a garment, close to a seam or edge, for decoration or to keep the seam flat.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Sewing & Construction

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