Gaani teaches the way a real tailor speaks — in Punjabi. That's a feature, not a hurdle: these are the exact words used in workrooms across Punjab, and once they're yours, any tailor will understand you. Keep this page open while you watch and the words will quickly start to feel natural.

Each term shows the Punjabi word (with its Gurmukhi spelling), what it means, and which part of the suit it belongs to.

How to use this page: don't sit and memorise it. Skim it once now, then come back whenever a word in a lesson doesn't land. After a few chapters you'll barely need it.

The garments

  • Suit — the complete outfit: the kameez (top) and the salwar (bottom).
  • Kameez — the shirt / top of the suit.
  • Salwar — the trousers / bottom of the suit.
  • Kurti — a top, used here as a reference garment when measuring.
  • Dupatta — the matching scarf many people add to a suit. Optional — you don't stitch one in this course.

Measuring & drafting

  • Draft — the paper pattern you build from your measurements.
  • Sample — a practice shirt you stitch first, before cutting your real fabric, so you make your mistakes on cheap cloth.

Parts of the salwar (the bottom)

  • Aasan (ਆਸਣ) — the crotch / rise of the salwar.
  • Godda (ਗੋਡਾ) — the knee panel — the roughly 12-inch square piece at the knee.
  • Kunda (ਕੂੰਦਾ) — the side panel of the salwar.
  • Jholi (ਝੋਲੀ) — the crotch pouch, and the seam there.
  • Belt — the salwar's waistband.
  • Nefa (ਨੇਫਾ) — the casing: the channel along the belt that the drawstring runs through.
  • Naala (ਨਾਲਾ) — the drawstring that ties the salwar.
  • Mohri (ਮੋਹਰੀ) — the cuff / the leg opening at the ankle. (You'll also hear mori, mohari, or pauncha / pahunche — they all mean the cuff.)

Parts of the kameez (the top)

  • Gala (ਗਲਾ) — the neckline / the neck.
  • Baahaan (ਬਾਹਾਂ) — the sleeves.
  • Chaak (ਚਾਕ) — the side slit at the bottom of the kameez.
  • Patti (ਪੱਟੀ) — a placket strip (a narrow strip of fabric that finishes or supports an opening).

Stitches & finishing

  • Tanka (ਟਾਂਕਾ) — a stitch.
  • Kacha tanka / Kacha paauna (ਕੱਚਾ ਟਾਂਕਾ) — basting: a long, loose temporary stitch that's quick to put in and easy to pull out. (Kacha = raw/temporary.)
  • Tarpai (ਤਰਪਾਈ) — hemming with a fine slip-stitch for a neat, almost invisible finish.
  • Aai (ਆਈ) — the "eye": a worked thread bar that reinforces the corner of a slit so it doesn't tear open.
  • Siun / Seen (ਸਿਓਣ / ਸੀਣ) — a seam.
  • Gandh (ਗੰਢ) — a knot.
  • Luppi (ਲੁੱਪੀ) — a thread loop (for example, the loop a snap button hooks into).
  • Judaai (ਜੁੜਾਈ) — assembly: joining the cut pieces into a finished garment.
  • Gum (ਗੁਮ) — concealed / hidden, as in a finish that doesn't show from the outside.

Folds, creases & the sides of the fabric

  • Bal (ਬਲ) — the fold/bend (at the godda) that creates the front crease of the salwar.
  • Val (ਵੱਲ / ਵਲ) — creases (for example, the belt creases). Note: this means creases, not pleats.
  • Sidha / Sidhi (ਸਿੱਧਾ) — the right side of the fabric / right-side-out.
  • Putha / Puthi (ਪੁੱਠਾ) — the wrong side / inside-out.
  • Tedhi (ਟੇਢੀ) — slanted / on an angle (as in a slanted line of stitching).

Words you'll hear Gaani say

  • Palla / Palle (ਪੱਲਾ / ਪੱਲੇ) — a layer (or layers) of the fabric; "keep both palle equal" means keep both layers even.
  • Pakki (ਪੱਕੀ) — firm / secured / locked in place (a back-tacked, won't-come-undone stitch).
  • Mota-mota (ਮੋਟਾ-ਮੋਟਾ) — rough, approximate — a quick overview rather than the exact step.
  • Soot (ਸੂਤ) — a tiny unit of width Gaani uses for small seam allowances ("two to three soot").
  • Ghodey kandhe (ਘੋੜੇ ਕੰਢੇ) — the zig-zag edge finish.
  • Gulai (ਗੁਲਾਈ) — roundness, as in the round shape of a fin
Chapter 1

Punjabi Stitching Glossary

Gaani teaches the way a real tailor speaks — in Punjabi. That's a feature, not a hurdle: these are the exact words used in workrooms across Punjab, and once they're yours, any tailor will understand you. Keep this page open while you watch and the words will quickly start to feel natural.

Each term shows the Punjabi word (with its Gurmukhi spelling), what it means, and which part of the suit it belongs to.

How to use this page: don't sit and memorise it. Skim it once now, then come back whenever a word in a lesson doesn't land. After a few chapters you'll barely need it.

The garments

  • Suit — the complete outfit: the kameez (top) and the salwar (bottom).
  • Kameez — the shirt / top of the suit.
  • Salwar — the trousers / bottom of the suit.
  • Kurti — a top, used here as a reference garment when measuring.
  • Dupatta — the matching scarf many people add to a suit. Optional — you don't stitch one in this course.

Measuring & drafting

  • Draft — the paper pattern you build from your measurements.
  • Sample — a practice shirt you stitch first, before cutting your real fabric, so you make your mistakes on cheap cloth.

Parts of the salwar (the bottom)

  • Aasan (ਆਸਣ) — the crotch / rise of the salwar.
  • Godda (ਗੋਡਾ) — the knee panel — the roughly 12-inch square piece at the knee.
  • Kunda (ਕੂੰਦਾ) — the side panel of the salwar.
  • Jholi (ਝੋਲੀ) — the crotch pouch, and the seam there.
  • Belt — the salwar's waistband.
  • Nefa (ਨੇਫਾ) — the casing: the channel along the belt that the drawstring runs through.
  • Naala (ਨਾਲਾ) — the drawstring that ties the salwar.
  • Mohri (ਮੋਹਰੀ) — the cuff / the leg opening at the ankle. (You'll also hear mori, mohari, or pauncha / pahunche — they all mean the cuff.)

Parts of the kameez (the top)

  • Gala (ਗਲਾ) — the neckline / the neck.
  • Baahaan (ਬਾਹਾਂ) — the sleeves.
  • Chaak (ਚਾਕ) — the side slit at the bottom of the kameez.
  • Patti (ਪੱਟੀ) — a placket strip (a narrow strip of fabric that finishes or supports an opening).

Stitches & finishing

  • Tanka (ਟਾਂਕਾ) — a stitch.
  • Kacha tanka / Kacha paauna (ਕੱਚਾ ਟਾਂਕਾ) — basting: a long, loose temporary stitch that's quick to put in and easy to pull out. (Kacha = raw/temporary.)
  • Tarpai (ਤਰਪਾਈ) — hemming with a fine slip-stitch for a neat, almost invisible finish.
  • Aai (ਆਈ) — the "eye": a worked thread bar that reinforces the corner of a slit so it doesn't tear open.
  • Siun / Seen (ਸਿਓਣ / ਸੀਣ) — a seam.
  • Gandh (ਗੰਢ) — a knot.
  • Luppi (ਲੁੱਪੀ) — a thread loop (for example, the loop a snap button hooks into).
  • Judaai (ਜੁੜਾਈ) — assembly: joining the cut pieces into a finished garment.
  • Gum (ਗੁਮ) — concealed / hidden, as in a finish that doesn't show from the outside.

Folds, creases & the sides of the fabric

  • Bal (ਬਲ) — the fold/bend (at the godda) that creates the front crease of the salwar.
  • Val (ਵੱਲ / ਵਲ) — creases (for example, the belt creases). Note: this means creases, not pleats.
  • Sidha / Sidhi (ਸਿੱਧਾ) — the right side of the fabric / right-side-out.
  • Putha / Puthi (ਪੁੱਠਾ) — the wrong side / inside-out.
  • Tedhi (ਟੇਢੀ) — slanted / on an angle (as in a slanted line of stitching).

Words you'll hear Gaani say

  • Palla / Palle (ਪੱਲਾ / ਪੱਲੇ) — a layer (or layers) of the fabric; "keep both palle equal" means keep both layers even.
  • Pakki (ਪੱਕੀ) — firm / secured / locked in place (a back-tacked, won't-come-undone stitch).
  • Mota-mota (ਮੋਟਾ-ਮੋਟਾ) — rough, approximate — a quick overview rather than the exact step.
  • Soot (ਸੂਤ) — a tiny unit of width Gaani uses for small seam allowances ("two to three soot").
  • Ghodey kandhe (ਘੋੜੇ ਕੰਢੇ) — the zig-zag edge finish.
  • Gulai (ਗੁਲਾਈ) — roundness, as in the round shape of a fin
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