Eowyn Victory Dress Part 4: Piping

The trim along the sleeves of both Eowyn's jacket and dress is gold piping.  I couldn't find any at the local shops, and I wasn't going to go all the way to Vogue or the fabric district to find piping.  Plus, piping is about $2.50 for three yards, and I need a LOT of it.  There was some on eBay, but again,  too much money and waiting. 

So, for the first time, I made my own.

I bought one yard of gold metallic material from JoAnn Fabrics.  With my 40% off coupon, it was about $2.50.  I used 1/8" cotton cording from Home Depot.  It cost me just under $5.

I cut the fabric into strips just over 1" wide, then pinned it along the cording.

I sewed it with a medium length stitch so that it would be easier to rip when finishing the ends.

I sewed as close to the cording as I could without sewing through it.  Because the material is so slippery, it was bunching up a little as I sewed, but if I didn't catch the cording, it would stretch back out.

I finished with about 35 feet of cording for less than $10.  The only thing I didn't realize is that when I went back after putting all of the material on to sew over the edges and prevent fraying, the very act of sewing made it fray more.  I guess I should have sewed the edges as I went along.  It's okay: if it's not usable, I can remake it.  It only took about two hours to make.