How to Pipe A Shell Border

I like to think of the shell border as the little black dress of the cake world. A simple shell border is enough to complete a cake, but it’s also understated enough to go with tons of other decorations.

If you’re wondering what a shell border is, I’m sure you’ve seen one before. It’s a classic piping pattern created with a star tip. To pipe a shell, you hold your piping bag at a 45 degree angle and squeeze while pulling away. As you repeatedly squeeze and pull away, each shell overlaps the tail of the previous shell.

So that’s the basic premise of piping shells, but how do you get really good at them? I’ve got a few pointers to help you pipe the best shells, plus some ideas for shell designs beyond borders.

What tip is used to pipe shells?

To get the classic shell look you’ll need to use a star piping tip. A #32 is my favorite tip to use.

You can also use any other size or style of star tip. Try a #4B or #1M for larger shells.

What type of frosting works best for piping shells?

To pipe shells you’ll need a medium to stiff consistency buttercream frosting. As always, I love to use Swiss meringue buttercream, but regular American buttercream works just as well.

Read more about different types of buttercream in my post All About Buttercream

Tips for piping a shell border

The hardest part about piping shells is keeping them consistent. Most people naturally want to move the piping tip up and down as they pipe, but this motion creates a bit of a wonky curve in your shells. Instead, it’s better to let the shells build up from pressure alone. I highly recommend watching the video above so see this in action, as it’s kind of hard to understand without seeing.

Try practicing your piping on a plate or cake board before piping on your cake. You can always scrape this frosting up and reuse it.

How to Pipe A Shell Border

1. Hold you piping tip at a 45 degree angle.
2. Give the piping bag a short squeeze as you gently pull away.
3. As the frosting tapers off, start to squeeze and pull away again. Repeat this motion without moving the tip up and down.
4. When you reach the beginning of you border, flick the piping tip down and to the side a bit so that the last tail of frosting is tucked under the first shell. Alternatively, you can just pipe the last shell a bit shorter than the rest.

Piping shells vertically

While you’ll see shell patterns most often used as a border, you can pipe this pattern in any direction you like. Try piping vertical stripes of shells along the sides of your cake.

Piping shells to cover larger areas

You can also pipe rows of shells right next to each other to cover a whole cake. Stagger the shells in each rows so that they fit together without leaving spaces.

Using a “shell” technique with other kinds of piping tips

While the classic shell is made using a star tip, you can use the same technique with other kinds of piping tips. Try the technique with a round tip to create a beaded look, or with a leaf tip to create a ruffle!