The second half of the glossary covers L to Z, from lay plan to zip patti: measurements, pattern words, sewing terms, fibres and the trade words of the workroom, with Hindi and Kannada names where we are confident. The first half is Glossary of trouser terms: A to K.
What you’ll find here
- 65 terms from L to Z, grouped by letter.
- A one-line meaning for each, in plain words.
- Hindi and Kannada names where we are confident, with the usual spellings.
- Tailors’ shop words, such as asan, mohri, nefa and kali, marked for a teacher to check.
How to use the glossary
- Tap a letter group to open it. Each group is a short table; on a phone, each term becomes a card.
- Local names: Hindi is given in Devanagari with a transliteration in brackets, and Kannada in Kannada script with a transliteration.
- An asterisk (*) means the name is in use but its spelling, meaning or spread should be checked by a teacher before it is taught as standard. Workroom words differ from town to town.
- A dash (–) means the trade usually uses the English word, or we are not confident of a local name. Many tailors in Bengaluru say “rise”, “fly” and “waistband” in English inside Kannada or Hindi sentences.
- Find the full lesson for any term through the course contents: fibres in Module 2, fit in Module 3, drafting in Module 4, sewing in Module 6, styles in Module 7.
Words for colour, occasion and styling are explained in Module 8; design words in Module 9.
L and M
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Lay plan, marker | The layout of pattern pieces on cloth before cutting. | – |
| Length | A measurement from top to bottom. | Hindi लंबाई (lambāī); Kannada ಉದ್ದ (udda) |
| Linen | Cloth made from flax fibre. | – |
| Lining | A layer inside a garment that hides seams and helps it hang. | Hindi अस्तर (astar) |
| Low rise | A trouser whose waist sits well below the natural waist. | – |
| Lyocell | A fibre made from wood pulp in a closed-loop process; Tencel is one brand. | – |
| Made-to-measure | A garment made from a person’s own measurements. | – |
| Measurement | A size taken on the body or a garment. | Hindi नाप (nāp); Kannada ಅಳತೆ (aḷate) |
| Mohri | Tailors’ word for the hem opening of a trouser or salwar. | Hindi मोहरी (mohrī)* |
| MOQ | Minimum order quantity a manufacturer will accept. | – |
| Muslin, toile | A test garment in cheap cloth used to check fit. | – |
N and O
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Nada | The drawstring of a salwar or pyjama. | Hindi नाड़ा (nāṛā); Kannada ಲಾಡಿ (lāḍi)* |
| Nap | A pile or brushed surface that looks different from each direction. | – |
| Needle | The tool that carries thread through cloth. | Hindi सुई (suī); Kannada ಸೂಜಿ (sūji) |
| Notch | A small mark on a pattern edge for matching pieces. | – |
| Notions, trims | Zips, buttons, elastic, thread and other small items. | – |
| Outside leg, outseam | The side seam and measurement from waist to hem. | – |
| Overlock | A machine stitch that trims and wraps a raw edge. | – |
| Oversized | Cut deliberately much larger than the body. | – |
P
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Palazzo | A very wide, flowing trouser. | Hindi पलाज़ो (palāzo) |
| Patiala salwar | A salwar with many deep pleats that fall in folds. | Hindi पटियाला सलवार (paṭiyālā salvār) |
| Pattern | The paper template for each piece of a garment. | – |
| Pintuck | A very narrow stitched fold, used as decoration. | – |
| Pleat | A fold of cloth stitched or pressed in place. | Hindi प्लीट (plīṭ); Kannada ನೆರಿಗೆ (nerige) |
| A pouch sewn into or onto a garment. | Hindi जेब (jeb); Kannada ಜೇಬು (jēbu) | |
| Pyjama | A loose trouser with a drawstring. | Hindi पाजामा (pājāmā); Kannada ಪೈಜಾಮ (paijāma) |
Q, R and S
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Quality control | Checking garments against a standard. | – |
| Rise | The depth from the crotch to the waist. | – |
| Ruching | Cloth gathered into soft, bunched folds. | – |
| Running stitch | A simple in-and-out hand stitch. | – |
| Salwar | A loose trouser gathered at the waist and narrowing to the ankle. | Hindi सलवार (salvār); Kannada ಸುರುವಾಳ (suruvāḷa)* |
| Scissors, shears | Cutting tools; shears are long-bladed scissors for cloth. | Hindi कैंची (kaiñcī); Kannada ಕತ್ತರಿ (kattari) |
| Seam | The line where two pieces are stitched together. | Hindi सिलाई (silāī); Kannada ಹೊಲಿಗೆ (holige) |
| Seam allowance | The cloth between the stitching line and the edge. | – |
| Selvedge | The firm woven edge along each side of a cloth. | Kannada ಅಂಚು (añcu)* |
| Sewing machine | A machine for stitching. | Hindi सिलाई मशीन (silāī maśīn); Kannada ಹೊಲಿಗೆ ಯಂತ್ರ (holige yantra) |
| Sewing, stitching | Joining cloth with thread. | Hindi सिलाई (silāī); Kannada ಹೊಲಿಗೆ (holige) |
| Sharara | Very wide trousers flaring from the hip or thigh. | Hindi शरारा (śarārā) |
| Shorts | Trousers ending above the knee. | Hindi निक्कर (nikkar); Kannada ಚಡ್ಡಿ (chaḍḍi)* |
| Silk | A natural protein fibre from silkworm cocoons. | Hindi रेशम (reśam); Kannada ರೇಷ್ಮೆ (rēṣme) |
| Slant pocket | A front pocket with an angled opening. | – |
| Spec sheet | A table of a style’s measurements in every size. | – |
| Stay stitching | A line of stitching inside the seam line to stop curves stretching. | – |
T
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Tacking, basting | Long temporary stitches. | Hindi कच्ची सिलाई (kaccī silāī)* |
| Tailor | A person who makes or alters clothes. | Hindi दर्ज़ी (darzī); Kannada ದರ್ಜಿ (darji) |
| Taper | Narrowing of the leg towards the hem. | – |
| Tech pack | The full instructions for making one style. | – |
| Thigh | The upper leg; its round is a key trouser measurement. | Hindi जांघ (jāṅgh); Kannada ತೊಡೆ (toḍe) |
| Thread | The yarn used for sewing. | Hindi धागा (dhāgā); Kannada ದಾರ (dāra) |
| Topstitching | Stitching on the outside, for strength or decoration. | – |
| Trouser, pant | A garment covering each leg separately. | Hindi पतलून (patlūn), पैंट (paiṇṭ); Kannada ಪ್ಯಾಂಟ್ (pyāṇṭ) |
| Turn-up, cuff | A hem folded up on the outside. | – |
U to Z
| Term | Meaning | Hindi and Kannada |
|---|---|---|
| Upcycling | Making something new and better from an old garment. | – |
| Vanity sizing | Labelling a garment with a smaller size than its measurements suggest. | – |
| Viscose, rayon | A soft fibre made from wood pulp. | – |
| Waist | The narrowest part of the torso, or where the trouser sits. | Hindi कमर (kamar); Kannada ಸೊಂಟ (soṇṭa) |
| Waistband | The band of cloth finishing the top of a trouser. | – |
| Warp and weft | The lengthwise and crosswise threads of a woven cloth. | Hindi ताना-बाना (tānā-bānā); Kannada ಹಾಸು-ಹೊಕ್ಕು (hāsu-hokku)* |
| Welt pocket | A pocket with a narrow, neat strip at its opening, as on tailored trousers. | – |
| Wide leg | A trouser wide from the hip to the hem. | – |
| Wool | A natural animal fibre, mainly from sheep. | Hindi ऊन (ūn); Kannada ಉಣ್ಣೆ (uṇṇe) |
| Yoke | A shaped panel at the waist or back, as on jeans. | – |
| Zero-waste cutting | Pattern cutting that uses the whole width and length of cloth. | – |
| Zip | A fastening of two toothed tapes and a slider. | Hindi ज़िप (zip), चेन (cen); Kannada ಜಿಪ್ (zip) |
| Zip patti | Tailors’ word for the fly strip or zip guard. | Hindi ज़िप पट्टी (zip paṭṭī)* |
Notes on spellings and names
- Transliterations use common scholarly marks (ā, ṭ, ṇ, ṛ) so the sounds are clear. Shop signs and labels often spell the same words more simply: “salwar”, “churidar”, “nada”, “pyjama”.
- The same word can mean different things in different places. “Pant” in Indian English means any trouser; in British English “pants” are underwear.
- Some Hindi and Urdu tailoring words come from Persian, and are used across north India and Pakistan.
- Kannada speakers often use English or Hindi words for garments that arrived later, such as pyāṇṭ for trousers and chūḍidār for churidar.
For teachers
- Check every name marked * with experienced local tailors before teaching it as standard, and add the workroom words your learners actually hear.
- Teach the English term and the local term together; learners will meet both in shops and workrooms.
- Ask learners to add a term each week to their own sewing notebook, with a small sketch.
Check yourself
- Can I explain the difference between rise and crotch length?
- Do I know the local word for waist, thigh and knee in Hindi or Kannada?
- Can I name three tailors’ shop words and what they mean?
- Do I know which names still need a teacher’s check?