Faux Chenille Accents

Chenille is a fabric with tufted rows but in the quilting and sewing world it is also a tufted, velvety cord or yarn used for trimming clothing, quilts and other projects, made to mimic those tufted rows. There are lots of faux chenille quilt tutorials to mimic the look of the fabric. There are also products like Chenille-It that can be used instead of Chenille for trim and accent work. It creates an eye catching detail, adding interest, character and softness.

Sometimes though, the product won't arrive on time, or you need a specific color. Faux Chenille is quite simple to make and gives you lots of options for perfect color matching or coordinating. Here's how:

Cut the Fabric

For this project I cut three strips of my quilting cotton 1/2" wide and the length of the project. Bias cut fabric will fray a little bit better, but it is not necessary to cut on the bias.

If you want to, you can definitely cut wider strips or add more strips of fabric for a bigger, fuller feel. I recommend trying out a sample to see if you like the width and fullness for the project you are working on. Below you can see 3 different widths and number of strips and the difference in the overall texture as a result.

Cut fabric Strips in your preferred with (1/2" on up) and length.

The difference between width and fabric strip count.

Sew the Strips

With right sides up, stack the strips and align as desired to your project. Sew a line down the center of the strips. Back stitch at the beginning and end for security. Use a matching thread where possible so it is less visible on chenille strip.

Before adding strips to an unquilted top, make sure your quilting plans will not go over the strips. Adding chenille after quilting is usually best. It can be helpful to match the bobbin thread to the backing of the quilt to hide those stitches more.

With Right Sides Up, stitch down the center of the stack of strips. Fiskars Spring-loaded scissors shown here.

Cut the Edges

Using scissors, cut in from the edges of the strips towards the seam every 1/8" of an inch or more. I highly recommend spring-loaded scissors for large chenille projects to prevent as much tiredness in your hand as possible.

Cut the edges of the strips every 1/8" or closer in towards the seam.

Fluff

Using your finger, or a brush, fluff the strips of fabric to cause them to fray and loosen the threads. This will loosen up a lot of threads, but washing the quilt or project will fluff the chenille even more!

Fluff the fabric, making the raw edges fray.

The chenille strip after fluffling.

This stuffed rocket (I was testing the pattern) has chenille strips and scrap fabric Pom-Poms to add character!

Launch Status Check stuffed toy rocket.

If you try this out and share it on social media please tag me! I love to see everyone's creativity.