☁️ Cloudy ☁️ Cloudy sky ☁️ To cover with clouds 🧵 A sewing stitch 🧵 To sew edges

to overcast

7.2

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

verb
/ˈoʊvərˌkæst/

Specialized

: sobrehilar

After cutting the fabric, she chose to overcast the edges to prevent them from fraying.

Examples

All I can say is thank goodness for lining because I cannot even fathom having to overcast or fell all of these seams.
To ensure durability, he decided to overcast the seams of the newly sewn jacket.
In her sewing class, the instructor taught us how to overcast the edges of the fabric efficiently.

Synonyms

to sew

vsto overcast

242 1.0

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

is limited to the particular edge-stitching used to stop fraying or join edges

to stitch

vsto overcast

99 2.5

To join or repair cloth with a needle and thread

narrows this general joining to the specific action of stitching over an edge

to sew together

vsto overcast

7 2.3

To join two pieces of cloth with a needle and thread

is specific to stitching over edges to prevent fraying as opposed to general joining

to stitch up

vsto overcast

6 3.9

To sew a hole or loose edge to make clothing whole again

focuses on edge stitching for fray prevention or joining rather than general mending

to seam

vsto overcast

3 3.6

To join pieces of cloth by sewing their edges together

is used for stitching edges to stop fraying rather than joining pieces

to oversew

vsto overcast

Specialized

1 8.8

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

is a general edge stitch used to prevent fraying or join sections

to overlock

vsto overcast

1 6.3

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

is the broader technique of stitching an edge to stop fraying or join pieces

to whipstitch the hem

vsto overcast

Specialized

8.7

To sew the folded edge of cloth by hand with small stitches over it

is the general edge sewing action rather than this named hem technique

Compounds

overcast sky

3 2.5

A sky completely covered with clouds without direct sunlight

How Secure

blanket stitch

Specialized

5.8

whipping

Specialized

4 6.9

to overcast

Specialized

7.2

running stitch

Specialized

1 3.5

basting stitch

Specialized

7.0

Surface Forms

overcast infinitive

overcast past

overcast past participle

overcasting present participle

overcasts third person singular

Morphology

overcast = cast (semi-transparent) = over + cast

The verb is formally 'over' + 'cast' (to sew over); the specific sewing sense of 'cast' is specialized and may not be obvious to learners unfamiliar with sewing vocabulary.

Etymology

Overcast as a sewing verb means to sew over the edge and comes from over 'above' plus cast 'to cover', so you can remember it as 'casting' thread over the edge to keep the fabric from falling apart.