Stitching

How to spell stitching

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce stitching

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does stitching mean?

1. nounA line or pattern of thread sewn through fabric or other material.
2. verbJoining or repairing material with thread and a needle, as an ongoing action.

Stitching in a sentence

• noun

  The stitching along the seam had started to come loose.

• verb

  She spent the evening stitching a button back onto her coat.

• noun

  The leather wallet was prized for its neat, even stitching.

• verb

  The tailor was stitching the torn lining by hand.

Where does stitching come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the Old English noun stice, which meant a prick, a puncture, or a sharp stabbing pain, the same sense that survives in the phrase 'a stitch in your side'. That noun came from a Germanic root tied to sticking or piercing, and it is a close cousin of the verb 'to stick'. Because sewing literally means repeatedly piercing cloth with a needle, the word shifted naturally from the idea of a single puncture to the loop of thread left behind, and then to the act of making those loops. The form 'stitching' simply adds the familiar -ing ending, used both for the ongoing action and for the finished line of thread. The spelling keeps the tch cluster that English uses after a short vowel, which is the main thing a writer has to remember here.

How the word is built

• stitch (from Old English stice: a prick or puncture)
• -ing (noun/verb suffix)