How to Put in Zippers

A zipper with a plastic or synthetic coil is suitable for skirts and dress necklines.

You can sew a conventional zipper on a skirt, dress, neckline, trousers and upholstery. A conventional or regular zipper includes a coil or chain of exposed teeth fastened to fabric tapes. Coil zippers made of plastic or synthetic teeth are usually more flexible than metal chain zippers. The zipper opens at one end and stops at the opposite end. Inserting a centered zipper usually includes top stitching two lines of parallel stitches on the garment plus a short line of stitching near the bottom stop.

Things You'll Need

• Regular zipper for skirt or pants
• Tailor's chalk or pencil
• Thread
• Hand sewing needle
• Sewing machine, zipper foot
• Scissors

Instructions

Preparing

1. Mark the top of the zipper placket with tailor's chalk or dot with a pencil on the garment's seam line. This mark indicates the position of the zipper's top stop.

2. Stitch the seam right sides together with a long basting stitch for the length of the zipper placket. Clip this machine basting thread at approximately 2-inch intervals to allow easier removal.

3. Open the zipper and place face down with the teeth along the open seam line. The top stop should lay over the top mark. The long edge of the coil covers the seam line.

4. Hand baste or machine baste the zipper tape with a zipper foot to one seam allowance. Close the zipper. Hand baste or machine stitch the remaining zipper tape to the remaining seam allowance. This temporary basting stitch keeps the closed zipper in place for the top stitching step.

Top Stitching

1. Set the garment right side up and place on the sewing machine's needle plate. Select a straight stitch with 10 to 12 stitches per inch.

2. Top stitch approximately ¼ inch away from the seam line, starting at the top edge. Stop machine stitching just before you turn the garment a ¼ turn to stitch the bottom of the zipper. Stitch the bottom of the placket approximately ½ inch. Turn the garment another ¼ turn. Continue sewing the other side of the zipper placket from bottom to top.

3. Knot the threads and trim threads to approximately ¼ inch.

4. Remove the basting threads from the zipper tape and the clipped seam line.

5. Press the garment.

Tips & Warnings

• Some zippers may need pressing to reduce creases before inserting.

• Other zippers that require different techniques include separating zippers, exposed zippers and invisible zippers.

• Heavier fabrics may need a longer machine stitch; thinner fabrics may need a shorter machine stitch.

References

• "Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing"; Virginia Colton, Editor; 1976
• Sewing and Craft Alliance: Centered Zipper