Applying piping to the princess seams of a garment such as the Women's Pathfinder Vest or Fable Dress is a simple and effective way to highlight the lovely shaping. A relatively quick detail to add, use tonal piping for a subtle detail, or contrasting piping to make the seams really stand out.
Materials:
- Piping (store bought, or learn how to make your own here)
- Zipper foot
The technique is demonstrated here using the Women's Pathfinder vest, but can be used for any garment with princess seams.
Apply piping to Front and Back pieces
1. Cut two pieces of piping the length of the curved front seams of the vest, leaving 3/8" (1cm) overhang at each end.
2. Pin a piece of piping to the curved edge of each Front Vest piece, applying the piping to the right side and lining up the unfinished edge of the piping with the edge of the fabric. If necessary, make small clips in the seam allowance of the piping to ease it around the curves.
5. Cut two lengths of piping the length of the curved Back Panel seams, leaving 3/8" (1cm) overhang at ends.
6. Pin a length of piping to each of the the curved edges along the Back vest piece, applying the piping to the right side. If necessary, make small clips in the seam allowance of the piping to ease it around the curves.
3. Using your zipper foot, with the sewing machine needle moved as far to the left as possible, baste the piping to the Front and Back Vest pieces.
Your Front Vest and Back Panel pieces are now ready to use as outlined in the Pathfinder tutorial.
4. When you come to Step 2 of the Pathfinder tutorial, you will pin each Front to its corresponding Front Side Panel, right sides together, with the piping sandwiched in between.
5. Sew the Front to the Front Side Panel as in step 2 of the tutorial, again using your zipper foot with the needle in the far left position. Keep the presser foot as close as possible to the piping - you'll be able to feel the lump of the piping through the fabric.
6. Clip and press, as in Steps 3-4 of the tutorial.
Continue following the tutorial until step 17, Back Panel Seams.
7. Following steps 18-19 of the Pathfinder tutorial, pin the Back Panel to the Back Side Panels, right sides together, with the piping sandwiched in between. As described above, keep the presser foot as close as possible to the piping as you sew - you'll be able to feel the lump of the piping through the fabric.
8. You may wish to add a line of topstitching to help secure the seam allowance and affix the piping to one side.
9. Trim the ends of the piping flush with the vest. You may wish to pull a bit of the cording out of the end of the piping and trim off about 3/8" (1cm) to reduce bulk in the seam allowances.
Join us in the Twig + Tale Facebook group to ask questions, look for inspiration, and of course to share photos of your lovely T+T creations. We can't wait to see your beautiful Pathfinder Vests!
Read more about the Women's Pathfinder Vest Here:
- Introducing the Women's Pathfinder Vest
- Upcycle Inspiration for Pathfinders
- How to Finish a Pathfinder Vest with Binding
~Images by Angela Schade, Sarah Morris~
