Perfect Piping Every Time

I love adding piping to projects. It adds a little extra something to a bag or dress. I've used it for lots of projects, mostly purses (you can see some past projects here, here, here, and here) It's taken me while to figure out how to sew piping without a huge hassle. It takes an extra step, but you won't regret it.  Here are my secrets to get perfect piping every time:

1. Pin the piping to the fabric you are using. In this case it's the contrasting piece of a purse. Match the raw edges. I like to leave a little tail at the ends just in case. 

 2. Sew along the already stitched line of the piping. Sew right on it! You can use a zipper foot, if you have one. Sew all the way around.

3. Check your work to make sure none of the piping stitches show. In this case there was a little section that showed so I placed pins to know where I needed to sew a little bit more. I sewed a little closer for the section between the pins in the righthand picture.

 5. Pin the other piece of fabric right sides together to the fabric and piping. Line up the raw edges. Now flip it over to the back side and sew on top of the stitches you made in step 2. Sewing on top of those stitches ensures that you will not be too far or too close to the piping.

6. Flip right sides out and inspect, fix any areas that might be too far and show the piping seems. Finish your project and enjoy!

Hope this helps anyone struggling with adding piping. 

I'm off to finish my project. It's super cold and windy so Charlie went skiing by himself while Penny and I sew and stay warm. 

Lauren