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NOS: New old stock.
Cotton fabric: Cotton is made from fibres of the cotton plant. The length of the fibres determines the quality of the fabric, longer fibres means a better quality cotton.
Linen fabric: Linen is made from fibres of the flax plant. More expensive than cotton. Absorbs and loses water quickly and therefore "wicks" perspiration away from the skin. Prone to wrinkling.
Batiste: A very lightweight 100% cotton fabric. A preferred fabric in heirloom clothing, especially for infant wear.
Organza: A thin sheer fabric, traditionally made from silk, but today you will often find a synthetic made organza. Most often used in bridal wear, evening wear, and sometimes heirloom clothing.
Homespun: A 100% cotton fabric which tends to have a hand woven look. More commonly recognized by its deep earthy colours, and "simplistic" designs. Used for a variety of crafts, especially "country" crafts and primitives. Some imported homespuns are actually handwoven. Traditionally, homespun was a rough, loosely woven fabric originally made with yarn and was spun at home...thus the name.
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Embroidery: A form of needlework...the art of decorating fabric with designs stitched with strands or thread or yarn using a needle. There are many types of embroidery and often times the only difference between the various techniques is the type of thread chosen, or a few key stitches.
Brazilian Embroidery: Uses rayon thread instead of cotton thread or wool.
Broderie Anglaise: Traditionally a whitework technique incorporating embroidery stitches, cutwork, and perhaps needle lace. A common technique are eyelet holes. Today, it is considered acceptable to use other colours than white, as in pink on pink.
Thread Painting: Exactly what it implies...colouring in an image with threads. The person uses a long and short stitch and blends colours together. Can look very similar to machine embroider, however, unlike machine embroider, you will never produce two items the same, and it has a whole lot more character, and has had a lot of work put into it.
Snutki: Polish peasant embroidery, or spider web embroidery. Traditionally white on white. Uses mainly buttonholed eyelets.
Heirloom Sewing: A needlework technique that imitates fine French hand sewing techniques, but today we can use the sewing machine.
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Smocking: The art of sewing thread over pleated folds of fabric. A variety of embroidery stitches may be used.
Stumpwork: Embroidered designs making use of padding to create a three dimensional effect.
Vintage: The idea varies from person to person. Usually refers to anything under 100 years old but over 20 years old. Could be in new condition, may be gently used, or well used. May have wear and damage, or not.
Antique: Usually refers to anything over 100 years old. Usually, gently to well used. May have wear and damage, or not.
Burnishing: A technique in coloured pencil work. You use a white pencil, or a colourless blender and rub over the layers of colour. The effect "melts" the coloured pencil and creates a shiny look. Once you have done this, it is pretty hard to go back, although it has been done.
Fancy Work: A term referring to many types of needlework. Usually intricate or detailed.
Primitives: Refers to a style of needlework, usually of a simplistic or crude nature. Usually uses homespun and muslin fabrics. Colours are typically deep and earthy.
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