Test Your Quilt Acronym Knowledge: How Many Do You Actually Know?

Quilters have their own language. If you've spent any time in a quilting Facebook group, on Instagram, or reading patterns, you've run into a wall of letters that make zero sense to outsiders. HST, WOF, UFO. It looks like alphabet soup until someone explains it, and then you can't unsee it.

See how many of these you already know before you scroll to the answers.

The Quiz

1. HST

2. QST

3. FPP

4. EPP

5. RST

6. WOF

7. LOF

8. SA

9. FMQ

10. QAYG

11. WIP

12. UFO

13. PHD

14. SID

15. BOM

16. QOV

17. FQ

18. FE

19. F8

20. PFD

21. QAL

22. SAL

No peeking. Write down what you think each one means, then check yourself below.

The Answers

Techniques & Piecing

• HST – Half-Square Triangle

• QST – Quarter-Square Triangle

• FPP – Foundation Paper Piecing

• EPP – English Paper Piecing

• RST – Right Sides Together

• WOF – Width of Fabric

• LOF – Length of Fabric

• SA – Seam Allowance

Quilting & Finishing

• FMQ – Free Motion Quilting

• QAYG – Quilt As You Go

• WIP – Work In Progress

• UFO – UnFinished Object

• PHD – Project Half Done

• SID – Stitch In the Ditch

• BOM – Block Of the Month

• QOV – Quilt Of Valor

Fabric & Supplies

• FQ – Fat Quarter

• FE – Fat Eighth

• F8 – Fat Eighth (same thing, different shorthand)

• PFD – Prepared For Dyeing

Community

• QAL – Quilt Along

• SAL – Sew Along

How'd You Do?

• 18-22 correct: You're fluent in quilt speak. You probably use half of these unconsciously in normal conversation and confuse non-quilters constantly.

• 10-17 correct: Solid grasp. You know your way around a pattern without needing a glossary open in another tab.

• Under 10: You're still learning the language, and that's completely normal. Bookmark this page and it'll come naturally.

One More Test: Confess Your Stash

Now that you know the difference between a WIP, a UFO, and a PHD, be honest with yourself:

• How many WIPs do you currently have going at once?

• How many UFOs are hiding in a closet, a bin, or "somewhere in the sewing room" that you're not ready to talk about?

• Pin It

  Do you have a PHD? As in, a project that's been sitting at exactly 50% done for so long you've forgotten what it was supposed to become?

No judgment here. Every quilter has a UFO pile. The ones who say they don't are lying, or they just finished cleaning it out last week.

Related reading: How to Baste a Quilt (4 Methods)