Clothes are made from flat cloth and worn on a body that is anything but flat. These are the techniques that bridge the gap.
Every garment starts as a flat sheet and has to end up wrapped round a set of curves. Almost all of dressmaking is the answer to that problem: darts fold away the surplus, seams shape the pieces, and cutting on the bias exploits the fact that woven cloth stretches diagonally even when it will not stretch along the thread. The vocabulary is old and mostly practical. A selvedge is the self-finished edge the loom produces. Interfacing is the hidden stiffening that keeps a collar from collapsing. A French seam exists because sheer fabric shows everything, including the inside. Knowing the terms makes the difference between a well-made garment and a cheap one visible from across a room.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: D. Forty-five degrees
Why: Cloth cut this way stretches and falls close to the body without needing extra seams. Madeleine Vionnet built her 1930s eveningwear almost entirely on the technique.
Answer: C. A folded, stitched wedge that shapes flat cloth to the body
Why: They take up surplus fabric at the bust, waist or shoulder blade. Without them a garment cut from flat cloth would simply hang straight down.
Answer: B. The finished edge running along the length of the roll
Why: It forms where the weft turns back at the edge of the loom, so it does not fray. Denim woven on narrow shuttle looms is sold on the strength of it.
Answer: A. The folded-back front edge below the collar
Why: Notch, peak and shawl are the three usual shapes. The buttonhole cut into the left one survives from when the collar could be turned up and fastened across the throat.
Answer: D. A weave of short rows slanting in alternating directions
Why: It is a broken twill, named after the skeleton of the fish. Unbroken twill running in one direction is what gives denim its diagonal lines.
Answer: C. The turned and stitched lower edge
Why: Turning the edge under stops the cloth fraying and adds a little weight. That extra weight is part of why a well-hemmed skirt hangs properly.
Answer: B. To stiffen and support areas such as collars and cuffs
Why: It sits hidden between the outer cloth and the facing. Traditional tailors use woven horsehair canvas across the whole front of a jacket.
Answer: A. Cashmere
Why: It is combed from the fine undercoat in spring. A single animal yields only a few ounces a year, which is most of the explanation for the price.
Answer: D. So each piece is cut in the same direction as the fabric threads
Why: Cloth behaves differently along the warp, across the weft and on the diagonal. Ignoring the marking makes the finished garment twist round the body as it is worn.
Answer: C. A seam with all raw edges enclosed inside it
Why: The pieces are sewn twice, the second row wrapping and hiding the first. It suits sheer fabrics, where an ordinary seam allowance would show through.
A Germanic language wearing a French coat and carrying a Latin dictionary. Why English spelling is a mess with reasons.
7 min readEach correct answer awards 10 XP. There is zero point penalty for incorrect guesses, encouraging learning through exploration.
Yes! You can retake any quiz as many times as you like, or use the Practice Mistakes mode at the end to review questions you missed.
Absolutely. As soon as you select an option, QuizKite displays a detailed explanation card explaining why the answer is correct.
Every quiz on QuizKite is researched, written and fact-checked by hand against reliable references, with an explanation for each answer. Read our full Editorial Policy to learn more about our content standards.
The designers, fabrics and cities behind what people wear.
Which designer is credited with popularising the "little black dress"?
Corsets to punk: the shapes, fastenings and fabrics that reset what people wore.
Which garment did women's dress largely abandon around the First World War?
The paintings, novels and figures worth knowing by name.
Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?