Braided cotton piping cord No 5 / 3 Rolls

Braided Cotton Piping Cord for Upholstery & Cushion Making

Braided Cotton Piping Cord is a cord for creating neat, rounded piping on cushions, loose covers, upholstered furniture and soft furnishings.

Its smooth braided surface makes it particularly well suited to lighter and finer upholstery fabrics, helping the fabric covering sit evenly around the cord without an excessively textured core showing through.

Available in:

• No. 4, 300 metre reel
• No. 5, 200 metre reel

Both sizes are available individually or in quantities of 3 rolls.

see the Piping Cords range for cotton, paper, washable and plastic upholstery piping cords.

What Is Upholstery Piping Cord?

Piping cord is enclosed inside a strip of upholstery fabric and sewn into a seam to create a rounded, defined edge.

Depending on the project, the piping fabric can be cut from the same material as the main cover for a subtle matching finish or from a contrasting fabric to create a more decorative feature.

Piping is commonly used around:

• Seat cushions
• Back cushions
• Scatter cushions
• Box cushions
• Chair seats
• Sofa cushions
• Loose covers
• Upholstered furniture panels
• Decorative seams
• Soft furnishings

As well as providing a decorative outline, piping can help define the shape of a cushion or furniture panel and give the finished cover a more tailored appearance.

Smooth Braided Cotton for Finer Fabrics

The smooth surface of braided cotton cord makes it particularly useful beneath lighter upholstery and soft-furnishing fabrics.

A coarse or uneven cord can sometimes show through a thin covering material, whereas a smooth braided cord helps the fabric form a cleaner rounded profile.

This makes braided cotton piping cord particularly suitable for:

• Scatter cushions
• Decorative cushions
• Lightweight loose covers
• Fine upholstery fabrics
• Soft furnishings
• Suitable sofa and chair covers
• Neatly defined cushion borders

Always test the piping with the actual covering fabric where the finished appearance is important.

Choosing Between No. 4 & No. 5

The No. 4 and No. 5 options provide two piping-cord sizes for different upholstery and soft-furnishing applications.

The final visible piping size is affected by more than the cord alone.

Consider:

• Cord size
• Fabric thickness
• Number of fabric layers
• Seam allowance
• How tightly the fabric is wrapped around the cord
• Sewing position
• Sewing-machine foot
• Compression during sewing

For this reason, where an exact finished piping diameter is important, make a short sample using the actual fabric, thread, cord and sewing-machine setup before cutting all of the piping strips.

Making Fabric-Covered Piping

To make upholstery piping, a strip of covering fabric is wrapped around the cord and sewn close to the cord to form a fabric-covered piping length.

The finished piping can then be sewn into the required cushion or upholstery seam.

A typical workroom process is:

1. Select the appropriate piping cord size.
2. Cut the required fabric strips.
3. Join strips where necessary to create the required length.
4. Position the piping cord inside the fabric strip.
5. Fold the fabric around the cord.
6. Sew close to the cord using suitable upholstery thread.
7. Position the completed piping within the cushion or furniture seam.
8. Sew the finished seam accurately around the piping.

For professional machine sewing, browse Sewing Threads & Twines.

Use with Upholstery Sewing Thread

The sewing thread is an important part of a piped seam because it has to secure both the fabric around the cord and the final upholstery seam.

For many professional machine-sewing applications, Somabond 40's Bonded Nylon Sewing Thread provides a strong upholstery thread available in a wide choice of colours.

Thread colour can be selected to:

• Blend with the upholstery fabric
• Match the piping fabric
• Coordinate with an existing seam
• Provide a deliberate contrasting stitch
• Remain small within a concealed seam

Where the stitching will remain visible, compare the actual thread against the covering material whenever possible rather than relying entirely on colours displayed on screen.

Cutting Piping Fabric with Upholstery Shears

Clean, accurate fabric cutting makes piping easier to sew and helps achieve a more consistent finished edge.

Browse Upholstery Shears & Snips for professional tailor's shears, scissors, thread snips and seam rippers.

Full-size tailor's shears are useful when cutting:

• Long piping strips
• Cushion borders
• Cushion tops and bottoms
• Loose-cover panels
• Upholstery fabric
• Suitable vinyl
• Soft-furnishing materials

Compact thread snips are useful at the sewing machine for trimming loose thread ends without repeatedly using a large pair of scissors.

Where a piping seam needs to be corrected or replaced, a seam ripper can help remove individual stitches with greater control than cutting through the surrounding fabric.

Cutting Piping Strips

The way piping strips are cut can affect how easily the finished piping follows curves.

For straight furniture edges and suitable fabrics, straight-cut strips may be appropriate.

For rounded cushions, corners and tighter curves, strips cut on the bias can provide additional flexibility because the fabric can move more easily around the piping cord.

The appropriate cutting method depends on:

• Fabric construction
• Pattern direction
• Stretch
• Cushion shape
• Furniture profile
• Finished appearance

Patterned and striped fabrics need particular care because joining piping strips can interrupt the design.

Plan joins before cutting wherever the piping will be highly visible.

Joining Piping Strips

Long cushion borders and furniture edges may require several fabric strips to be joined before the piping is made.

Keep joins as flat as possible so that excessive fabric thickness does not create a noticeable lump around the cord.

Where practical, position joins away from highly visible areas such as the front centre of a cushion.

After sewing, trim unnecessary seam allowance carefully using suitable Upholstery Shears or Snips.

Piping for Seat & Back Cushions

Braided cotton piping can give seat and back cushions a crisp, tailored outline.

It can be used around:

• Box cushion tops
• Cushion bottoms
• Side borders
• Seat cushions
• Back cushions
• Scatter cushions
• Bolsters where appropriate

Consistent sewing is particularly important around corners.

Avoid stretching one section of piping more than another because this can cause the finished cushion edge to twist or pull.

Where several identical cushions are being produced, create a sample first and retain the sewing setup so that the piping remains consistent throughout the production run.

Matching or Contrasting Piping

Piping does not have to match the main upholstery fabric.

Matching piping creates a subtle tailored finish where the seam follows the furniture without drawing excessive attention.

Contrasting piping can highlight:

• Cushion outlines
• Chair shapes
• Sofa arms
• Seat borders
• Back cushions
• Decorative panels

The right choice depends on the furniture design and desired finished appearance.

Browse Upholstery Vinyl & Fabric when selecting coverings for cushion and furniture projects.

Piping on Fixed Upholstery

Piping is not limited to removable cushion covers.

It can also be incorporated into suitable fixed furniture upholstery to define seams, borders and upholstered panels.

Where a completed piped furniture section is subsequently attached to a timber frame, suitable Upholstery Staple Guns & Tackers may be used for the frame-fixing stage.

Use the staple gun to secure the appropriate upholstery material or piping tail to suitable frame timber, not to staple through the visible rounded piping cord itself.

Choosing Upholstery Staples

Where piped upholstery fabric is being fixed to a furniture frame, use correctly matched Upholstery Staples and staple gun.

The 71 Series is one of the most widely used fine-wire staple systems in professional upholstery.

Staple selection should take account of:

• Staple-gun model
• Required staple series
• Material thickness
• Number of fabric layers
• Available timber depth
• Required leg length

A longer staple is not automatically better.

Choose the shortest compatible staple that provides adequate penetration and holding strength without creating unnecessary risk of penetrating through a shallow furniture rail.

Staple Guns for Furniture Upholstery

For professional furniture production and reupholstery, browse Pneumatic Staple Guns & Tackers.

The range includes standard-nose and long-nose 71 Series pneumatic upholstery guns, electric staplers and manual tackers.

A standard-nose gun is useful for general accessible frame work, while a long-nose tool may help reach fixing points inside deeper furniture channels or close to adjoining upholstery.

Always match the fastener to the tool manufacturer's specified staple series and permitted leg length.

Braided Cotton or Another Piping Cord?

Braided cotton is only one option within the Status Fabrics range.

Different piping constructions suit different finished applications.

Consider Pre-Shrunk Bleached Cotton Piping Cord where a softer traditional cotton cord and additional size choices are required.

Consider Washable Piping Cord where the cord itself needs to be suitable for a washable-cover application.

For appropriate fixed furniture upholstery, Paper Piping Cord provides another economical piping option.

The suitability of the complete finished cover depends on every component used, including the upholstery fabric, thread, piping cord, zip and any other trim. A washable cord alone does not make the complete cushion cover machine washable.

Complete Cushion & Upholstery Workroom Supplies

Complete the job with:

• Sewing Threads & Twines for professional cushion and upholstery sewing
• Upholstery Shears & Snips for cutting fabric, piping strips and trimming thread
• Upholstery Staples for compatible furniture-frame fastening
• Staple Guns & Tackers for professional upholstery fixing
• Zipping for removable cushion-cover construction
• Piping Cords for alternative cord materials and applications

No. 4 is supplied on a 300 metre reel. No. 5 is supplied on a 200 metre reel. Available individually or in quantities of 3 rolls.

braided cotton upholstery piping cord with a smooth finish, used for creating neat, defined piped seams on scatter cushions, soft furnishings, loose covers and suitable furniture upholstery.

The smooth braided construction makes it particularly suitable beneath lighter and finer upholstery fabrics, helping the covering wrap evenly around the cord.

Available in:

No. 4, 300 metre reel No. 5, 200 metre reel

Available individually or in quantities of 3 rolls.

Use alongside Upholstery Sewing Threads and professional Upholstery Shears & Snips when producing piped cushion covers and furniture panels.

see the Piping Cords range.