tailor's chalk

6.9

A thin, flat piece of chalk that people who make clothes use to mark cloth before cutting or sewing

noun
/ˈteɪlɚz tʃɔk/

Specialized

: tiza de sastre

The white marks from the tailor's chalk disappear when the fabric is pressed.

Examples

A piece of tailor's chalk is essential for accurate dressmaking.
She marked the hemline with tailor's chalk before starting to sew.
I need tailor's chalk!
She used tailor's chalk to mark the fabric.
The tailor used a piece of tailor's chalk to mark the fabric for the new suit.
Before cutting the cloth, he made sure to outline the pattern with tailor's chalk.
She picked up a tailor's chalk from the table to draw guidelines on the dress material.

Synonyms

French chalk

vstailor's chalk

Specialized

8.1

A soft white stick used to mark cloth and remove grease stains

is a thin flat piece used to mark fabric for cutting and fitting

How Soft

soapstone

2 6.5

French chalk

Specialized

8.1

tailor's chalk

Specialized

6.9

pencil

17 1.0

Surface Forms

tailor's chalk singular

tailor's chalks plural

Morphology

tailor's + chalk

The phrase combines 'tailor' (a person who makes or alters clothes) with 'chalk' (a marking/writing material), so it literally denotes the type of chalk used by tailors for marking fabric. The possessive+noun pattern and the function (temporary marking) are predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Tailor's chalk comes from how tailors used a thin piece of chalk to draw temporary lines on fabric. Those marks would rub off or disappear when the cloth was pressed, so the chalk was used as a 'temporary' guide when cutting and sewing.