In Praise of Piping

There are few embellishments that are as versatile as piping. In all honesty I am sort of addicted to piping! I am not talking about the generic piping that is sold in fabric stores. Prepackaged piping is overly bulky for most applications, comes in a small range of colors, and is covered in broadcloth of marginal quality.

This post is going to teach a technique for creating your own custom piping. It is easy, and can help define the interesting fashion details of a  garment as it is easily inserted into almost any seam. Here is a photo of the seam between the yolk and the body of a jacket. I inserted piping that is covered in a striped fabric that I cut on the bias.

                                    How to make Custom Piping                                                       

 I use inexpensive crochet cotton as the cording for most of the piping I use in garment construction. It is labeled 4/4 100% cotton and is on a cone holding 690 yards. It is very inexpensive.

 I am using a silk shantung for this tutorial. It has a lovely natural luster and because this piece is a check it will look very nice cut on the bias. Fabric for piping is best cut on the bias because the fabric wraps around the cording more easily, and the finished piping can be sewn into curved seams very smoothly.
 To find the bias grain of the fabric take a square of fabric and fold it like this.

  

Cutting along this fold gives a bias edge.

Cut 1 1/2 strips.You can sew strips together to create enough piping for your project.

Pin narrow cut edges like this.

Sew seam at 1/4"

Using a zipper foot fold the bias strips of fabric around the cording. Sew, keeping the edge of the foot right up against the ridge of the cording.







This is finished piping!

 How to sew piping into a seam:


Using the zipper foot, lay the piping on the seam line (usually 5/8").
Sew with the foot snug against the cording.

Pin the other piece of fabric to the piped piece, and sew right on top of the first row of stitching that held the piping in place.

Flip the fabric over, and press the seam. You now have perfectly inserted custom piping. You can use this technique is limitless ways to give a real look of quality to your sewing projects!