Elastic piping tape

Hello everyone,

I’d like to try making a children’s T-shirt soon. It’ll be made of jersey fabric. I want to add color-coordinated trim to the edges (neckline, sleeves).

My questions are:
What should I look for when buying this type of trim?
And what exactly is the name of what I need?
How do you sew the elastic tape onto the stretchy fabric without it puckering? Do you use the elastic stitch for this—on my sewing machine, that’s the open-tooth zigzag stitch? Or do you use a straight stitch because it looks better that way?

The tape is very narrow, so it probably won’t be easy to sew. You can see the seam on the outside, and you have to get around the curves neatly (e.g., at the neckline). I really need to practice this beforehand so it looks halfway decent.

Thanks so much for your tips.

Best regards, Ina

If you used non-stretch piping tape for the neckline, it wouldn’t stretch and you might not be able to pull it over the head because it would be too tight? So does it have to be stretchy?

Thank you so much for your answers.

With stretchy fabrics, the binding tape should always be stretchy too; otherwise, it won’t work because there’s no stretch. Even with stretchy tapes, use the stretch stitch—otherwise, the seam will tear sooner or later.
Ina, take a small scrap of jersey fabric and sew over it with a regular straight stitch. Then start pulling it as if you were trying to pull it over your head, and watch the seam. You’ll notice that in several places, the stitches you sewed are no longer there because the seam has simply *burst*.

Best regards, Inge

Ah, I see what you mean, Inge. That’s a good tip. I definitely would have made a mistake there. Kids don’t pull T-shirts over their heads gently. The seam really does need to be stretchy. So, note to self: be sure to use the elastic stitch on the elastic jersey tape.

I found the elastic jersey piping tape online on Etsy. Delivery won’t arrive until April 12, though. I’ll just have to be patient. But until then, I can already start working on the pattern for the T-shirt. As a beginner sewer, I’m going to look for a raglan pattern. I do think the ones with set-in sleeves look nicer, but those are still too difficult for me. And Oskar probably won’t care anyway. The main thing is that there are dinosaurs on the chest!

Dear Inge, I hope you have a lovely Saturday afternoon. And thank you so much for your support. Ina

Hi Ina,
I’d approach this project by first getting the sewing pattern—it should list the materials needed for the neckline and armholes.

For your very first T-shirt, I’d recommend a version with ribbed cuffs at the neck and sleeves; that’s much easier to sew than a clean binding.
There’s special ribbing fabric (which is extra stretchy), but of course you can also use regular jersey fabric for this (the measurements and cutting instructions will be in the sewing pattern).

Jersey always puckers a bit when you sew it—sometimes more, sometimes less—so you should press every sewn seam with plenty of steam (focus more on pressing down than moving the iron back and forth).

And double-check that you really ordered jersey piping—piping has a cord running through it, which I’d find very unusual on a T-shirt.
If you do want to use a binding, you’ll need to buy jersey bias tape, which is available at any fabric store.

And very important when sewing (using an elastic or narrow zigzag stitch and a jersey needle): only stretch the trim/cuff, not the neckline!
Tip for beginners: Before sewing on the trim/cuff, secure the neckline within the seam allowance with a basting stitch (longest straight stitch). Remove the basting stitch afterward.

Good luck!

Oh man, Hundsstern, I still have so much to learn. Anyway, thank you for your advice.

I checked right away: I bought elastic piping tape. In the photo, you can see that there might be a cord inserted along the edge. But the description doesn’t mention anything about it. So I’ll just have to wait and see what I get. As a beginner, it’s harder to tell the difference between things, and you often don’t know what’s important. I was already happy that I found “elastic” tape at all. Most of them are made of 100% cotton and don’t stretch.

If you know how to sew, you can of course make your own fine edging from jersey fabric, but I’m not there yet.

I also didn’t know that you have to steam-press the finished seams on jersey. I would never have done that without your tip. Of course, I noticed that the raglan seams on my T-shirt in progress were wavy. I thought it was because of my stitching. That might have been part of the reason. But I’m glad to know that I can now steam that out. Thank you for this tip!

As for the idea that “the patterns should say this or that”—that’s not always the case, as I’ve already learned. You don’t really know how thorough the patterns are in that regard until you’ve actually bought them. And unfortunately, sewing patterns are much more expensive than knitting or crochet patterns.

I wish you and all the readers of this thread a wonderful Sunday evening.

Warm regards from Ina

P.S. Once I have the piping, I’ll post a picture of it here in this thread.