Saturday, March 29, 2008

Saturday Sewing Tip: Zipper

Lucky you, you came across a big bag of zippers for a quarter at a garage sale. So one day, you go to put a 7" white zipper in a skirt but find you only have a 9" zipper in that stash. It is really, really easy to shorten it!

This, of course, assumes the zipper has nylon teeth that you can cut. And all smart sewists (I think 'sewers' sounds like the place where Pennywise the Clown lives--Stephen King fans get the reference.)

Okay, close the zipper and measure down from the thing you pull. I have no idea what that's called--probably the 'pull.'

If you want a 7" zipper, measure down 7" and make a mark. Then, using your machine or by hand, sew across this mark over and over. This will create a new place for the zipper to stop. Leaving about an inch below this 'stop,' cut off the remainder of the zipper.

You now have exactly the size zipper you need! And you'll probably never pass up a twenty-five cent bag of zippers again.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great tip! I always thought you had to find the exact size zipper you needed.

And thanks for commenting on my Frugal Frida post about using up a stockpile: it has become fun. The lemon marmalade on the ham was just OK, though, not great -- but I think that was the recipe itself.

And, I'm telling you: April is when I put some time into figuring out if there's a way for non livejournal users to post as "not anonymous." April. :)

Anonymous said...

Glad you liked the stuffing recipe. It's quick, it's easy...and I personally like "the tangy zip of Miracle Whip." :)

Blooming said...

I've done this on zippers where the fastener kept coming off at the bottom too. I "stole" three pairs of nice pants from my sister who was going to throw them out because the zipper kept coming off the track at the bottom. Easily repaired clothing is another thing to look for at those garage sales!