German Technical Terms (from the old C&T forum)

[KTuakli]

I found this in an archive of the old Cutter and Tailor forum, in a post by one Sator. I know that there are quite a few old German drafts that are translated and shared here (thank you to everyone that puts in the hard work) and I thought there was a chance that this could be useful to some. I have copied and pasted almost directly what I found. Hopefully it's helpful.

Maße: measurements

Armloch: armhole, scye
Armlochtiefe: scye depth
Armlochdurchmesser: scye width, scye diameter
Amrlochumfang: armscye circumference
Ärmellänge: armsleeve length (vordere Ärmellänge = front sleeve length)
Ärmelhöhe: height of the sleeve crown
Bauchbreite: front waist width (Bauch = belly/abdomen, Breite = width/breadth)
Brustbreite: chest measure - usually denotes the half or quarter chest measure, compare with Oberweite
Brustumfang: chest girth
Bundumfang: waist girth
Gesäßtiefe: depth of seat
Hüftumfang: hip girth
Leibvortritt: front of waist (half or quarter waist at the front) = Bauchbreite
Oberweite: chest measure (usually means the full chest girth)
Schulterbreite: shoulder length
Taillenumfang/ Bundweite: waist measure/size
Rückenbreite: back width
Rückenspiegelbreite: back neck
Rückenlänge/Rückentiefe: waist length (Tiefe = depth)
Seitenlänge: side length
Schrittlänge: inside leg seam length
Taillierung: waist suppression


Coat Terminology

Abnäher: dart; breast dart, waist dart
Ärmel: sleeve
Ärmelschlitz: sleeve vent
Ärmeleinsatzpunkt: sleeve pitch mark, literally "sleeve deployment point"
Ärmelkugel: sleeve crown
Aufgesetzte Tasche: patch pocket
Besatz/ Beleg: facing
Bruch: crease (literally "break") eg Reversbruch, Kragenbruch
Bruchlinie: the line of the bridle, lapel crease
Brusttasche: breast pocket
Bügelfalte, Golffalte: crease, pressed pleat; golf pleat
Brustabnäher: front dart (literally "chest dart")
Doppelreiher = double breasted coat
doppelreihig = double breasted
Einreiher = a single breasted coat
einreihig = single breasted
Kragen: collar
Knopfleiste (verdeckte -): button panel, concealed -, fly front
Klappenbruch = lapel line
Kügelhöhe: sleeve crown height
Oberärmel: top sleeve
Oberkragen: top collar, outside collar
Pattentasche, Leistentasche: welt pocket
Plack: chest piece
Revers: revers ie lapel + collar
Reversbruch: lapel crease line, bridle
Rückenteil: back piece
Rückengürtel: back-belt, half-belt, martingale
Rückenschoß: back of skirt, usually of a body coat
Schlitz (Gehschlitz): vent, back-, side-
Schoss = skirt (usually with respect to a body coat); plural Schöße
Seitenteil: side piece
Steigend/ abfallend: peak lapel; step lapel
Reversspiegelnaht: gorge
Rock = body coat
Sakko = sack or lounge coat
Schallkragen = roll or shawl collar
Schließknopfhöhe: height of buttoning position
Unterärmel: under sleeve
Unterkragen: under collar
Übertritt: overlap, wrap
Untertritt: underfly
Vorderteil: forepart

Trouser Terminology

Hosen - Trousers
Bund: waistband
Bundverlängerung: waistband extension
Bundfalte: waistband pleat
Fußweite = trouser hem width
Hosenumschlag; -aufschlag: trouser turn-up, permanent turn-ups (PTUs), trouser cuffs (American)
Hosenstoßband: hemming tape (also called fraying band, "kick" tape)
Hosenkeil: crotch piece
Hosenschlitz: trouser fly
Hosenschlitzübertritt: trouser upper fly
Hosenschlitzuntertritt: trouser under fly

Others words:

Anprobe = fitting
Angeschnitten = grown on
auszeichen: draw, draft out (aus = out, zeichen = draw)
bastieren = to baste
anstaffieren = to trim (a seam)
abstellen = displace (ab = from, stellen = to place)
Ausnäher = dart or vee
Betrag = amount
dressieren = to work up/shape with the iron
Dressur = ironwork
Durchmesser = diameter
Einlage = interfacing
einstellen = displace inwards (ein = in, stellen = to place)
fadengerade = along the grain line
Frack = dress coat
Fasson = revers
Klaffen = gape (also aufklaffen)
gestreift = striped
Grundwinkellinie = foundation square (ie the place in the draft the square is first place and an angle drawn)
herausstellen = move upwards (heraus = up, stellen = place)
Hilfslinie = construction line (literally "help line")
Jacke = jacket
kariet = checked
Karo = check or plaid (design of cloth)
Lage = position, placement eg Taschenlage, pocket placement
Naht (plural Nähte): seam
Pikieren = to pick stitch, also abpikieren (literally "to pick stich up")
Schnittmuster = pattern
schräg = angled, on an angle
schrägmessen = to measure on an angle
Schrägmessung = a measure taken on an angle (literally angled measure)
Sissonierung or Süssonierung: the placement and shaping of a dart
Stark = stout (eg starken Herren)
sperren = hold open eg a canvas dart
Streifen = stripes
Überschlag/Überschuß = overlap
übertragen = transfer, literally "to carry over" eg of one measure over to another section of the draft
verlängern: elongate, extend eg a line
Verbindungslinie: line joining points (Verbindung = joining, Linie = line)
Winkellinie = squared lines (formed with the tailor's square)
Zickzackstich = zig zag stitch
Zuschneider = cutter
Zugabe = added ease (zu = to, gaben = to add), fitting or seam allowance (eg Nahtzugabe)
zugegeben = added, allowed for eg alle Nähte sind zugegeben = all seams have been allowed for


Additional words added in comments by others:

Hosenstoßband: kick tape
Ärmeleinsetzpunkt: armhole notches at front marked as Äe and back marked as Häe ( Rundschau draft)
Ärmelkugel: sleeve crown
Kügelhöhe: sleeve crown height
Angeschnitten: cut on
Dressur: forming into shape using an iron (ironwork)

Reverbruch: lapel foldline
Zweireiher: double breast
Rückenhöhe: upper back length
Weste: waistcoat
Messen : measuring
Messen und übertragen: measuring and copy that amount
v.M ( vorder mitten): center front
Polsterauflage: shoulder pad
Fußweite: pants hem circumference
Knie höhe: knee lenght
Zugabe: wearing ease
Kragenklotz = pleater (block of wood). It literally means "collar block"

Separate comment:
double pointed dart [textil.] ganzer Abnäher [Nähen]
single pointed dart [textil.] halber Abnäher
tuck/dart Abnäher


Separate comment:
The term Schluss (or Schluß) gets me every time. It comes from the verb schliessen (schließen), to close, and literally means "closure". It's one of those seemingly simple German terms that is so technically loaded you can't find a simple translation of the word. You find it in expressions such as Taillenschluss (Taille = waist, Taillen = of the waist), literally the 'closure of the waist'. It means the ability of the coat to sit in at the waist. Waist suppression is a poor translation because it suggests you should add waist suppression by trimming away at the seams, and thereby getting the coat to sit "close" to the waist. Wrong! Schluss is achieved by the correct balance of a coat first and foremost, and it is this that allows the coat to "close in" to the waist.

Then you get other combinations such as 'Schrittschluss'. That really confuses me when I see it. Schritt (literally step or stride) means "crotch" here, although it probably more exactly refers to the whole of the leg seam (Schrittnaht), and so it means the ability of the trouser to sit in at the leg seam passing all the way up to the fork.

You can also combine it with other words too. For example back is Rücke, so from this you can get Rückenschluss. It would mean the ability of the coat to sit into the small of the back.

Maybe the word Schluss should be imported into English wholesale like other words in German like Zeitgeist, Angst etc that defy translation


Separate comment in response to a question about the word schrittdurchmesser:
schrittdurchmesser is the width from front to back between the legs. so just use back fork for 'Schrittdurchmesser der Hinter-hose

[Schneiderfrei]

That's a great resource to re-post. Thanks KTuakli.

There might be more lists around like that.

G