Editor: Liz Johnson

Friday, 19 June 2009 03:00

Of course you can buy piping. It comes in different colors and sizes. But it's still limited, and many times, you just want to stomp your feet like a two-year-old and shout, "Don't like it!" Wouldn't it be much nicer to have exactly what you want instead of "close enough." It takes a little practice, but making your own piping is really kind of fun.

How much fabric do I need?

Depends on what you're making. Do you want piping around the edge of a pillow? Then measure the perimeter of the pillow. Are you thinking of using piping to accent the hem on a set of curtains? Then measure the length of the hem. Whatever you're working on, measure the total length of the seam you want to accent, and then add a few extra inches for safety. For most simple projects, like a pillow, you should be able to get away with about ½ to 1 yard of 45" wide fabric. You'll be cutting it into long strips.

How much piping cord do I need?

You'll need as much cord as you need fabric length. For example, if you are going around the edge of an 18" pillow, you need 18" x 4 sides for 72" plus a few inches for safety, say 75" total. That's just a little over two yards. Get 1¼ yards. Piping comes in various widths: ¾", ½", ¼", etc. The thicker the cord, the more prominent your piping will be. You get to decide.

How wide do I make my fabric strips?

There's a formula you can use that depends on the width of your piping. You'll have to go back into your fourth grade brain cells and remember how to add fractions. The formula is double the width of your cord plus double the width of your seam allowance. Say we have ½" cord and we're using a standard ½" seam allowance. Your formula would be (½" x 2) + (½" x 2) or 1" + 1" which equals 2". Go to the head of the class and make your fabric strips 2" wide.

Can I start cutting now?

Almost. First you need to draw some nice straight lines to cut on. Lay your fabric out flat on your cutting surface right side up with the selvage running along one side.

The selvage is the woven edge of your fabric where is was originally attached to the loom. The fabric's pattern does not continue onto the selvage, but there is likely to be some information printed there that identifies the manufacturer or designer.

Fold the fabric back diagonally so a straight edge is parallel to the selvage.
Press the fold and use this crease as a guide to mark your parallel lines.
Use a straight edge to make continuous parallel lines at the width you figured above.
Cut along these lines with good, sharp scissors or a rotary cutter and straight edge.

Joining the strips

Take two of your strips and place them right sides together at right angles to each other.
Stitch straight across
Lay flat, press the seam open and trim off the overlapping edges.
Repeat until you have one long fabric strip. You just made your own bias tape.

Inserting the cord

Place your nice long fabric strip, right side down on a large flat surface.
Lay the cord in the center.
Fold the fabric over the cord, keeping the cord centered and matching the raw edges of the fabric.
Pin to hold in place.
Carefully move to your sewing machine and adjust the piping so the raw edges line up on your seam allowance marking (½" in our model) and the cord pokes out to the left of your foot.
NOTE: We highly recommend using a zipper foot so your can get as close to the cord as possible.
Stitch slowly, staying close to the cord and keeping your seam allowance consistent. Remember to remove your pins as you go so you don't sew over them.

Attaching Piping

You now have your own beautiful handmade piping. Better attach it to something!

Remember you always sew your piping to just one layer of fabric before joining together the two final layers that will enclose the piping. This helps prevent any shifting that can can result in an uneven edge.

Straight edge

Pin piping to the right side of your fabric, matching raw edges. Make sure you start with enough to leave an approximate 1" tail free at the end.
To turn a corner, clip the seam allowance on the piping up to, but not through, the piping's line of stitching.
This gives you the flexibility you need to turn the corner. We call this "easing" around the corner.
Pin in place.
Stitch along your seam allowance, removing the pins as you go. Again, we highly recommend the zipper foot for this application.

Curved edge

Place piping on the right side of your fabric, matching raw edges. Again, make sure you start with enough to leave an approximate 1" tail free at the end.
Pin in place, clipping the seam allowance as you go to make the fabric lay flat. Clip up to the line of stitching, but not through it. Clip as you go, making as many clips as you need to make a smooth curve. This is called "give" – the little cuts give the otherwise rigid line the flexibility to curve.
Stitch along your seam allowance, removing the pins as you go. Again, we highly recommend the zipper foot for this application.

Finishing

Continue sewing your piping in place until you are back to where you started. Using that "tail" you accounted for at the beginning, cut off any excess piping so you have about 1" to work with.
With a seam ripper, peel back the fabric to expose the cording underneath.
Trim the end of cording tail so it exactly meets the end of the sewn-down cording. Fold under the end of the loose fabric to create a clean edge and wrap around the ends. Overlap about ½" and stitch in place, matching your seam line.

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cjferrence said:

	... This was a very helpful article. I just made new cushions for my porch furniture and used piping all around the cushions and the seating. A HUGE job!!! I can see where I could have done it easier with your info. Thanks.
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June 22, 2009
Votes: +0

christy said:

	... These are good, clear instructions but need to show how to join the ends of the piping where they meet. I purchased piping for a pillow that's made of 3 separate strands of piping twisted together. It's beautiful but I'm not sure what to do with the two ends where they meet.
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June 30, 2009
Votes: +1

liz.johnson, sew4home Editor said:

...
I'm so glad you're finding this article helpful. Piping is such a great accent. Good point on the finishing. The short answer is: you need to peel back a bit of the covering, clip the end of the cording tail so it fits right up against the opposite end, pull the covering back over the cord, tuck the end of the covering under for a clean edge and stitch in place matching your seam line. Now - that all sounds well and good, but I think some additional drawings would help. So -- I'm going to put that on the top of my to-do list and will add those ASAP. Check back often. Thanks for your comment; this will help everybody.

July 01, 2009
Votes: +1

liz.johnson, sew4home Editor said:

	... Hi everyone ... as promised, we've added some additional illustrations and instructions to hep you better understand how to finish off your piping projects. Let us know if this helps!
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July 15, 2009
Votes: +1

chasenanny said:

	... need simple instructions to make a window seat cushion. Help!
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January 05, 2010
Votes: +0

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

...
The closest thing to a window seat cushion that we have at sew4home is our patio party chair cushions:

http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/338-patio-party-sitting-pretty-chair-cushions

But these would be a bit of a challenge to make in a super big size. If the seat isn't too big and you are okay with a the thinner NuFoam insert, you could adapt these to your dimensions.

We also have instructions on how to make a box floor cushion, which you could adapt to a larger size:

http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/257-asian-box-floor-cushion

We have some similar projects scheduled in the coming months, but nothing else I can link to today.

Better Homes & Gardens has a pretty good tutorial, although I don't know that I'd categorize it as super simple.

http://www.bhg.com/crafts/sewing/basics/how-to-sew-box-edge-cushions/