Joining Piping

I am working on some Easter Clothes right now. I wanted to share with you how I join two pieces of piping together.


Before you start thinking "Boy , she is using strange combinations for an Easter dress". All the materials I am using for this tutorial are scraps that I have put together for photographic reasons.



The first step on joining piping is to decide where I want the join to be at.


I do not or at least try not to join piping at the seam line for two reason.

1. It would add more bulk to the seam line.
2. It would just be one more thing that you need to line up perfect. Why add stress to your life?

I usually pick a spot beyond the seam line...about 3/4 inches. It is not an exact science. I just want the join to be where it is not very noticeable. If this was an arm hole that I was adding piping to, I would make the join towards the back of the dress.

I have marked my join line with a blue wash away marker. You do not need to mark the point as dark as I have done for this tutorial.







When I cut my piping I want to have about an extra 1/2 inch or so on each end (1 inch total +) so I have working room.

I stitch the piping down, stopping about 1/2 inch from my target point for the join. I am using two different colors of piping for photographic reasons .......Honest! :-)

I trimmed down my piping on the right to about 1/2". I then unpicked the stitching threads on the blue piping so that the piping is exposed.

The piping cord on the blue piping is trimmed down to about 1/8-1/4 " beyond my target point for the join.

The raw edges of the blue piping are turned under and pressed. I want the fold line to match up with my target join line. You could also add a touch of water soluble glue to keep the folded edge turned under.

The pink piping is placed on the inside of the blue piping. It is trimmed down so that the piping cord of the pink piping kisses the piping cord of the blue piping. I do not want any gaps or for the cords to overlap.

Pin the two pipings together with the pink piping sandwiched in between the blue piping..

Stitch the joined piping together.

And I'm done. It is slightly off my target point but once I wash out the blue marker who is going to tell? I certainly am not. :-)

State Of My State

First our dentist, now our family doctor.

With a Chick Chick Here.......

Today is a farm day, which means we need to clean up and get things ready for the summer.

So before every wants to know why I am still in the house I wanted to show you the newest addition to the farm.......Baby chicks.

These little creatures are in my mud room in the house right now. So it is a little noisy but they are fun to watch. The "Pecking Order" begins immediately.




We have had chickens on the farm for a while. About every other spring we bring in some new chicks because the older chickens are slowing down on their egg production.

I have yet to put one of my older chickens in a pot of chicken dumplings. I am a total wimp on seeing the food chain in action.......but there was one rooster a few years back that I so dearly wanted to stick a fork into!

Our chicks are a mixture of Ameraucana (they lay blue and Green eggs) Cochine (they have fuzzy feet) Rhode Island Red and one Golden Comet.

When we went to the farm store to get the chicks, the Golden Comet chick was all by herself in the tub. So of course she got added to the purchase. My Daughter knows that it is not wise to name chickens but she named the Golden Comet "Hailey".

The chicks are suppose to be Pullets which means that they are Hens (girls) but there is a chance that a few may be Roosters (dudes).

The other choice is buying straight run chicks which means they have no idea what they are.

Girl Scout Sleep Over

Well, I survived the Girl Scout Sleep Over which is an oxymoron. No one gets any sleep.


Here is the group picture. We had 130 girl Scouts attending. I asked my troop to wear red shirts so I could see them at a glance. So everyone in red in this group photo belong to my troop.

Here are some pictures of the place where we had the all nighter. I always call it the Bouncy place because of all the trampolines and blow up slides. There are also several foam and ball pits to jump into and numerous things to climb on and through.

The ladies who organized this event did a wonderful job! Besides all the equipment to play on, they also played Musical hoops (musical chairs with Hula Hoops on the ground) and other games and activities.

The big hit of the night was Flashlight tag. The GS grouped into pairs. Then they turned off the lights. The pairs hide somewhere in the play equipment. Then the ones who were "It" had to go find someone.

I am not sure how this teen age boy got roped into working the evening. He is a gymnastics instructor. The girls thought he was cute.

Unfortunately all the GS leaders just got to sit around and watch.

I worked on Wee Care gowns until I couldn't see straight. I haven't gone back to look at my stitches I did that night. I am kind of afraid to look. :-)

Gotcha Day

Today is Gotcha Day!

As my daughter explained to her Pre-K teachers when she was 3 years old. ........This is the day she got a family and the day that we got her.

Nine Years ago this Lost Empress of China entered our lives. We always say we think she is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan because she is excellent at conquering and destroying. She conquers hearts and destroyers obstacles in her way.

This is the photo we sent out as her adoption announcement. The announcement cover said "We finally figured out where babies come from." On the inside was the words "China" with her picture.









She has been my muse through out these years.

Normally we celebrate Gotcha Day as a family day. This year she and I will be spending the night with 150 other Girl Scouts. They are calling it a "Sleep Over"........Why? I do not know because no one is going to sleep. :-)

So after I get a long nap on Saturday we will do something together as a family. She hasn't decided yet what that activity will be.

Ft Worth Wedding

Sorry for the long absence here. I've had a lot of stuff going on since Christmas but not much sewing.

We just got back from a wedding in Ft Worth. The father of the bride is a friend of my husband from pilot training.

The wedding was at the Marty Leonard Chapel. The inside of the church reminded me of the Wizard Of Oz.

Here is a link...http://www.lenapopehome.org/About-Us/Marty_Leonard_Community_Chapel/Marty_Leonard_Chapel.aspx

The reception was at the City Club in downtown Ft Worth.

This picture of the wedding cake does not do it justice.

We sat at the "Pilot Table". Almost everyone at the table was a pilot for American Airlines, the Air Force or the Navy.




I had to take a picture of the flower arrangement at our table. I counted two dozen roses in several shades of pinks. Also if you look in the window to the left you can see the candles that they had in all the windows. Everything was pink at the wedding ( Name that movie?) even the chandelier had a pink ruching.







Also at the wedding was a photo booth. A copy of the photos went into a scrapbook for the wedding couple. We were prompted to take silly photos. I was just laughing too hard to think of anything.