sew

To sew is to join fabric or other soft material with a needle and thread. You might think of someone fixing a torn shirt, adding a button, or making a dress from scratch. It is both a useful daily skill and a craft people have practiced for a very long time.

You can sew by hand, making each stitch one by one, or with a sewing machine, which makes the work faster. People sew clothes, quilts, costumes, bags, and many other things. If something comes "unsewn," the stitches have come apart.

Sewing means using a needle and thread to join pieces of fabric or to attach one thing to another with stitches. People sew to make clothes, fix tears, put a button back on, shorten pants, or create items like quilts, bags, and costumes. The basic idea is simple: stitches hold the material together.

This is an old human skill. Long before modern machines, people made and repaired clothing by hand. Today, some people sew for practical reasons, like fixing a hole or changing the size of a shirt, while others do it as a hobby or as part of their work. A tailor, dressmaker, or quilter may sew with great care to create strong seams or beautiful patterns.

The word can also be used a little more broadly. A doctor may sew a wound closed with stitches. In informal English, if something is "all sewn up," it means it is settled or almost certain to succeed.

So, whether someone is repairing a sleeve, making a new skirt, or closing a wound, sewing is about joining things carefully with stitches.