How to Sew Piping with a Pintuck Foot or Pipe Cord Foot

Making and sewing piping is not difficult given the correct sewing machine foot for piping. This video and photo tutorial will show how to make your own piping with a sewing machine and a pintuck foot.

Making your own sewn piping is preferable to purchasing piping. When sewing piping yourself, you can use the same fabric as in your project.

What does piping mean in sewing?

Piping is a trim or edging formed by sewing a thin strip of folded fabric such as bias binding into a narrow tube and attaching it to the edge of a piece of fabric to define or reinforce the style lines of a garment or project.

A cord such as yarn, cording, crochet yarn or other piece of rounded cord can be included within the edging to give it extra body and shape.

What is the difference between cording and piping?

The major difference between cording and piping is that with piping, the cording is enclosed in fabric, allowing it to blend nicely into a sewing project. On the other hand, cording is more versatile and can stand alone, not needing to be sewn into fabric for a project.

What sewing machine foot is best for piping?

It is possible to make piping using a piping foot or cord foot, or a pin-tuck foot. A pin-tuck foot with little grooves at the bottom will be used for this tutorial.

Another option for making piping is to use a zipper foot. This is a good option if you do not have a piping foot, cord foot or pin-tuck foot.

Learn more about how to make piping by watching our video or reading this post.

COMPLETE VIDEO TUTORIAL AVAILABLE! The video below is a preview with no audio, to watch the whole video tutorial, click the link How to Sew Piping with a Pintuck Foot or Pipe Cord Foot to watch in Youtube.

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WHAT YOU NEED to sew piping

Fabric
Cotton Piping Cord (purchase at Amazon or Joann) or cotton crochet yarn
Sewing machine
Pipe Cord foot or Pin-tuck presser foot
Sewing notions

INSTRUCTIONS for making piping

STEP 1: determine the size of the fabric needed

To determine the size of the fabric needed, measure the cord that will be used for the piping.

First, measure the width of the cord. Then using a calculator, multiply the width of the cord by 2, then add the width of the seam allowance multipied by 2. This will give the width of the fabric strip(s) needed.

Width of Fabric Strips = (Width of Cord * 2) + (Width of Seam Allowance * 2)

For example, if I have a 1/4" wide cording and will be using a 1/2" seam allowance, the calculation will be:

(1/4" * 2) + (1/2" * 2) = 1-1/2" wide fabric strips

The length of the fabric strip will be the same as the length of the cording needed. If you need more than one fabric strip, join the strips together with a diagonal seam.

If the piping will be sewn onto a curve, the fabric must be cut on the bias. Straight-edge piping fabric can be cut on a straight grain.

step 2: prepare the sewing machine

Install the pin-tuck presser foot and thread the sewing machine. The pin-tuck presser foot has grooves on the bottom, perfect for this type of project.

For this tutorial, a contrasting thread has been used to show the stitching. For the actual project, use a coordinating thread.

step 3: place the cording for sewing piping

Lay the piece of cut fabric on the work surface, with the wrong side up.

Place the cording in the center down the length of the fabric.

Fold the fabric in half, keeping the cording at the right edge of the folded fabric.

Place the length of the fabric under the presser foot, and move the needle to the right so it is close to the cording.

step 4: sew along the cording to make piping

Begin sewing at the top of the fabric and cording, stitching close to the yarn or other cording, forming the piping.

Continue sewing down along the edge of the cording, encasing it in the fabric.

That's it! The piping is now sewn and ready to be attached to the garment or other project that it was made for.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make piping for future projects. Enjoy!

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about this project, contact us through the YouTube Video comments or our Contact Us page. We respond to questions in e-mails and YouTube comments regularly.