Fix a mistake
Piping drifting off the line: how to stay on target
The icing sits beside the template, shifted to one side.
Quick answer
A likely cause is holding the bag at a changing angle, so the icing comes out ahead of or beside the tip. The fix: hold the bag at 45 degrees and aim the tip right on the grey line, not beside it.
What it looks like
- A whole line runs parallel to the grey line, but next to it.
- Dots, stars or shells land a little off their marks, all in the same direction.
- A curve starts on the line and slowly wanders away from it.
Likely causes
- Holding the bag at a changing angle, so the icing comes out ahead of or beside the tip.
- Looking at the tip instead of the line, so your view hides the target.
- Leaning or turning your body during a long row.
- Starting each unit from where the last one ended instead of from its own mark.
How to fix it
Hold the angle steady
Hold the bag at 45 degrees and aim the tip right on the grey line, not beside it. For dots and stars, hold it straight up.
Look ahead of the tip
Keep your eyes on the next bit of line, a little ahead of where you are piping.
Move your body with the row
Turn the sheet or step along so you pipe in the same comfortable direction each time.
Aim each unit fresh
For dots, stars and shells, place the tip on each mark before you squeeze rather than guessing from the last one.
Where it shows up on our sheets
It is most common with line, dots, zigzag, letters, shells, stars, drop flowers, scrolls, leaves and ruffle. These sheets have strokes where the scorer looks for it first:
| Sheet | Tip | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Lines and dots | 3 | strokes 1 to 3 (line) and 4 to 6 (dots) |
| Zigzags and waves | 3 | strokes 1 and 2 (zigzag) and 3 to 5 (line) |
| Block letters | 3 | strokes 1 and 2 (letters) |
| Shell border | 21 | strokes 1 to 4 (shells) |
| Reverse shells | 21 | strokes 1 to 5 (shells) |
| Stars | 21 | strokes 1 to 4 (stars) |
| Drop flowers | 2D | strokes 1 to 3 (drop flowers) |
| C and S scrolls | 21 | strokes 1 to 4 (scrolls) |
| Leaves | 352 | strokes 1 to 4 (leaves) |
| Ruffle border | 104 | strokes 1 to 4 (ruffle) |
How Icing Coach spots it
Icing Coach works out where the centre of your icing sits compared with the template. When it is off to the same side along a stretch, or a unit lands away from its mark, it calls it drift.
Every score uses the four corner markers on the printed sheet to flatten your photo onto the template, so it compares your icing with the exact shapes you piped over. How the score works.
Sheets to practise it on
These have the leaves, letters, shells where it shows up most. Pipe one, score it, then pipe it again and compare. You need tip 352, tip 3 or tip 21.
Leaves practice sheet
Leaves with a leaf tip in a row, in pairs, in a wreath and in a fan. They frame any flower.
Block letters practice sheet
Spell CAKE and LOVE in plain capital letters. Practise stopping, lifting and starting again cleanly.
Shell border practice sheet
The classic cake-edge shell border. Squeeze, ease, pull: that is the whole move.
Reverse shells practice sheet
Shells that lean one way, then the other, so they hug into a rope. Great for tall or vertical borders.
