All Zipped up....

Instead of putting up a blog post last night, I attended a class at Steve's Sew and Vac in King of Prussia on zippers. I think the last time I put in a zipper I was in college... so quite a long time!

We did four zippers total

Center placement

We started with the basic center zipper. Even this was a little different since I last put in a zipper. We started as I recalled, with basting the seam for the length of the zipper (stopping just a little short, above the location of the bottom stop), and then a regular seam the remainder.  Seam pressed open, then the new started.

Center Placement

We used Wonder Tape.  There are a couple of brands out there, and it's available at sewing and quilting shops, and of course on Amazon.  It is a double faced tape, very light in weight, and washes out.  Ideal for sticking things together for long enough to take your next steps.

So, using Wonder Tape, we placed the zipper down on the seam.  Another small change, we did not match the top of the zipper tape to the top of the fabric, but had it a little bit further.  The recommendation is to purchase a zipper slightly longer than you need.  Once the zipper is in place, the slide is moved down, the excess cut off, and the tops reinforced with hand stitched "stops."  (There are also available metal stops that can be crimped in place).  This makes it so that you don't have to work around the slide, which can make the seam a bit "wonky."

Using the regular or adjustable zipper foot, the zipper was sewn in place -- but first 1/2 inch Scotch tape was centered over the teeth.  The edge of that tape gives a guide for stitching a nice line. I found the Scotch tape a little hard to see, and will be looking for some 1/2 inch painter's tape.

The result was a pretty nicely placed zipper.  My stitching line wasn't the best, but I was using my very ancient adjustable zipper foot.  The teacher was very against the "regular' zipper foot that came with the machine, though later I found it worked just fine.

Lapped Zipper

There's the zipper, hiding

Next up was the lapped zipper.  This is like a center zipper, but with a small "flap" covering the zipper.  Nice for pillows and cushions.  This was done in a similar manner to the center zipper.  The flap is made by making a fold in the seam allowance on one side after the basting stitch seam.  I was very pleased by the look of this zipper.  I look forward to using it for some cushions around the house.

Invisible zipper
Would be more invisible
if I had matched the fabric

Invisible zipper.

 Our next zipper was the invisible zipper.  This is one I remember from all those years ago.  No longer, however, does one have to buy a different foot for each brand of invisible zipper.  No basting seam for this zipper -- it is installed one side at a time, very carefully running the teeth through the channel on the special invisible zipper foot.  An excellent option for skirts and dresses.  I suspect this will be my option when I make the fancy dress (dresses?) for attending weddings in October.

Fly zipper

Fly zipper

The last zipper was the "woman's fly" setting. Frankly, I'm hoping that my notes are good and clear, since this was the end of the class and I think I had reached my limit of absorbing more information.  On the other hand, it's not something I actually expect to use often, and I have my sample and my notes to reference back to. I'm setting up my "classes, notes and tips" notebook and these notes will be there for when I need them.

So, that's it.  I'm certainly not afraid of zippers any more, and will be ordering some of the very cute skirt patterns I've found on line.  But that, as Alton Brown would say, is another post.