How to Make Cording for a Pillow

Take pillow making to the designer level, and add cording to your pillow projects. Create your custom-made cording by covering purchased cording with the fabric of your choice. Use the same fabric or a coordinating color to add interest and style to your pillows. Cording gives your pillows a finished touch that is both elegant and understated. Construct cording for your pillow project, and take your décor to a whole new level.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cording
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Needle
• Thread

Making the Cording for Your Pillow

1. Measure around the outer edges of your pillow pieces. Your fabric cording will be this length, plus 2 inches for overlap.

2. Place the fabric you have selected for your cording on your work surface. You are creating a long strip of fabric to cover the purchased cording.

3. Measure out the length of the outer edges, plus 2 inches for overlap, and mark the fabric.

4. Measure out the width of the fabric. Make the width 2 inches wide. You have created a long strip of fabric.

5. Cut out the long strip of fabric.

6. Cut a piece of purchased cording the same length as your strip of fabric.

7. Place the strip of fabric right side down on your work surface. Place your purchased cording on top of the wrong side of the strip of fabric, along the center of the strip.

8. Fold the strip of fabric in half, lengthwise, with the cording inside. Pin all along the fabric strip, making sure the cording is inside the center of the strip. You are creating a fabric tube with the purchased cording inside the tube.

9. Machine-stitch the fabric strip closed. As you sew, place the sewing foot so it runs alongside the fabric-covered cording. This will create a smooth, rounded look to your fabric-covered cording.

Sewing the Cording to Your Pillow

10. Place your pillow sections on your work surface, right sides together. Place your fabric covered cording between the 2 pillow sections. Match the raw edges of the cording and the raw edges of the pillow sections.

11. Overlap the 2 ends of the cording. Pin the 2 ends toward the raw edges of your pillow. When you sew the outside edge of the pillow, the 2 ends of the cording will be sewn into the seam.

12. Machine-stitch your pillow. Leave an opening to turn your pillow right-side out.

13. Turn your corded pillow right-side out.

14. Stuff your pillow. Handsew the opening closed.

15. Gently pull the fabric cording away from the edges of the pillow. This will create a nice, crisp edge to your new corded pillow.

Tips & Warnings

• Cutting a fabric strip on the bias will allow thick fabric to stretch and shape around the corners of the pillow.
• Remove the pins as you machine-stitch your pillow. Pins may break the sewing machine needle.

References

• Sewing Piping or Cording