| Word | Description |
| Chain piecing | When you sew patchwork pieces one right after the other in a chain, without backstitching after sewing each set. |
| Channel stitching | Rows of quilting running straight across a quilt that are sewn parallel to each other. |
| Color wheel | A circular device that has colors marked on it so you can see the relationship between primary, secondary and tertiary colors and the tints and shades of each. There are several different color wheels. The Ives Color Wheel – or the Color Wheel of Light – is the one that is used for dying fabric. Its three primary colors are magenta, yellow and cyan. |
| Complementary colors | Colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel. On the color wheel, purple is directly across from yellow; green is across from magenta. These are complementary colors. |
| Continuous sashing | Sashing that separates rows or columns of blocks on a quilt, and does not include cornerstones. |
| Cornerstones | Squares of fabric pieced within sashing or border strips that usually align in the block corners or outside corners in the case of cornerstones in the border. |
| Crazy quilts | Quilts that are made by covering a foundation piece of fabric with odd-shaped pieces of fabric, and usually include fabrics other than cotton - for example velvet, silk, corduroy. The fabrics are often embellished with fancy embroidery stitches. |
| Cross grain (crosswise grain) | Threads running perpendicular to the selvedge of the fabric. These threads run the width of the fabric. |
| Crosshatch quilting | Quilting that is done in lines across the quilt going in opposing directions - vertical and horizontal (creating squares) or crossing at an angle (creating diamonds). |
| Cutting mat | Surface used for cutting with a rotary cutter. The mat protects your tabletop and can also serve as a measuring tool when you use the gridlines on the mat to line up your fabric. Many mats are self-healing which means that the blade of the rotary cutter will not create permanent groves in the mat. |