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Quilting abbreviations can make a pattern easier to scan—but only once you know what they mean. This quick reference groups common shorthand by task, from fabric and cutting to piecing and quilting, then ends with humorous expressions about quilting life. When a pattern includes its own key, follow that designer’s definitions: expansions and conventions can vary.
Fabric, cutting, and sewing setup
Fabric and cutting
- FQ — Fat Quarter. A precut piece of fabric. Spinning Spools Quilt Guild gives 18 × 21 inches as an example, but dimensions can vary with cutting conventions and fabric width; check the product or pattern details. Spinning Spools Quilt Guild FAQ
- WOF — Width of Fabric. A cutting instruction that commonly refers to the fabric’s width from selvage to selvage. Use the pattern’s specified measurement and the actual fabric width rather than assuming every bolt is identical. Spinning Spools Quilt Guild FAQ
- SOG — Straight of Grain. The fabric direction that follows its straight grain.
Seam placement and orientation
- SA — Seam Allowance. The fabric between the seam line and the cut edge. Follow the allowance specified in the pattern; a general glossary definition is not a substitute for that instruction.
- RST — Right Sides Together. Place the printed or “right” sides of two fabric pieces facing each other before sewing. Spinning Spools Quilt Guild FAQ
- WST — Wrong Sides Together. Place the wrong sides of two fabric pieces facing each other.
Tools and equipment
- BSK — Basic Sewing Kit. A basic collection of sewing supplies.
- DSM — Domestic Sewing Machine. A home sewing machine, as distinct from specialized quilting equipment.
- FW — Feather Weight. The spelling used in the original glossary; some quilters write “Featherweight.”
Piecing abbreviations
- HST — Half-Square Triangle. A common triangle unit in quilt piecing. The abbreviation may refer to a triangle or a pieced unit, depending on the pattern and designer. Spinning Spools Quilt Guild FAQ
- QST — Quarter-Square Triangle. Another common triangle-unit abbreviation. As with HST, read the pattern’s diagrams and instructions for its exact construction and counting conventions.
- PP — Paper Piecing. A broad shorthand for paper piecing. It is not necessarily interchangeable with English Paper Piecing or Foundation Paper Piecing; check which method the pattern describes.
Quilting and construction methods
- FMQ — Free Motion Quilting. Quilting with free-motion movement rather than stitching only in straight guided lines.
- LAQ — Long Arm Quilting. The expansion in the original glossary. AccuQuilt instead lists LAQ as “Long Arm Quilter,” so context matters when you encounter it. AccuQuilt glossary
- QAYG — Quilt As You Go. A construction approach in which quilting is done as sections are assembled, rather than waiting until the whole quilt top is complete.
- SID — Stitch in Ditch. Stitch along a seam, often in the seam line between adjoining pieces.
Projects, events, and quilting community
- BOM — Block of the Month. A block project or program released one block at a time, commonly on a recurring schedule.
- QAL — Quilt Along. A shared sewing project in which participants work through a quilt together, often following published steps.
- LQS — Local Quilt Shop. A nearby quilt or fabric shop.
- UFO — Unfinished Object. A project that has been started but not finished.
- WIP — Work in Progress. A project currently being worked on.
- TBQ — To Be Quilted. A project or quilt top that still needs quilting.
Some quilting glossaries use additional shorthand not included in this list. For example, AccuQuilt lists BOB for “Block on Board,” HP for “Hand Piecing,” MAQ for “Mid-Arm Quilter,” TOT for “Tone-on-Tone,” WISP for “Work In Slow Progress,” and WOW for “White On White.” AccuQuilt glossary
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Just for fun: humorous quilting abbreviations
These are playful expressions printed in the original glossary, not standardized terminology or pattern instructions. Their use can vary among quilters and communities. AllPeopleQuilt
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- BDNQ — Bad Day, Not Quilting
- FART — Fabric Accumulation Road Trip
- FOB — Fear of Binding
- HIPS — Hundreds of Ideas Piling Skyward
- HSY — Haven’t Started Yet
- PIGS — Projects in Grocery Sacks
- SABLE — Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy
- SQUID — Sewing a Quilt Until I Die
- TGIF — Thank God It’s Finished
- WOMBAT — Waste of Money, Batting, and Time
- WIWMI — Wish It Would Make Itself
For a broader guide to sewing and quilting shorthand, see Coastal Quilters Guild’s June 2025 newsletter, which includes many of the functional terms above as well as humorous expressions.
Quick Recap
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