Sewing 101: Sewing Pattern Markings and Symbols Guide
Have you ever picked up a new hobby and felt like you had to learn a completely new language just to get started? Well, sewing is one of those hobbies. Sewing even goes a step further and makes you learn the meaning of symbols that are used as shorthand for all those new technical terms you’re learning.
In this article, I will be going through all of the markings, symbols, and notations that you’ll find on most modern sewing patterns. I’ll explain what each of the symbols are and what they mean as simply as possible so hopefully you will be able to understand even if you are a complete beginner.
Symbols you’ll find on the pattern
There are so many symbols and notations on sewing patterns that can all be quite overwhelming when you first start sewing. Some of them are self-explanatory, while others are kind of confusing. I’m going to go over all of them here so that you have the ultimate list you can reference if you need to know what something on your sewing pattern means.
Single Notch
A notch mark is there to help you line up two pattern pieces. For example, when you sew the front piece of a shirt to the back, you’ll see a notch along the side to help you line up the two pieces correctly. Notches are especially helpful along curved seams since the fabric can stretch a little along the bias, making it difficult to line pieces up without the help of the notches.
Double Notch
A double notch is the same thing as a single notch, but it’s used for pieces on the back of the garment. Most often you’ll see this with sleeves. You’ll notice it has a single notch on one side of the sleeve head and a double notch on the other. This helps you stay oriented and attach the sleeves to the rest of the garment correctly (instead of accidentally putting them on backward).
Triple Notch
A triple notch means the same thing as other notches, but it’s used when you are attaching a piece to its double. You’ll see it most often when you have a seam going down the center back of the garment and you have two back panels that you need to sew together down the center.
Grainline
The grainline is used to allow you to correctly line up the pattern pieces with the gain of the fabric. When pinning the pattern pieces, you want to make sure that the arrow that denotes the grainline is directly parallel to the long edge (the selvage side) of the fabric.
Cut on fold
For pattern pieces where one exactly mirrors the other, you’ll often see the bent arrow ‘cut on fold’ mark. This means you want to fold your fabric in half when cutting and line this piece up with the folded edge. The ‘cut on fold’ symbol also doubles as a grainline mark, so these pieces will not have a separate grainline.
Little circles
You’ll see many symbols in the form of little circles, big circles, squares, triangles, and so on. The little circles are usually there to help you line up the corners of the seams. It shows you the inner point where the seam allowance ends.
On sleeve heads, the little circles tell you where to ease or gather the fabric. Since sleeves curve over the shoulders, they need more shape than the flat fabric can give. You need to add gathering stitches between the two dots and pull them just a bit to give the sleeve head some shape before sewing it to the bodice of your garment.
Large circles, squares, triangles
These are markings that are referenced in the pattern instructions. Usually, they will tell you where to add a pocket, how far to sew a seam, where to add a snap or any other design element that your pattern requires.
Buttons
The marks for buttons will be denoted with an X. If there is a line of buttons down the front of a shirt (for example) sometimes only the top button will be marked on the pattern. If that’s the case, you’ll have to measure the rest and space out the buttons yourself.
Buttonholes
Buttonholes are denoted by a long line with two perpendicular lines at the ends. This line is typically premeasured for your pattern to fit the size of the button that is recommended on the pattern envelope. So if you are changing the size of the button you’re using, be sure to change the size of the button hole as well.
Buttonhole marks are also used for areas where you create a slit for a cord or twill tape. For example, drawstring pants, or a hoodie may have button hold marks for the string even though there are no buttons in the design.
Dart lines
Darts are areas where you fold the fabric over itself in a triangle or tapered section to add shape and make the garment more three-dimensional. It’s used for any garment that needs to be at least a little form-fitting, especially women’s clothing.
The darts are noted with lines drawn on the inside of the pattern, with points used to help you trace and line up the darts correctly.
Pleat lines
Pleat lines on patterns will usually be made up of straight solid lines, and dotted lines. You will need to fold the fabric to move the solid line to the dashed line and iron and baste the pattern in place to create pleats.
Size guidelines
Most commercial patterns will sell their patterns in a multi-size pack. This means when you open up your tissue paper, you will see multiple sizes nested inside each other. Each size will have a different pattern to the line to help you keep track of which size is which. Cut out the size that you want to make, or trace it if you don’t want to ruin the original tissue paper.
Lengthen and shorten lines
If you see two parallel lines running across an entire pattern piece, these are the lengthen and shorten lines. The pattern is recommending this as an ideal place to make the pattern piece shorter or longer. For example, I always need to shorten the arms and legs of pants and shirts because I’m super short.
View lines (A, B, C, D, etc.)
Sometimes the different variances in design that the pattern includes are nested within the same pattern pieces. For example, a skirt with styles at different lengths will use the same pattern pieces, but there will be lines running across telling you where the bottom of each style is. The pattern will notify you by saying something like “for A,” or “D only.”
Hemline allowance
This is a little note that lets you know how wide the hemline is intended to be. It’s not always the same as the general seam allowance, so it’s something you want to make a note of whenever you look at the hem of your pattern pieces.
Special seam allowance
In addition, some patterns will have a different seam allowance for especially narrow pieces. Sometimes around collars, sleeves, or waistbands, you’ll see a little notation that says something like “seam ⅜ inch.” This little notation overrides the seam allowance listed in the instruction booklet that comes with the pattern. Pay attention to this when you’re tracing and cutting your pattern pieces because it’s not usually repeated anywhere else in the instructions.
Stretch direction
If you’re using a knit or stretch fabric, it will always need to stretch more across the body. You will occasionally see the word ‘stretch’ along the side of a pattern piece to let you know you need to line it up on the fabric so that side stretches.
Gathered seam
A gathered seam is usually just written in on the pattern. It will say ‘gather’ with a notch mark on either end, to let you know which part needs to be gathered before it’s sewn. Gathered sleeves will be gathered between the two little dots.
Center front and center back
These are just notations to help you line up your pieces properly. They are commonly found on waistbands or on asymmetrical garments to help keep you oriented when putting the pattern together.
Stitch Line
If there will be any stitching inside the pattern, the stitch line will be denoted with a dotted or dashed line. This is for things like casings, where the fabric is folded over itself at the end, shirring, and some decorative stitching elements.
Fold line (for cuffs etc.)
Some pattern pieces will have a solid line in the center of the piece with the label ‘fold.’ This is typically seen on standard rectangle cuffs, collars, and waistbands. Instead of cutting two pieces, you cut one in double thickness and fold it in half when assembling your piece of clothing.
Crosshairs (largest point on bust or hip)
Many patterns will include a little circle with crosshairs in it. This is used to denote the fullest part of the bust and/or hips (depending on what’s relevant in the pattern). It will help you make sure these parts fit properly so you know whether to shorten or lengthen the torso of the pattern.
Waistline
Most patterns will have a little line with the word ‘waistline’ to let you know exactly where the waist falls. You can take your own shoulder-to-waist measurement to see if this matches up with the pattern and adjust the length of the torso as necessary.
Hipline and bustline
Some patterns will also include a little line to denote the hips or bust. This is less common than the waistline, but it’s the same idea. It helps you make sure your measurements fit with the pattern.
Finished garment measurements
Most modern patterns will also include some finished garment measurements on the pattern pieces. This will be a little chart that tells you what the finished bust, waist, or hip measurements are meant to be for the different sizes of the pattern.
It will show up directly under the lines that are labeled waistline, hips, and bust. Sometimes only one of these measurements is included, and it will only be printed on the front piece of the pattern only.
Number of pieces to cut
Each pattern piece will tell you how many pieces you need to cut for the pattern. Make sure to write this down, since this information doesn’t explicitly show up in the pattern instructions.
Typically you’ll see ‘cut 2’ or ‘cut 1 on fold,’ but I’ve also seen pieces for long strands of ruffles that say ‘cut 7’ so you always want to check. This will also give you the number of pieces you need to cut out of a contrasting fabric or from interfacing (especially for cuffs, collars, and waistbands).
Elastic guide (and ribbon guide)
If your pattern uses elastic, they will usually include an elastic guide as one of the pieces. Rather than tracing or cutting out these pieces, I just measure them and write it down so I know how much elastic I will need when I come to that part of the pattern instructions.
Where to find the key for pattern markings
Most patterns will include some kind of key for the markings on the pattern pieces. This will show up either on the sheet with the pattern instructions or somewhere on the tissue paper (usually in a small box that’s difficult to find). However, this key doesn’t always have definitions that are easy to understand, and it won’t explain what the shorthand notations mean.
What’s typically missing from sewing pattern markings?
One thing that’s missing from most commercial sewing patterns is the seam line, the line where you sew your pattern pieces together. The shape of each of the pieces is actually the cutting line and includes the seam allowance (usually ⅝”) as an extra border so that you have enough extra fabric along the edges to sew your garments together. (Some indie pattern-making companies will include it, but the main sewing pattern companies do not)
The seam line isn’t 100% necessary, but it’s very useful, so I will draw it in myself when I trace the patterns. Knowing where the seam line is helps you measure the pieces, so you can more accurately choose the right size. If you’re going to make any adjustments to the pattern, you also want to do it from the seam line, not the edge of the pattern piece.
As a beginner, you might not need to draw in the seam line, but the more experienced you get, the more useful you will find it. The draw the seam line, simply use a ruler to measure the seam allowance from the edge (you can find this number in your pattern instructions, usually it’s ⅝”)
