How to Put in a Zipper Using a Zipper Foot
Each person who enjoys sewing may find himself avoiding patterns that require him to master certain skills such as gathers, buttons or curved seams. One skill that can be especially frustrating to master is the insertion of a zipper into a garment. Sewing a zipper into a garment with a zipper foot makes the whole process much easier as it allows you to utilize the teeth of the zipper to keep the visible stitching nice and straight.
Things You'll Need
- Garment
- Ruler
- Conventional zipper
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Presser foot
- Seam ripper
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Zipper foot
Instructions
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1
Turn the garment inside out if it isn't already.
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2
Measure the length of the opening in the seam where the zipper is to be sewn and the zipper. Make sure the opening is as long as the zipper plus 1 inch.
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3
Pin the the opening closed with straight pins by lining up the raw edges and pinning the two layers of fabric in place.
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4
Sew a basting stitch with your sewing machine loaded with the standard presser foot. Sew the basting stitch down the seam line. Refer to your sewing machine's manual for instructions on how to change the feet of your machine as each machine is different.
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5
Rip the basting stitch every 2 inches with a seam ripper to make it easier to remove later. Be careful not to unravel the entire basting during this step.
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6
Press the seam open with an iron on an ironing board.
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7
Open the zipper and place half the zipper on the right side of seam allowance with the teeth of the zipper lined up with the seam and the whole zipper face down. The top stop in the zipper 1 inch below the top raw edge of the garment. Pin the right side in place. You are only pinning the zipper to the seam allowance, not through to the outside of the garment.
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8
Switch out the presser foot for the zipper foot on your machine with it to the right of the needle.
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9
Baste up the length of the pinned part of the zipper close to the teeth by keeping the zipper foot against the teeth. Remove the pins as you go to prevent breaking a needle.
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10
Close the zipper.
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11
Turn the zipper so it is face up.
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12
Smooth the fabric away so it isn't over the top of the zipper. The fabric of the seam allowance will be folded between the teeth of the zipper and the basted seam.
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13
Pin through the fabric and that half of the zipper to hold it in place.
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14
Move the zipper foot to the left side of the needle.
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15
Sew up the length of the zipper, keeping the foot butted up against the teeth, on the same side you have been working on through the folded seam allowance you just pinned. Remove the pins as you go.
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16
Flip the zipper back to the face down position, with the pull of the zipper flipped up toward the top of the garment, and pin it in place to the seam allowance on the other side.
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17
Move the zipper foot back to the right side of the needle.
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18
Baste the zipper to the seam allowance down the length keeping the zipper foot against the teeth of the zipper.
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19
Turn the garment right side out.
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20
Starting where the bottom of the zipper is located stitch from the basted seam straight out 1/2 an inch on the side of the zipper you just finished basting.
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21
Turn the garment 90 degrees so you are in position to stitch toward the top of the garment up the length of the zipper. Do this without removing the garment from the machine or clipping any threads. Make sure your needle is in the down position, lift the foot, turn the garment and put the foot back down.
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22
Stitch straight up the length of the zipper to the top edge of the garment.
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23
Pull both threads to the inside of the zipper at the top and bottom edges of the garment and knot the sets of threads to keep the stitch from unraveling.
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24
Press the whole zipper area with a press cloth covering the zipper while you do so.
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25
Remove all the basting stitches with a seam ripper.
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1
Tips & Warnings
A basting stitch is sewn the same as a regular straight stitch. The only difference is you loosen the tension on your machine and lengthen the stitch length so the stitch is easier to remove later.
Don't worry about what the basting on the zipper looks like as it will be removed later. Do, however, pay attention to what your permanent stitches look like as they will be visible on the finished garment.
Use a thread in the same color and tone as your garment to help conceal the stitches that hold the zipper in place.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Zipper image by Gudellaphoto from Fotolia.com
