Japanese sewing and pattern terms

This is copied directly from Jennifer at her blog,  movinghands, and I claim no credit for it but have it here as reference.  The French blog referred to is Japan Couture Addicts which has a detailed file of dressmaking terms, Lexique couture Japonais-Anglais, conversions etc and is also very useful.

Japanese sewing and pattern terms

縫い代:  seam allowance

実物大の型紙付き: full-sized pattern pieces enclosed (this is sometimes written on the cover of a book or magazine)

表:  right side (also written in hiragana as おもて)

裏:  wrong side (also written in hiragana as うら)

布地の裁ち方: fabric cutting diagram

脇: underarm

肩: shoulder

ウエスト: waist

材料: materials (materials list)

仕上がり線: finished (sewing) line; for example, this is the main line on a pattern, to which one would add a seam allowance

ゴムテープ:  elastic (also called 平ゴム)

ファスナー：　zipper

布:  fabric

バイアス布:  bias fabric

幅：  width (usually used for fabric width, e.g. 110cm幅250cm means that you need two-and-a-half meters of 110 cm width fabric)

縫う:  sew

袋縫い: French seam

切り込む:  clip (like for the seam allowance of a curve)

丈:  length (like for a skirt)

中心:  center

後ろ:  back

前:  front

接着芯:  interfacing (中厚: medium weight, 厚手: heavy weight, 薄手: leightweight)

結ぶ：　to tie (in a knot, or a bow)

革ひも: leather tie

ぐし縫い:  running stitch, quilting stitch

しつけ：　　baste (しつけ糸　is basting thread, thick and easy to run through fabric, usually sold in hanks in Japan)

見返し:  facing

押さえミシン:　　topstitch

まつり縫い：　　hem stitch

手縫い：　　handstitch

型紙：　　pattern

ボタン：　　button

麻：　　linen

木綿：　　cotton

ロックミシン：　　serger, or part to be serged/zig-zag stitched

袖：　　sleeve

糸：　　thread

レース:　　lace

テープメーカー：　bias tape maker (usually written with the respective size, 12 mm, 25 mm, etc.

前後：　front and back (i.e. 前後スカート, which, when written on the pattern piece, means you cut two pieces)

ギャザー： gather (usually written between two points to show where to gather fabric)

返し口：　the space to leave open for turning to the right side (usually slipstitched after turning)

２５番刺しゅう糸：　fancy way of saying 6-strand embroidery floss (DMC no. 25)

胸囲：　chest measurement

わ：　fold (usually written to show where to fold and sew, or where to place the pattern piece on the fabric fold for cutting)

布目線：　grainline (usually accompanied by a line/arrows on the paper pattern)

ダーツ：　dart(s)

フリル：　frill

***Please note that this list is far from comprehensive, but will give you a start. This French blog about sewing with Japanese patterns does a much better job. In the right side column, you will find a link to a .pdf of Japanese-English translations of sewing terms, complete with diagrams.