Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Sewing (and knitting) in any language

Even though I have what many international sewers would consider a wealth of sewing patterns readily available and at bargain prices, I still covet the foreign sewing magazines like Patrones, La Mia Boutiqe, and Diana Couture, among others. I do have a subscription to Burda but I want more! Alas, there is one small problem (besides the obvious difficulty of obtaining these magazines in the US) - I am only fluent in English and have a little knowledge of French. But that doesn't stop me from seeking out the pattern magazines in Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Japanese. I should be experienced enough with sewing to not have to rely on the instructions, but I do want to read them and I find it fun to try to translate them. I've scoured the internet and come across some translations of sewing terms from web sites and fellow bloggers to help figure it all out:

Sewing in Any Language:

Japanese from moving hands
Spanish from fehr Trade
*NEW*
Spanish from paco peralta
Dutch from Naaipatronen
More Dutch from Sigrid's Sewing Projects - the link for the pdf is on her post
French mostly quilting terms and it's in Canadian French
*NEW*French from japancouture.canalblog.com
French to English and English to French comprehensive textile dictionary from Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles
German broad craft and needlework terms, but some sewing from Dreams of Lace
Italian - the closest I could find for Italian was a website that translated Italian and gave multiple answers, which could be helpful. The link I have here is for the Italian word for "sew" and you can see the variation in meaning.


For general language translation, altavista is pretty good.
And if you just need definitions of English sewing terms, here's an online dictionary.

While I'm at it:

Knitting in Any Language:

French from Chez Plum
More French from Tricotin
Norwegian from Pinnsvindesign
Japanese dictionary and charts from tata-tatao.to
Japanese knitting symbols from Fleegle's Blog
German from designeryarns.de
This site from wiseneedle.com claims to translate terms from variety of languages but I haven't tried it out

Crocheting in Any Language:

French from passion crochet


I'd be happy to update this list with any other links to sources!

3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for these references, Lori! I can't believe what perfect timing this is - I am about to try to give some sewing lessons to two young mexican women and they don't speak English and I don't speak Spanish! I had already figured out many of the words on the fehr trade list, but I had given up on figuring out a few of them! Thanks!! :)
    --Gwen

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  2. Thanks so much Lori. this is very helpful!

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  3. Anonymous7:24 PM

    Here is a spanish/english list I've been compiling...

    NOUNS:

    Band Collar
    Cuelllo de tira

    Bobbin/Spool
    La bobina

    Bodice
    El corpiño

    Button
    El botón

    Buttonhole
    Ojal

    Cloth
    La tela

    Collar Stay
    Ballenita

    Dart
    El dardo

    Dress Form
    El mainquí

    Embroidery
    El bordado

    Eye of a needle
    El ojo de una aguja

    Fabric
    El tejido

    Fasteners
    avois

    Fold
    Doble

    Front Placket
    Cartera delantera

    Hem
    El dobladillo

    Interfacing
    Interface

    Lace
    El encaie

    Lining
    El forro

    Neckline
    El escote

    Needle
    La aguja

    Pattern
    El patron

    Pincushion
    El acerico

    Pins
    Los alfileres

    Pleat
    tabla

    Pocket facing
    f. bols.

    Quilting
    El acolchado

    Ruffles
    Chorreras

    Safety Pin
    Afiler de seguridad

    Seam
    La costura

    Side Seam
    Costadillo/ Lado

    Stitch
    La puntada
    T-shirts
    Poleras

    Thimble
    El dedal

    Thread
    El hilo

    Undercollar
    Macarrón (de cuello de)

    Waist
    La cintura

    Waistband
    La pretina

    Wide strap (halter)
    La lazada ancha

    Zipper
    Cremallera

    Zipper pull tab
    El cursor


    VERBIOS:

    To Baste
    Hilvanar

    To Gather
    Reunir

    To Hem
    Hacer el dobladillo

    To thread a needle
    Enhebrar una aguja

    To tie/bind
    Ligar

    ADJ:

    Bias-cut
    Cortado con bies

    Silky/Smooth
    Glacé
    Woven
    plana

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