Sewing fake piping: Faux piping spruces up shirts and sweaters in no time. And it’s really easy to sew, even for beginners. Take a look at how it’s done!
What is special about faux piping?
Fake piping, also known as faux piping, is a beautiful little eye-catcher that can be used to quickly dress up simple raglan shirts, for example! In addition, the jersey strip in the seam provides stability. It helps support the shape of the finished garment.
All you need is a strip of jersey cut on the grain in a matching color and you're ready to go. By the way, you can also use fabric scraps very well for the jersey strip piping.
My tip: The firmer the piping fabric, the more stable the piping. However, you shouldn't use jersey that is too thick: it could make the subsequent seams, such as the armpit seam and the neck cuff, feel uncomfortably bulky and intrusive.
"Real" piping, by the way, is reinforced with an inserted cord. Faux piping requires no reinforcement.
What fabrics can you use to sew faux piping?
When choosing piping fabric, base your decision on the fabric of the garment you want to decorate with it. If the outer fabric is elastic, the piping should be too.
Clothing patterns made from woven fabrics can also be beautifully piped with simple cotton strips.
The fabric quality does not necessarily have to be the same for the piping and the outer fabric.
A sporty sweater made of robust French Terry* can be enchanted very well with a fine jersey piping. :)
If the fabric for the piping is bi-elastic, i.e., stretchable in both directions, the piping strip does not necessarily have to be cut on the grain. A piping strip cut against the grain from striped jersey looks super cool!
What does faux piping look like?
If worked tone-on-tone, it can look very subtle and only be recognizable at second glance.
If you choose a contrasting color, the piping brings out seams and darts beautifully. This gives the finished garment a sporty retro touch.
For my oversize raglan sweater, I used a soft modal jersey*. It is nice and supple and can be easily included in the seams.
However, modal and viscose jersey* can be a bit slippery to work with. But there is a little trick for that, which I will show you in the tutorial.
By the way, patterned jerseys can also look brilliant on solid-colored tops. Here, there are no limits to your imagination!
What you need to sew faux piping
- 3 cm wide jersey strip*, 1.50 m long
- a cut-out top
- fabric glue pen*
- fabric clips*
- Anti-Glue sewing machine needle* (it is coated and won't get sticky when sewing over fabric glue!)
- color-matching sewing thread*
- sewing machine or overlocker
- rotary cutter*
- fabric scissors*
Photo tutorial: Sewing fake piping
Prepare the pattern pieces as usual.
First, you need the front piece, a sleeve, and the first piping strip.
Place the piping strip unstretched along the armhole to determine the required length.
Leave the strip about 2–3 cm longer at the front and back. That makes sewing much easier for you (and the sewing machine!).
Dot the wrong side of the jersey strip with fabric glue at intervals of 1–2 cm.
Fold the jersey strip lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press the fabric firmly together at the glue points.
Also, dot the seam allowance of the sleeve and front piece with fabric glue.
Guide the piping unstretched along the fabric edge.
The open edges of the piping should be flush with the fabric edge.
Pin the armhole and front sleeve together accurately, right sides together.
Close the first sleeve seam using an overlocker or an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
My tip: Ensure you keep the seam allowance consistent. Deviations will be visible later on the piping.
Attach the second sleeve in the same way. The back piece is worked in the same manner.
Turn the sweater inside out.
This is what it should look like from the right side now:
Fold the front piping toward the front piece, and the back piping toward the back piece, and secure with pins.
Pin the sides and sleeves together, right sides together.
Make sure the piping sections meet exactly.
Turn the sweater inside out again.
Pin the side seams and close them in one go.
This is what it should look like from the right side now:
Now you can attach the cuffs or hem the sweater.
For every subsequent seam, make sure the piping is lying in the right direction.
Afterward, you can topstitch the neckline. This will provide additional security for the piping.
Are you in the mood to conjure up a casual sweater with fake piping for yourself? Then grab my Kjella pattern and get started! :)
Happy simple sewing,
your Sabine
Comments
Comments are loading …