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 2¼ 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.

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

Joining the strips

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

Inserting the cord

1. Place your nice long fabric strip, right side down on a large flat surface.
2. Lay the cord in the center.
3. Fold the fabric over the cord, keeping the cord centered and matching the raw edges of the fabric.
   
4. Pin to hold in place.
5. 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.
   
6. 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

1. 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.
2. Start stitching about ¼" - ½" from the raw end of the piping (to facilitate the clean finish outlined below).
3. To turn a corner, clip the seam allowance on the piping up to, but not through, the piping's line of stitching.
4. This gives you the flexibility you need to turn the corner. We call this "easing" around the corner.
   
5. Pin in place.
6. Stitch along your seam allowance, removing the pins as you go. Again, we highly recommend the zipper foot for this application.

Curved edge

1. 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.
2. 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.
   
3. As above, start stitching about ¼" - ½" from the raw end of the piping (to facilitate the clean finish outlined below).
4. Stitch along your seam allowance, removing the pins as you go. Again, we highly recommend the zipper foot for this application.

Finishing

1. 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.
2. With a seam ripper, peel back the fabric to expose the cording underneath.
   
3. 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. Lift up that little bit of the start of the piping you left loose at the beginning and wrap this folded end under and around, overlapping about ½".
4. Stitch in place, matching your seam line.