Ever go to a tailor and have no idea what word(s) she/he just said? Well, we are here to bring a little education into the wide world of tailoring with a little terminology talk. Check back every week for a new term.

Next up: Bias Cut 

You may hear a tailor mention that a garment was cut on the bias. But what’s bias? Remember last week we talked about weft and warp threads of fabric? These are the threads in fabric that run perpendicular to each other. Well, the bias runs on a 45 degree angle to these threads.  Below, the blue arrow is the bias, while the white sections represent the weft and warp threads.

So, when a garment is “cut on the bias,” what it means is that the fabric has been cut along this direction. When the fabric is sewn together, the warp and weft threads of the fabric end up sitting 45 degrees to a garment’s major seams. Take a look at the picture below. See how the pattern runs diagonally to the seam on the arm band (the seam is where the arrow is)? That’s because it has been cut on the bias.

Cutting a garment this way creates a unique effect; the bias direction of fabric has more stretch and is more flexible. As a result, garments cut on the bias usually cling better to the body and drape more elegantly. For example, many dresses from the 1920s were cut on the bias, which is why they hang the way they do.  Also, men’s ties are cut on the bias; cutting them on the bias gives them the flexibility needed to go around your  neck and be tied in a knot!

*photos courtesy of lemmemakeit and finally waking up