Pattern Language – Abbreviations you may come across

As with any hobby or subject area, patterns have their own language and abbreviations.

This post is one I will add to as time goes on and I think of other things to add, but lets start today by listing the main abbreviations you may come across and what they mean.

  • CB – Center Back
  • CF – Center Front
  • CBF- Center Back Fold
  • CFF- Center Front Fold
  • CH – Crown Height ( on a sleeve)
  • RS – Right Side
  • RDS – Right Side Down
  • WS – Wrong Side
  • WSD – Wrong Side Down
  • SS – Side Seam
  • SA – Seam Allowance
  • RHSAW – Right Hand Side As Worn
  • LHSAW – Left Hand Side As Worn
  • OL – Overlock (serge)
  • GL – Grainline
  • RST – Right Sides Together
  • WST – Wrong Sides Together
  • WL – Waistline
  • ZZ – Zigzag Stitch
  • S/F – Side Front
  • S/B – Side Back
  • W/L – Waist Line
  • B/L – Bust Line
  • B/P – Bust Point
  • H/L – Hip Line
  • E/L – Elbow Line
  • K/L – Knee Line
  • A/H – Armhole
  • CBL – Cross Back Line
  • U/L Underarm Line
  • SHLDR or SH – Shoulder
  • NCK – Neck
  • SLV – Sleeve
  • FCNG –Facing
  • W/BAND  – Waistband
  • CLR – Collar
  • TR – Trousers
  • TP – Top (blouses, shirts and t-shirts any upper body section)
  • SK – Skirt
  • JKT – Jacket (coats)
  • DRS – Dress

It is useful for pattern cutters to have a consistent way of labelling and saving pattern pieces. I use a number of CAD systems and I find that consistent accurate labelling saves me a great deal of time.

If you can think of any more abbreviations then please let me know and the list can grow!

Happy pattern making

Nicola

 

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