QNM Articles & Patterns

Piped Applique

 Instructions

Step 1

Start with a small hand-drawn design or use the one here. To enlarge to the size you want, find a copy shop that has equipment to enlarge blueprints. Most copy machines allow enlargements up to 36". If you want something larger, enlarge it in sections and piece them together with tape. This is your master, or permanent copy.

Look at the design and determine where you want piping. Generally, it is best to pipe those patches that are in the foreground of the design (the uppermost patches). In the design given here, both the heart and hand are piped. Trace the motif to the shiny side of freezer paper, so it does not reverse. The freezer paper will give the fabric support while the piping is added. Cut the paper on the line, and iron to the back side of the fabric. Cut the fabric a scant 3/16"or less from the paper's edge to leave a turn-under allowance. Press the turn-under allowance over the edge of the freezer paper, clipping into the turn-under allowance on inside curves if needed.

Step 2

The size of the patch to be piped will determine the thickness of the piping you need to make. The smaller and more intricate the shape, the narrower the cord you'll need to cover. Tight corners are hard to turn with a fat piping.

Try different things for the cord. Since there are tight inside curves on the fingers, cotton string is best there. An upholstery-weight cord for thicker piping can be used around the heart.

Step 3

Choose the fabric you want to cover the piping. Narrow stripes work extremely well, and a color that contrasts with the color of the shape you are outlining will make the piping stand out. A string covered with a bright color shows up as much as a thicker cord covered with a more subtle color.

Cut a square from the piping fabric. Fold it diagonally and press. Open it, and cut along the diagonal crease. Join the 2 triangles together along their short sides as shown below. Cut fabric strips that are 3/4" to 1" wide, depending on the size of cord to be inserted. Allow 1/2" for the seam allowances. If you need longer lengths, join the strips end to end with diagonal seams.

Step 4

Prepare the piping. If you have a piping foot, you can use that. However, a zipper foot works well, because it doesn't make a seam as close to the cord, and the piping can be attached to the applique with no worry of having the stitched seam show. Make enough piping to go around the heart, and another piping for the hand.

Fold the bias strip in half, wrong sides together, with the cord or string inside the fold. Using thread that matches the bias strip, stitch close to the cording.

Step 5

Attach the piping to each patch by hand, before the patch is appliqued to the background. For some patches, the piping ends can be hidden underneath another patch, or in a seam, or in a seam, as with the hand. With a patch that is completely surrounded with piping, as with the heart, you need to hide the ends. If possible, begin the piping where the beginning and ending won't be as noticeable, such as the inside curve at the top of the heart.

With a needle and thread the color of the patch, not the piping, hand stitch the piping around the heart shape, using a blindstitch that just catches the folded edge of the applique. Stitch right between the turned over edge of the motif and the bump in the piping, getting as close to the piping as possible. Because you are doing this by hand, it is easier to get the piping snug to the edge, and manipulate the corners and turns to keep the piping flat.

Step 6

At the bottom of the heart (or any sharp corner or convex curve), snip a wedge out of the seam allowances of the piping. This allows the piping to lie flat.

Trim the seam allowances to different widths. This helps the motif lie flat, and makes it easier to quilt around.

Step 7

Repeat these steps for the hand motif. As you stitch the piping in place, snip the seam allowances of the piping up to the stitching on the inside curves between fingers. You may also have to snip the turn-under allowance of the motif. In addition, you may need to cut wedges from the seam allowances at the tips of the fingers. Since the ends of the piping will be caught in a seam, there is no need to hide them.

Step 8

Leave the freezer paper in place. Position, and pin or baste the heart to the background. With a thread that's the color of the piping, make tiny straight stitches by hand right between the piping and the heart, stitching through all layers. The stitches on the back can be longer than those on the front. When the stitching is nearly done, remove the basting or pins, and pull the freezer paper through the opening or cut a slit in the background to pull it through. Complete the stitching.