Piping

Piping isn't just for medical labs and bakeries.  It is a fun little additive that can take a nice sewing job and make it a little extra special.  While you can buy piping at your local fabric store in a rainbow of colors, sometimes what you really need is something that is an exact match for what you're working on.  Sometimes, you need to make your own, which is what I did with Chef Seanna's little apron.

You remember my supercute butterfly apron for sweet Miss Seanna, right?  Well, because I added the contrasting top to the bib of the apron, I really wanted to have some sort of special border for it; a regular seam line just seemed so...blah.

So I considered running out to buy some fun piping when I spied something out of the corner of my eye - a ball of yarn.  Why I end up with balls of yarn at my house, I don't know.  I think there is a part of my craft brain which is constantly pretending it can do things like knit or crochet.  I would like to inform it that this is simply a lie and it needs to get with the program and stop buying yarn.  Except for this one time, when it came in handy.  Because to make piping, you really only need a piece of yarn or thick string and a piece of fabric.

You can see the piping detail a little more clearly in this photo.  Now, technically, you are supposed to cut your fabric on the bias, as if you were going to make bias tape, so that it would work around curves.  But I knew I had no curves to work around, so a straight piece of scrap cloth would be just fine.

It is so easy that you're all going to do a *facepalm* right at your computer.  Are you ready?

• Cut a piece of fabric about 3/4 of an inch wide by a little bit longer than you need it to be.
• Cut a piece of yarn/string a little longer than you need it to be.
• Wrap the fabric around the yarn/string.
• Using your zipper foot, place foot against the side of the yarn/string and sew a straight stitch, encasing the yarn in the fabric.
• Voilá, piping.

I hope that didn't hurt your hand or your face too bad.

But now you can all go out and start adding matching piping to everything!