How to Make Piping for a Slipcover

I finally made a couch slipcover for our couch! It’s a happy day at our house but to make a slipcover is a process. So I will be showing the steps of making a slipcover in several posts rather than one very long post. And today I will be showing you how to make piping then how to add it to your cushion. Here is a picture of my finished cushions, just to give you an idea…

First, measure the length of piping you will need. For example: my cushions were 34 1/4″ x 23 3/4″, making the circumference of the cushion 116″. Then add an extra 5″ to that measurement. Making it 121″ for one side of the cushion. So for one cushion, I need 121″ two times. 

After you have the length, you will cut 2″ strips of fabric at that length. I used 6/32″ cotton piping for this project. 

When making piping you will be using your zipper foot on your sewing machine (unless you have a piping foot). Place piping inside fabric and sew along the piping. TIP: Make sure you are not trying to get as close as possible to the piping. Just let the zipper foot sew by the piping.

When you are almost to the end of your fabric, stop stitching 5″ from the end and cut your piping a little smaller than the end of the fabric.

Start pining piping to cushion fabric (I will show how cut the cushion in another post), make sure you start with the closed end of the piping and start at the BACK of the cushion. Unpicking the fabric is really NO fun and I did it a lot… When you get to any corner make sure you clip the piping fabric so it will turn easier. I wish I would have done my cushions with a little more of a curve around the edges.

After you have pinned all the way around your cushion, you will now finish the piping.

Trim your piping (not fabric) to the end of the other piping end.

Taking the fabric of the piping, turn the end to make a triangle. See picture below for example.

Insert the closed piping into other piping (triangle side). Then pin into place.

Trim the excess fabric.

Now sew piping onto cushion fabric, using your zipper foot and sewing along the piping. TIP: Again do not sew as close as possible to piping, just next to it.

Now you are done with the piping step of making a slipcover!