🪓 To cut down 🧵 To sew edges ⛰️ A high hill 🧵 A sewn seam 🌲 Tree cutting 🐑 Animal skin 😈 Cruel or fierce

to fell

2 9.9

To fold a cloth edge and sew it down so the raw edge is inside

verb
/fɛl/

Specialized

: rematar

Examples

And if you look extremely closely, there are the tiniest felling stitches.
All I can say is thank goodness for lining because I cannot even fathom having to overcast or fell all of these seams.
To create a professional finish on the hem, be sure to fell the fabric edges securely.
When sewing a quilt, she always fells the seams to prevent fraying and ensure durability.
After cutting the fabric, he proceeded to fell the raw edges by folding them neatly under.

Synonyms

to sew

vsto fell

242 1.0

Join, fix and make clothes and other things made of cloth using a needle and thread or a machine

folds edges and secures them inward to finish edges rather than broad fabric work

to stitch

vsto fell

99 2.5

To join or repair cloth with a needle and thread

folds edges and secures them inward as a finishing step not general joining

to seam

vsto fell

3 3.6

To join pieces of cloth by sewing their edges together

folds edges and secures them inward rather than only joining pieces

to oversew

vsto fell

Specialized

1 8.8

To sew two cloth edges together with small stitches over them to stop fraying

folds edges and secures them inward to enclose raw fabric edges

to hem

vsto fell

1 4.1

To fold the edge of cloth and sew it to stop it coming apart

folds edges and secures them inward to fully enclose raw fabric edges

to overlock

vsto fell

1 6.3

To sew fabric edges with a special stitch to stop them coming apart

folds edges and secures them inward instead of using a machine overedge stitch

to overcast

vsto fell

Specialized

7.2

To sew over a fabric edge with long stitches to stop it from coming apart

folds edges and secures them inward rather than only sewing the edge

stitched

vsto fell

1.8

Held together by sewing with thread and a needle

folds edges and secures them inward to hide raw fabric edges

sewn

vsto fell

1.6

Joined with stitches made by a needle and thread

folds edges and secures them inward rather than general needlework joining

Antonyms

to unsew

8.4

To remove stitches from cloth or clothing

Idioms

one fell swoop

14 7.6

A single sudden action that happens all at once

fell out of the ugly tree

Offensive

1 9.9

A joking way to say that someone looks very ugly

little strokes fell great oaks

9.7

Small regular efforts lead to big results over time

the wheels fell off

Informal

9.8

A situation that suddenly goes wrong after working well

Surface Forms

fell infinitive

felling present participle

fells third person singular

fell past

felled past participle

Etymology

Fell (the sewing verb) means to sew a seam by folding the edge and stitching it down. It is simply the action that makes a 'fell' seam neat and strong.