Seimi Home-Made Piping

I needed some maroon/burgundy piping, and if you read my post yesterday, you can guess which room I will use it in. During my 31-day's series, I shared with you how to make custom piping. I also shared the wide assortment of ready-made piping that is available. Well, I forgot to mention another option, semi home-made piping. OK, I made the name up....but that's what it is! Here is what you need;

Several packages of wide bias tape (the less folds, the better)

Cording the width and length you desire

Now, how to make it...
Press open all the bias tape. Note, be careful with your iron setting. There is a high polyester content, so keep it low.

To make one continuous length of piping, you will need to join all the strips together. Bias tape (hence the name) is cut on a bias, so you will need to sew the strips together on the bias. This will alow the strips to have some give and also keep your seams less bulky. With right sides together, and allowing an overhang on both pieces, sew along the white line (corner to corner)

Remember to take a few stitches backward so your stitches will be locked in place

Go all the way to the corner, and back-stitch, again

Trim off the excess

Press it open

Place the cording inside the bias tape and fold over

Using a zipper foot, position the needle of the sewing machine as close to the cording as possible

Here is the trick to getting it tight; give a slight pull on the bias tape while sewing. You will need to pull from the top (behind the needle) as well as the bottom. This slight stretch of resistance will give you a nicer finished product.

13 yards later

You have piping the color and width you wanted. Now think of all the fun things you can do with contrast piping. Are you tackling any projects before the New Year?

***Linking to Addicted 2 Decorating***

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They Entertained Me!

I am back, in my warm home, with electricity and my family. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments, tweets, and e-mails. I missed everyone and everything. I have a lot of blog-hopping to do this weekend.

Although I took a pause, I need to finish the challenge! This is the 31st post....for all 31, go here.

For this final challenge post, I want to share with all of you the amazingly talented ladies who entertained, enlightened, and inspired me for 31 days.....you should check them out....it is worth the trip over to their blogs

Older and Wisor

Watch Rebecca dazzle you with brilliant ways to wrap gifts (you will pinterest this)

Nana Moon Shop

Danylle is one fantastic painter!

Rustique Art

Cindi thinks way outside the box...

First Come Flowers

Mimi does an amazing job with 31 days of orange!

More Numerous Than Sand

Naomi is very crafty with her posts

Dutch.British.Love

Watch Jadyn spruce up her entry

insideways

Jen does an amazing job teaching home photography

Shaggy Baggy

Sharon tests her vegetable recipes and her family

Rue de Emily

Do you love blue....Emily has it here!

Living with Lindsay

Lindsay gives the best "how to" for an eclectic home

Life of Splendor

Watch Lindsay finish rooms in her home

Bless

Tone finishes all her unfinished projects!

I can honestly say that I visited each and every one of these sites....all 31 days! I met some amazing women, had a lot of laughs, and worried endlessly about my next post. 

Have a great weekend!

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Got Paint?

......continuing on with the challenge, this is day 29 of 31.....for all 31, go here

The easiest way to transform a room is with paint. Well, now that might be true with upholstery, too.

Imagine if your white sofa had a permanant stain, you could do this

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I think it takes a "pop of color" to a whole new level

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I have never tried painting on fabric....but my friend has....

Danylle over at Nana Moon Shop did this great tutorial with fabric medium. She shows you how to turn this

into this

...and if you learn how to do that....then, you could do this

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Hop on over to check out this great tutorial. She would love to know what you think!

Although there are only two day remaining for the challenge, my upholstery tutorial will continue on Wednesdays. Thanks for stopping by

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What's Your Little Secret?

....continuing on with the challenge, this is day 28 of 31...for all 31, go here

It seems as though everyone has a trick, or little secret as to how they keep their upholstery clean...here is mine

I wanted one of these Bissell mini cleaners for the longest time. Would I really use it? Does it really work? Yes and Yes!


With two kids, a husband, and Buster

Things can get pretty dirty around here. This is my favorite solution

Pet & Stain

So, that's my secret...what is yours?


This is not a sponsored post. It is my honest opinion. In fact, Bissell, call me!

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Transportation

.....continuing with the challenge, this is day 27 of 31, for all of 31, go here

Upholster my ride?

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Recycled

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limo

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Subway

Subway

Catch any?

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Space travel

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Train

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VW Beatle

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Hummer Limo

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Helicopter

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Celebrity RV

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Do you have a favorite way to travel?

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Upholstery 101 (week 5)

.....continuing on with the challenge, this is day 26 of 31....for all 31, go here

If you are new to upholstery 101, start here.

So, this is where we left off

Since then, I added burlap to the inside arms. The same way I did the back

I can't find my craft paper, so I am using wrapping paper to make a template for the foam

With a pen, pencil, marker, crayons.....trace the inside area onto the paper and cut the template

Re-install the edge-roll that was saved from the original chair. The purpose of this is to help keep stuffing, horsehair, foam into shape. It is also there to give a finished look to the front edge of the chair

 You want to make sure that the middle of the roll covers the edge of the chair

Once you like the position, tack it down

Place the template back on the chair. The foam should meet the front end of the edge-roll. I will add 1" to the front of this template

Place the template on the foam and trace around it. Note, it is much better to cut it too large, and trim to fit!

I am sure that you have seen people cutting foam with a turkey carver, well that is because it works the best. However, again...if this is only a one time thing for you, use what you have

Once the foam is cut, I like to bevel the edge all the way around with a razor blade. If you are looking for a crisp square edge, then don't do this

On the FRONT EDGE only, I flip the foam and bevel the underside

Don't worry about imperfections...it will be fine

The under bevel helps allow the foam to sit nicely on top of the edge-roll. The top is beveled too, the photo is not showing it. Next, place a sheet of dacron (batting) onto the foam. This is what will help hold the foam into shape and take some of the pressure off of the fabric

Again, I like to work off of the bolt, but if it is easier for you, trim a piece that is manageable for you. FIRMLY pressing down on the foam, staple along the edge into the wood frame. Be extra careful not to staple into the finished area

Trim off excess

You can see that it is looking softer along the front edge. Tuck the dacron all around the chair, and push and staple....I had my son sit on the foam while I stapled the back. It was not possible to push down and staple from that angle

Here is the seat, slowly gaining it's shape back

Here is a side view

I will l repeat these steps for the inside back of the chair. Note, since my foam is so thick, I will look at the chair tomorrow, and possibly add another layer of dacron over this one if the seat is not holding the shape. 

Thanks for joining me. Hope to see you again, next Wednesday. If you have a DIY upholstery project, I would love to hear about it!

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