How To: use the Brother Piping Foot for overlockers
Piping adds a beautiful decorative finish to the edge of many textile items.
Cushions edged with piping is probably the best-known use, but piping can be used on collars, the side seams of pants or skirts, patch pockets, the edges of yokes or even around the lapels of a jacket.
Using this presser foot on your Brother overlocker makes inserting the piping and finishing the seam into one single action.
This Brother overlocker presser foot has been developed so it can be used for inserting piping on both straight and slightly curvy seams.
Accessory snapshot
Step 1
Remove your regular overlock foot by raising the presser foot lever and pressing the little black button at the back of the shank. The foot will be released. Manually raise the presser foot lever even more and remove the presser foot.
Attach the piping foot by pushing the presser foot lever upwards and then positioning the piping foot under the presser foot holder, bring the presser foot lever down so the presser foot holder clicks into the little bar on the foot.
Step 2
Pin or clip the two sides of the seam with the piping laying between them. Align the raw edges. On curved seams, you should snip into the piping up to a millimetre from the stitching that keeps the piping cord in place.
Step 3
Feed the fabric and piping into the machine, making sure that the groove on the underside of the foot is aligned with the cord in the piping. Once you know that this is in place, you can sew the rest of the seam. Keep checking that the piping is still in place, especially around curves.
One difficulty I often encounter is that commercially made piping is not available in that many colours. If you want to make your own piping (I mostly do!), cut a strip of 3.5 – 4cm fabric on the bias, fold it lengthways and lay the cord in the fold, between the layers. On your sewing machine, sew right next to the cord using the Brother Piping Foot or the Brother Adjustable Zipper & Piping Foot while keeping the raw edges aligned. You can use any cord that will not shrink when washed. If unsure, wash it before use.
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