How to Add Piping to a Quilt Border

Use bold piping colors to call attention to the quilt edges.

Adding piping to a quilt border requires special attention to corners to achieve a professional look. Piping adds a decorative finish and can be used to add a pop of color to the quilt. By taking the time to neatly miter corners, the piping will lay flat and the corners will remain sharp.

Things You'll Need

• Piping trim equal in length to the perimeter of the quilt, plus 10 inches
• 2-inch-wide single-fold bias tape equal in length to the perimeter of the quilt, plus 10 inches
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• 45-degree crafter’s triangle
• Water soluble marking pen
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Unfold the single-fold bias tape and lay it flat with the right side facing up.

2. Lay the piping trim flat down the center of the single fold bias tape so the manufacturer’s stitches on the piping trim are perfectly aligned with the fold of the bias tape and the rounded part of the piping lays to the left of the fold. Secure the piping in place with straight pins.

3. Set the sewing machine to a straight stitch and the sewing foot to a pintuck sewing foot.

4. Place the pinned together piping trim and bias tape right side up on the sewing machine. Stitch directly on top of the manufacturer’s stitches on the piping trim to join the piping trim to the bias tape. Remove straight pins as they near the sewing needle.

5. Remove the sewn-together piping trim and bias tape from the sewing machine.

6. Fold the bias tape back in half lengthwise along the original fold. The wrong sides of the bias tape should be facing each other and the corded edge of the piping should extend just beyond the folded edge of the bias tape.

7. Lay the quilt flat on a work surface with the back of the quilt facing up.

8. Lay the folded bias tape with the side that has the tape end of the piping trim on it facing up. The other side of the bias tape will show only the rounded part of the piping trim extending beyond the folded edge of the bias tape. That side should be face down.

9. Place the bias tape on top of one of the four edges of the quilt with the open ends of the bias tape lined up with the edge of the quilt and the folded end of the bias tape pointing toward the center of the quilt. Pull the bias tape upward so there is a 2-inch tail of bias tape extending beyond the top of the quilt. Secure the bias tape in place with straight pins.

10. Place the pinned edge of the quilt onto the sewing machine with the side that has the bias tape pinned to it facing up. Use a straight stitch and a 3/8-inch seam allowance and begin stitching the bias tape in place from the top end of the quilt to 3/8 inch away from the bottom end of the quilt. Secure stitches with a backstitch, raise the presser foot and remove the quilt from the machine. Bias tape is now attached to one of the four edges of the quilt.

11. Lay the quilt flat on a work surface with the recently attached bias tape face up and on the right, not left, side edge of the quilt. Make an L shape with the bias tape by folding the bias tape outward from the quilt at the bottom edge of the quilt. The bias tape should now be extending to the right of the quilt and the open end of the bias tape should be in a straight line with the bottom edge of the quilt. This will create a 45-degree fold in the bias tape.

12. Hold the 45-degree fold of the bias tape in place with the pointer finger of your nondominant hand and use your dominant hand to pull the bias tape back toward the quilt so the open end of the bias tape lies directly on top of the bottom edge of the quilt and the folded end of the bias tape points toward the center of the quilt. Use a straight pin to hold the folded corner in place. This forms a mitered corner with the bias tape.

13. Return the quilt to the sewing machine and stitch the bias tape in place along the edge of the quilt just as you stitched it in place for the first of the four quilt edges. Begin your stitches at the mitered corner edge of the quilt and use a 3/8-inch seam allowance along the entire edge of the quilt. As you near the next corner, repeat the mitering process.

14. Stitch around the entire perimeter of the quilt, mitering each corner as it is reached until you reach your starting point. Backstitch to secure the stitches in place and remove the quilt from the sewing machine.

15. Fold the quilt in half diagonally with the front sides of the quilt facing each other to create a triangle. The two loose ends of bias tape that extend beyond the quilt edges will lay directly on top of each other when the quilt is folded this way.

16. Lift the top piece bias tape and fold it lengthwise. Press the folded bias tape firmly between your fingers to mark the fold. Unfold the bias tape. The folded mark is the center point of the bias tape.

17. Place the 45-degree crafter’s triangle on top of the top piece of bias tape with the pointed tip aligned with center point of the bias tape. Use the water-soluble marking pen to draw a 45-degree triangle onto the bias tape. One of the 45-degree lines should extend from the center point of the bias tape to the rounded edge of the piping, and the other 45-degree line should extend from the center point of the bias tape to the final stitch on the bias tape. Set the 45-degree crafter’s triangle aside.

18. Keep the quilt folded in half diagonally and return it to the sewing machine. Stitch the two pieces of bias tape together along the marker-drawn 45-degree triangle lines.
    Use the scissors to trim the bias tape to 3/8 inch beyond the sewn 45-degree triangle.

19. Flip the bias tape over to the front side of the quilt along all four edges of the quilt and unfold the quilt from the triangle shape back to its original shape.

20. Topstitch near the piping edge along the entire perimeter of the bias tape.