Tip 21: what it pipes, with free practice sheets

About tip 21

Tip 21 is the open star tip behind the classic cake edge, and four of our sheets use it: shell border, reverse shells, stars and C and S scrolls. The ridges it leaves make shells and stars look textured, but they also show uneven pressure as uneven ridges.

It asks for two different moves. Stars are piped with the bag straight up: squeeze, stop squeezing, then lift. Shells and scrolls are piped at 45 degrees with a squeeze, ease and pull, where the tail of one shell is covered by the start of the next. Learn the stars and the shell border first; the 30-day plan does exactly that in week 1.

What tip 21 pipes

• Shell borders
• Stars
• Reverse shells
• Scrolls

How to pipe with it

The rhythm and bag angle our sheets use for each shape, in the order you squeeze.

1. 1

   Shells: squeeze, ease, pull

   Squeeze and let the icing fan out, ease off, then pull away to make the tail. Hold the bag at 45 degrees.

2. 2

   Stars: squeeze, stop, lift

   Hold the bag straight up, squeeze, stop squeezing, then lift straight up. Hold the bag at 90 degrees, straight up.

3. 3

   Scrolls: squeeze, ease, pull

   Start with a firm squeeze at the fat end, ease as you curve, and pull into a thin tail. Hold the bag at 45 degrees.

How big our sheets size it

Each template on our sheets is drawn as wide as the icing should be. For tip 21, that is about:

Your bead can come out a little bigger or smaller depending on your icing and how hard you squeeze. The score checks that it stays even and on the template.

Every stroke tip 21 pipes on our sheets

Shell border

• Stroke 1: a 142 mm row of about 14 shells. Squeeze and let the icing fan out, ease off, then pull away to make the tail.
• Stroke 2: a 142 mm row of about 14 shells. Tuck each new shell just over the tail of the last one.
• Stroke 3: a 161 mm row of about 16 shells. Follow the gentle wave and keep every shell the same size.
• Stroke 4: a 147 mm row of about 15 shells. Follow the curve like the edge of a round cake: turn the bag a little each shell.

Reverse shells

• Stroke 1: a 177 mm row of about 18 shells. Pipe one shell leaning left, the next leaning right, and keep the tails tucked in.
• Stroke 2: a 196 mm row of about 20 shells. A little more swing this time: let each shell curl into the one before.
• Stroke 3: a 111 mm row of about 11 shells. Now top to bottom: turn your wrist and work down the line.
• Stroke 4: a 111 mm row of about 11 shells. Stay relaxed: aim for matching shells down the whole column.
• Stroke 5: a 111 mm row of about 11 shells. Last column: finish with a long, even pull on the final tail.

Stars

• Stroke 1: 8 stars, each about 10 mm across. Hold the bag straight up, squeeze, stop squeezing, then lift straight up.
• Stroke 2: 8 stars, each about 10 mm across. Same pressure each time so every star matches its neighbour.
• Stroke 3: 10 stars, each about 10 mm across. Pack them close in a pyramid: the points should just touch.
• Stroke 4: 10 stars, each about 10 mm across. Make a wreath: start at the top and go round clockwise.

C and S scrolls

• Stroke 1: 4 scrolls, 185 mm of piping in all. Start with a firm squeeze at the fat end, ease as you curve, and pull into a thin tail.
• Stroke 2: 6 scrolls, 245 mm of piping in all. Pipe pairs that face each other, like a pair of brackets.
• Stroke 3: 4 scrolls, 232 mm of piping in all. S scrolls: swing one way, then back the other in one flowing move.
• Stroke 4: 4 scrolls, 232 mm of piping in all. Mirrored S scrolls: lean the other way and keep the tails thin.

Mistakes to watch with tip 21

• Different sizes: Count the same rhythm for every one (squeeze, ease, pull) so each gets the same amount of icing.
• Peaks on dots: Stop squeezing before you lift, then flick the tip sideways to break the icing off cleanly.
• Thin then thick: Keep the same squeeze and the same speed from start to finish, following the pacer.
• Gaps and breaks: Keep the same gentle squeeze all the way and only stop squeezing at the very end.

Tip 21 in the 30-day challenge

You need tip 21 on 10 of the 30 days in the 30-day piping challenge:

• Day 2 · New sheet · starsHold the bag straight up. Squeeze, stop squeezing, then lift straight up so no peak is left behind.
• Day 4 · New sheet · shell borderSqueeze, ease, pull. Tuck each new shell just over the tail of the last one.
• Day 7 · Checkpoint · shell borderWeek 1 checkpoint. Compare with day 4: are the shells more even in size and spacing?
• Day 11 · New sheet · reverse shellsOne shell leaning left, the next leaning right, tails tucked in.
• Day 12 · Repeat · starsRepeat of day 2. Same pressure on every star so they match.
• Day 15 · New sheet · C and S scrollsFirm squeeze at the fat end, ease as you curve, pull into a thin tail.
• Day 19 · Repeat · reverse shellsRepeat of day 11. Aim for matching shells down the whole column.
• Day 21 · Checkpoint · shell borderWeek 3 checkpoint. Third time on this sheet: compare with days 4 and 7.
• Day 23 · Repeat · C and S scrollsRepeat of day 15. Mirrored scrolls: keep the tails thin.
• Day 27 · Repeat · starsThird star sheet. Pack the pyramid close so the points just touch.