A piped cushion cover is an envelope or zipped cover with a cord wrapped in bias-cut fabric sewn into the seam around the edge. Cut the front 1 cm (3/8 in) smaller than the insert plus seam allowances, make about 2 m (2 1/4 yd) of piping from 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in) bias strips and 4 mm (5/32 in) cord, baste the piping around the front with a zipper foot, clipping the strip at each corner, then lay the back panels on top and sew around again a thread's width closer to the cord. For a 45 cm (18 in) insert, allow about two hours.

The pattern pieces for size EU 38 / US 6, drawn by Sewly's drafting engine (seam allowances included). Cushion cover →

What do you need to sew a piped cushion cover?

The numbers below are for a 45 cm (18 in) square insert, with a finished cover of 44 cm (17 3/8 in) so the insert fills it out, and 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowances.

  • Front: cut 1, 47 × 47 cm (18 1/2 in square).
  • Envelope back top and back bottom: cut 2, each 47 × 31 cm (18 1/2 × 12 1/4 in). They overlap by 7.5 cm (3 in) once hemmed.
  • Zipped version instead: two back halves of 47 × 26 cm (18 1/2 × 10 1/4 in) and a 40 cm (16 in) zip.
  • Piping strips: bias strips 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in) wide, joined to about 2 m (2 1/4 yd), from the same fabric or a contrast.

Notions: 2 m of 4 mm (5/32 in) cotton piping cord, all-purpose polyester thread, a zipper foot or piping foot, and a hand needle for closing the join. Fabric on 140 cm (55 in) wide cloth: 0.5 m (5/8 yd) for the cover, plus 0.4 m (1/2 yd) of contrast for the piping, or 0.8 m (7/8 yd) in all if you cut everything from one fabric. Choose a medium-weight woven such as linen, cotton canvas or velvet; piping needs a fabric with some body to show its line. Pre-wash the fabric and soak the cotton cord in hot water too: cord shrinks, and a cover with cord that shrank after the first wash puckers along every edge.

How wide should the piping strip be?

The strip must wrap the cord and leave a seam allowance on each side: cut width = cord circumference + 2 × seam allowance. A 4 mm cord has a circumference of about 1.3 cm (1/2 in), so 1.3 + 3 = 4.3 cm, rounded up to 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in). For a bolder 6 mm (1/4 in) cord, cut 5 cm (2 in) strips.

Cut the strips on the bias, at 45 degrees to the grain, so they bend around the corners without wrinkling. A 40 cm (16 in) square of fabric yields more than 3 m (3 1/4 yd) of 4.5 cm strips once they are joined end to end with diagonal seams. How to cut fabric on the bias shows the fastest way to cut and join them.

How do you sew a cushion cover with piping, step by step?

  1. Cut and press. Cut the front, the back panels and the bias strips. If the fabric has a nap, such as velvet, keep the pile running the same way on the front and the backs. Press the seams that join the strips open.
  2. Make the piping. Fold the strip around the cord, wrong sides together, raw edges level. With the zipper foot on the right of the needle, stitch along the cord, close to it but not tight against it: this row should disappear inside the seam later, so a millimeter (1/32 in) of slack helps.
  3. Pin the piping to the front. Lay the front right side up. Starting in the middle of one side and leaving a 5 cm (2 in) tail free, pin the piping around the edge with the raw edges level and the piping stitching on the 1.5 cm seam line.
  4. Turn the corners. Within the last 1 cm (3/8 in) before each corner, clip the piping seam allowance up to the stitching two or three times. The strip then opens and the cord bends around the corner. For a softer look, round each corner of the front with a curve of 3 cm (1 1/4 in) radius: rounded corners are easier to pipe and lie flatter.
  5. Join the ends. Stop pinning 5 cm (2 in) before the start. Trim the cord so the two ends meet without overlapping, fold the raw end of the fabric strip under by 1 cm, wrap it over the starting tail and pin.
  6. Baste the piping to the front with the zipper foot, stitching exactly on the piping's own stitching line. Check the corners and the join from the right side before going on.
  7. Hem the back panels. On one long edge of each envelope panel, fold 1 cm (3/8 in) then 2.5 cm (1 in) to the wrong side, press and stitch close to the inner fold. For the zipped version, sew the zip between the two back halves now and open it halfway.
  8. Layer the cover. Front right side up with its piping; then the back panels right side down, hemmed edges toward the middle, overlapping by 7.5 cm (3 in); pin all around through every layer.
  9. Sew the cover closed. Work with the front uppermost so the basting is visible, and stitch a thread's width closer to the cord than that row. The earlier stitching ends up hidden inside the seam. Pivot at each corner with the needle down.
  10. Finish and turn. Trim the corners diagonally, zigzag or serge the allowances together, turn the cover through the back opening and push the corners out. Press from the back with the tip of the iron, not over the cord, then insert the cushion.
Tip: On the final pass, move the needle one position toward the cord instead of shifting the fabric. The stitching lands the same distance from the cord all the way round.

What are the common mistakes with piped cushions?

  • Basting too far from the cord. The piping then rolls loosely inside a wide tube and looks wobbly. Keep the foot against the cord.
  • Strips cut on the straight grain. They pipe a straight seam but pucker at every corner and curve.
  • Corners not clipped. The strip bunches and the cord takes a short cut across the corner.
  • Pressing flat over the cord. It flattens the piping. Press the seam allowances from the inside, cord hanging off the edge of the board.
  • Overlap too small. An envelope overlap under 7 cm (2 3/4 in) gapes once the insert is in.
  • Cord not pre-shrunk. The cover puckers after the first wash.

When should you pipe a cushion instead of leaving it plain?

Piping suits firm fabrics and cushions that are seen from the side: sofa cushions, bolsters and seat pads, where the line defines the shape and hides the seam. It also stops a seam in velvet or a large print from sinking out of sight. Skip it on very soft or stretchy fabrics, which collapse around the cord, and on covers you wash every week, where a plain seam dries faster and wears better. For a plain version with the same measurements, follow sew envelope cushion covers for any insert; for piping on garments, such as a collar or a pocket edge, the method is in how to make and sew piping.

Can Sewly give you the cover pieces?

Sewly's cushion cover pattern draws the front and back to the size of your insert, square or rectangular, with an envelope back or a zip, and gives the rectangles as cutting dimensions with the 1.5 cm seam allowance included. Piping is not an option in the pattern, so cut the bias strips yourself with the width formula above; the seam allowance it uses is the same one the formula assumes, so the piping lands exactly on the finished edge.