How to Thread a Cord Through an Eyeleted Casing

Casing channels are used everywhere: in bedding, clothing, bags, covers, home-decor items, and many other projects. You can thread elastic or a cord through a casing with a safety pin—a familiar, time-tested method. But here is an alternative that can help, especially when the openings of the casing are finished with eyelets. Even the smallest safety pin may not fit through them…

We will look at a men's knit anorak made from a pattern in the December 2018 issue of Burda.

For this project, prepare the following tools and materials:

• a cotton cord or elastic cord;
• eyelets;
• an eyelet-setting tool;
• ordinary stationery tape;
• scissors.

Here is the process in detail, using this garment as an example:

Install the eyelets along the front edge of the hood.

Important! Because the garment is made from knit fabric, reinforce the fabric at the eyelet positions with a backing layer (simply use small pieces of knit fabric on the wrong side to reinforce the fabric where the eyelets are set). Remove the excess backing after the eyelets are installed.

After finishing the hood, sew it into the main garment according to the pattern instructions.

Cut the required length of cord, plus 1.5–2 cm extra.

Wrap the first 1.5–2 cm of one end of the cord tightly with tape.

Thread the cord into the casing through the first eyelet and bring it out on the opposite side, just as you would with a safety pin. Here, the tape gives the cord stiffness.

Cut off the taped end of the cord and tie knots at both ends.