I agree. What's wrong with "quilt top"?

Certainly doesn't sound like a flattering term for a quilt.

I knew what the word meant but I just thought the term was used in different areas of the world. I know in my area we call it a quilt top

-Hmmm flimsy has a much better sound to it than UFO does. Especially to non-quilters. I was out visiting a friend and her boyfriend showed up so to get out of there politely I told her I had to get home and finish a UFO -The looks on their faces was priceless. Now he thinks I'm mechanically inclined and wants me to work on his truck-not the brightest bulb in the package.

I asked the same question for years and just last week if fell out of my mouth with such ease that I was astonished. I needed to then explain that a flimsy is the pieced top that has not yet been layered and quilted. You are not alone in wondering what some of our "quilt lingo" means. :thumbup:

Personally I think it's a really 'flimsy' word for a quilt top and just not appropriate at all. Consider Webster's definitions:

lacking in physical strength or substance
of inferior materials and workmanship
having little worth or plausibility

synonyms: insubstantial, sleazy, cobwebby, gauzy

Makes no sense to me at all to use it instead of 'quilt top'. None.

I like the term the more I think about it. It conveys quite a bit of information in a single word. I always found 'quilt top' somewhat inadequate, because the top is so much more than merely the first of three layers. The artistic identity of the quilt is in the top. I think 'flimsy' conveys that here you have the essence of the quilt, it just lacks the supporting layers that will make it complete.

I guess it is a fairly recent term, though I have heard it for a while. After trying to find the origin of the word for quilting with not much success except the definition of the word (part of the definitions: "easily broken, torn, etc. : not strong or solid"), my guess is that the term started to be used in quilting because of the vulnerability of the raw edges and raw seams, a quilt top would be relatively flimsy, regardless of fabric quality, compared to a finished quilt.

I agree that the word "flimsy" has a negative connotation.

Thanks for the laugh, Jeanne.