Sew Gorgeous; good old fashioned fun - sewing workshops and parties

Sunday 17 March 2013

Invisible zip tutorial

I double heart with cherries on top invisible zips, I think they are super easy and very very tidy. I would invisible zip the world if I could!
There are reasons why we don't always use invisible zips as unfortunately they can't go everywhere as they don't have enough strength to withhold a lot of pressure.  Usually they only go in skirts or the side of dresses (as our shoulder blades when we bend forward and stretch can pop them open - remember Sofia Vegara's butt doing that to her oscars dress??)
Lets get started - don't be scared, I'll be right here holding your hand....

With right sides facing, line up the edge of the zipper tape to the edge of the fabric (Yes -  your zip is face down on the outside of your skirt! Crazy I know, but wait, it will all make sense)
Insert the first pin with the zip up but then unzip the zip for the rest of the pinning and sewing.

Make sure your pins heads (the coloured part of your pin) are below the pointy bits as we will be sewing from the top down and you want to be able to pull the little suckers out easily.



When you get to the seam that you’ve stitched earlier, simply push your zip inside. You want to have lined up the zip teeth as close as possible to the seam line – this might mess up your “edge of tape to edge of fabric” but will avoid the dreaded bump at the bottom of your zip.


Place your fabric and zip under the foot - make sure there is ONE layer of fabric and the zip is on top of the fabric.
Rolling the teeth out slightly to fit into the tracks of your zip foot, Start stitching at the plastic stopper all the way down until the seam – don’t do anything crazy here! Just stop, reverse and pull your threads and fabric out. One side done!!
Pull your garment inside out and repeat the above steps – VOILA you have a gorgeous invisible zip!

Told you it would all make sense in the end…..

My tips;
      

  • Use an invisible zip foot – a low cost accessory that WILL save you time and hassle – worth every penny – pop over to our shop to pick one up for $12.00 and free shipping! HERE: Sew Gorgeous Shop!
  • Always sew from the top down and work one side at a time, starting at the stopper
  • Don’t forget to reverse at the beginning and the end
  • Always sew with the zip open
  • Breathe and take it slow... rome wasn't built in a day, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step etc etc

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