How to Put in an Invisible Zipper With a Regular Zipper Foot
Invisible zipper feet position the needle right where it needs to be when sewing an invisible zipper, but a regular zipper foot will work too. The trick that lets you use a regular zipper foot to put in an invisible zipper is flattening the zipper coils. Wait until after the zipper is installed to finish the seam that joins the two pieces of fabric. This helps to avoid making a bubbled effect in the seam at the bottom of the zipper. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Iron
- Straight pins
- Hand sewing thread
- Hand sewing needle
- Sewing machine with regular zipper foot
Instructions
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Iron the zipper tape and coils on low heat. Avoid the iron's hotter settings for this because excess heat can melt plastic invisible zipper coils.
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Place one of the fabric pieces right side up on the table. Open the zipper and place it face down on top of the fabric. Position the zipper where you want it, with the fabric's raw edge lined up with the edge of the zipper tape. Pin the zipper tape to the fabric.
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3
Thread the hand sewing needle and baste the zipper tape, in the center of the tape, to the fabric. Poke the needle up and down through the fabric, making each stitch about 1/4 inch long, Pull the thread snug between each stitch, but not so tight the fabric pleats. Remove the straight pins.
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4
Position the invisible zipper under the regular zipper foot. The regular zipper foot's edge should be lined up with the edge of the zipper coils. It will look as if you are going to sew over the coils but the needle should fall just to the inside of the coils on the zipper tape.
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Lower the needle by hand before making the first stitch to make sure it is going to go through the zipper tape and not the coils. If it does not hit the right spot, raise the needle slightly and move the zipper over until it lines up.
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Sew the zipper down until you reach either the desired length or the zipper stop. Do not sew over the zipper stop because it can break your needle and damage your sewing machine.
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Place the other piece of fabric right side up on the table. Open the zipper as if you are opening a book and place the zipper and stitched fabric face down on top of the unattached fabric. Pin the zipper in place with the fabric's raw edge lined up with the zipper tape's edge.
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Baste, remove the pins, and sew the second side the same as the first side. Close the zipper and finger-press the fabric to make sure it is flat and stitched straight. If it does not look right, remove the stitching and sew the zipper down again. If it looks right, fold the fabric pieces together, line up the raw edges, and close the rest of the seam, catching the ends of the zipper tape. Begin sewing the seam about one inch above the end of the zipper stitching, just to the outside of the original stitches.
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References
- Photo Credit iron image by Robert Grzywaczewski from Fotolia.com
