I completely re-upholstered a love seat -- it had been in my office for years. The fabric covering it was hideous. I recovered everything, from the wood and springs out. You can buy the cord, encasing the cord in your fabric. You would want to use a much smaller size cord than I did for this piece of furniture, but the piping itself is easy to make. I cut my fabric and pinned it around the cord. Then, using a zipper foot I stitched the fabric around the cord, using the zipper foot to keep the fabric firmly around the cord. It's a neat trick and doesn't really take a lot of genius to do it! After all, I am a complete amateur at quilting, but I've been blessed with the ability to sew and come up with ideas (sometimes!LOL)
Good luck with your quilt! Someone may have much better ideas than mine! This is just my two cents worth!!
Jeanette Frantz