Upholstery projects commonly use piping. You might see it on small pillows, chairs, pillows, and more. Piping is hard to miss, as its border is stitched to the upholstery’s edge.
If you work with upholstery, you should know about different types of piping. Most importantly, you should know when it’s best to use single piping or double piping for an upholstery project.
Uses for Single Piping
Single piping is a border on the sides and backs of sofas and chairs. But it’s most used to slip-stitch a fabric panel to the back or outside panel of a chair.
Another use for single piping is to add a bit of visual excitement to furniture. The piping can add contrast when it’s different from the main piece. You can also use it in a solid color with patterned fabric.
Tips for Using Single Piping
1. Make sure to have enough fabric to pipe the sofa or chair. It often requires more fabric than you think.
2. Cord for piping is available in several different thicknesses. It’s usually best to use thin piping if you’re doing single piping. And you’ll generally want to use thick piping if you’re doing double piping (which is discussed later in this article).
3. You might work on a chair that needs an abundance of piping cord. In this instance, you can join pieces of fabric together to create a longer amount of piping.
Uses for Double Piping
Double piping is like single piping. Double piping creates one row of trim, but two rows of single piping are joined together.
Double piping is often used for more than looks. For instance, it used to hide staples in an upholstery project. Or sometimes, double piping is used for hiding the raw edges of the fabric where it connects with the chair frame.
It’s easy to underestimate how much fabric you need for double piping. Carefully measure the chair that will use the double piping. But when you cut your strips, make sure they’re two inches wide. That will comfortably fit the two strips of piping cord needed for double piping.
Supplies for Single and Double Piping
DAPA Products is a leading supplier of upholstery piping. Their reputation exceeds that of most other furniture piping suppliers. Contact DAPA Products for all your upholstery piping needs. Give us a call today at 1-800-229-3181 to learn more about our products.
