Sewing piping with bias silk fabric

16 years ago

Hi! I am trying to sew a basic trifold wallet using woven silk fabric and am having a problem sewing the piping. I cut the silk on the bias have tried to sew it many times but since silk is a bit stretchy on the bias, I don't get the edges right. The edges are uneven and don't look good.

Any suggestions? Is there any particular folder or something that I can use? Anyone have any experience sewing silk?

Comments (5)

soonergrandmom
16 years ago
I would think you would either have to cut on the straight of grain or interface the bias cut.
User
16 years ago
The edges of the piping should be hidden within the seam so don't worry how they look.
keepeminstitches
16 years ago
Do you have a piping foot? It has a groove on the bottom that rides on the cording and makes it a lot easier to do. You will need to move your needle to the right of the cording. Sew the fabric around the cording first with a basting stitch, then insert it in the seam and sew again with the needle slightly closer to the cording. Not easy to describe...hope I'm being sorta clear here.

Mary
zone_8grandma
16 years ago
The reason you cut on the bias is so the fabric can stretch smoothly around corners. If you cut it on the grain or interface it, you will defeat the purpose of cutting it on the bias.

I assume that the wallet has corners?

As Dian57 pointed out, the edges are hidden in the seam.

Here's what I'd do. Fold the piping in half and pin, then hand baste before pinning it to the wallet fabric.. If you are using cording, a piping foot is very helpful.
soonergrandmom
16 years ago
I misunderstood the post. I thought she had cut the wallet on the bias, but after reading it again I realized that she said she was covering the cord with bias binding. I'm not really that dumb.