Sewing piping / faux piping

Dear users, dear authors,
over in the other thread piping and faux piping were mentioned.
Could you explain that in more detail?

Sewing piping requires the utmost care, because it should all be the same width. These days, it’s easy with a piping foot—you can’t really go wrong with that. But homemade piping has to be marked and sewn very accurately. If the piping is supposed to stand out nicely, a cord has to be sewn into it, which isn’t that easy either, because it has to be sewn in very tightly. It really helps if you can adjust the needle position; that makes the whole thing much easier.
I don’t think much of fake piping—either do it right or don’t do it at all

Best regards, Inge

OK, and what is piping used for?

Piping, or pintucks, are sewn onto the fronts of shirts and blouses and are especially popular in traditional costumes. Lederhosen often have decorative piping sewn onto the front flap—
you can see the sewn piping very clearly on my Sammy’s pants.
Wide piping is also sometimes used around cushions, such as sofa cushions: that cord-like edging.
A pintuck is a very small type of piping, usually only 1–2 mm high and unfilled. Piping was also used in the past on curtains and sofas; attaching it was a very labor-intensive process. On old oak sofas, you can still sometimes see it on the upholstery.




Best regards, Inge

Thanks for the info

Thanks, Akela—I hadn’t even considered the traditional uses at all.

I can show you piping and faux piping on my hoodie:

Ready-made elastic piping on the hood, faux piping on the raglan seams.
I haven’t tried making my own piping with cord yet.

I thought it was nice to be able to bring back the contrasting fabric here.