Hints & Tips

Posts Tagged ‘replace zip’

These zips will take the most time to replace.  As you all know I am in Australia and I charge my customers up to $65.00 to replace a jacket zip in a lined garment.  Because I work on AUD$44.00 per hour, by the time I unpick the old zip, and put the new one in it takes over an hour.  Some people will be in shock when I give them to price, but I always do this BEFORE I take the job.  That way there are not shocks AFTER the work is done.  If you explain why it will cost this much money, they can decide if the jacket is worth it or not.  Some people will say no, but others will have it done, because they love the jacket and they can’t get another one like it.  Remember that if you under charge for your work, you are going to become resentful and if you become resentful you will not love what you are doing.  If you know that you will be paid for doing the job, you will do a good job.

When you unpick the jacket, have a look at how it is done.  Not all jackets are done the same, but there is a common method to them all.  With the zip unpicked you will be able to put your hand through the inside of the jacket lining from one side to the other.  Attach the lining to the back side of the zip on both sides.  Make sure that they are even.  Now pop one side through to the other side and sew the front of the zipper onto the jacket.  I do not mean the top stitching here but rather the right side of the outer to the right side of the zipper. You probably should pin into place first.  Sew with the fabric at the top so you can sew back into the same stitch holes.  When finished bag the top and the bottom of the zip on this side.  Pop it back through to the right side.  Now you need to open a seam in the lining so that you can pop the side not done through the lining to do the work.  Follow the same procedure as the other side, bag the top and bottom then close the opening in the lining by sewing a row of stitching close to the edge.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

When washing a garment, ALL zips should be ZIPPED UP before going into the washing machine.  If the zip is left open, and the garment gets caught with another garment, the zip could be placed under a lot of pressure and the zip could easily break.  But also the slider could get tangled with another garment and put a hole in the garment, but if it is zipped up the chances of that happening is less.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

There are going to be times when you can’t find the right size zip.  One of my pet hates is to see someone replace a zip with a zip that is longer but they cut the excess off at the top of the zip, rather than the bottom.  Zippers have stoppers at the top, and this allows the zip to stop and lock.  Sloppy work on the replacement of a zip can mean that the slider will come straight off the top.  Rather than shortening from the top, put the zip in properly at the top and cut off from the bottom, but rather than a rough stitch across the zipper (which I have seen a lot) cut some bias binding or fabric and BEFORE you cut the end off, stitch the bias across the bottom, then cut the zip and WRAP the bias around the bottom of the zip and fold the sides in, then stitch across the top of the bias.  You are basically encasing the end of the zip in fabric or bias.  The zip will never break open.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Most metal jean zippers have a lock at the top.  If you lift the slider up the zip will come down, and if you push the slider down against the zip then the zip will lock into place.  Sometimes the slider can flip up, and then of course the zip will unzip which can be very embarrassing for the person wearing the jeans.

I have had people bring in jeans with this type of zip and ask for it to be replaced, not realizing that the slider locks.  Once I show them how it works, they take the jeans away and make sure it is always locked.

People with a tummy can run into trouble here if the lock opening becomes a bit loose.  Any stress on the zip could cause it to undo.

If you do replace a jean zip, use two thread colours to match the colour on the jeans.  An orange and a kharki colour will work beautifully to create that orange/kharki colour.

Also always use a 90/14 Jean needle when replacing a jean zip.

If you have my book Genie Clothing Alteration Secrets Revealed there is a full section on replacing trouser zips and jean zips with illustrations.  For those of you who don’t have the book, I have an eBook which has great illustrations.  Most alteration shops charge around AUD$25 to replace a zip.  My ebook is AUD$12.95 and once you get the hang of it, you will always do your own zip replacements.

Happy Sewing

Judith aka genie

I have a method for unpicking trouser zips.  I always start on one side first (the side without the flap) unpicking just enough stitches to get the zip out of the band.  Then unpick down to the bottom of the zip, then up the other side releasing the zip from the flap. 

You must also unpick the flap side.  There are usually one or two rows of stitching holding the flap down.  I have seen some people sew the new zip back on without unpicking the flap side.  This means that the stitching shows on the outside, along with the stitching that holds the flap down.  The replacement job does not look good.  The flap must be unpicked, and the zip must be sewn to the flap without sewing to the outer fabric.  Use pins to ensure you get the flap sitting flat when you sew it all back together.

You will have opened the stitching at the band section which means it needs to be closed.  There are a number of ways you can do this.  One way would be to hand stitch; however it may not hold the zip secure, particularly at the back.  Rather than unpick the band and attach the band to the body of the garment in the normal way you can topstitch the band back on, but sew close to the edge.  If you are concerned about how this will look, topstitch all the way to the first belt loop on either side.  This way it looks like it was always like that. My book gives a more comprehensive step by step process for replacing zips.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

There are a number of reasons why an invisible zip will break. 

 Problem 1 – Stress is placed on the zipper when zipping it up.  As the zip is being zipped, the teeth are individually being stressed because the above the slider is open and the slider is trying to lock the teeth together.  The wider the opening above the slider, the more stress is placed on the teeth, which means eventually they will break away from the fabric. 

Solution – ALWAYS sew a hook and eye at the top of the invisible zip and do the hook and eye up BEFORE zipping up the zipper.

 Problem 2 – The teeth break away from the fabric at a thick section of fabric.  An invisible zip will break because there is a band or yoke at the zip area.  The thickness of the band or yoke means the slider has trouble moving past this thick fabric.  Eventually after too many tugs and pulls by the person trying to do up the zipper, the teeth will break away from the fabric of the zip and the zip will no long zip up.

 Solution – The seam is too close to the teeth.  Whilst it is called an invisible zip, in this situation I recommend taking the seam away from the teeth by about ½ cm or 1/8^th of an inch.  This allows the slider to move freely past the thick seam. 

 Problem 3 – An invisible zip will break because there is a piece of thread which was not cut away by the person making the garment.  If the thread gets caught in the slider, it will stop working, and after a few tugs, the teeth will break.

 Solution – Clip away any loose threads from around your zipper.

 Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

I actually prefer to put an invisible zip in a garment, rather than a dress zip.  Once you get used to sewing the invisible zip, you will be the same.  I put the invisible zips in using my normal zipper foot.

 Unpick the broken invisible zip and pick off all the excess threads.  There are two things you need to do when unpicking.

 1.  Unpick the seam a little bit more where the bottom of the zip was

2.  At the top of the zip opening, unpick any under stitching.  This is the stitching sewn after the outer and the facing or lining are joined together.

 Open out the zip and lay it flat with right side of zip facing right side of fabric.  Have the top of the zip lined up so that the beginning of the zip is in line with the top seam.  Pull the zip section back with your fingers, and sew next to the zipper teeth.  If you accidentally sew into the teeth, reverse, and come back down, and when finished at the end unpick the section where you sewed into the teeth.

 Sew as far as you can to the bottom of the zip.  This will not be to the very end.  Do the zip up and pin it to the opposite side.  Make sure you line up the top and the bottom.  Have a look at the pinned section from the right side to see that it is pinned in correctly and there is no puckering at the bottom and that the top is in line with the opposite side of the zip.

 Undo the zip and repeat the same process as the first side.  Do the zip up and stitch from the bottom seam sewing up and beside the zip to close the bottom.  You must back tack here to make sure the stitching doesn’t come undone in the future.

So now we are going to finish off the top of the zip.  Bagging the top of the zip gives a good finish.  It doesn’t matter whether your garment has a facing or lining.  If you want it to sit properly and you had a dress zip in before, turn the garment inside out, and iron the facing back so it is right on the edge of the zipper.  Now put the two right sides together and pin the facing with the ironed fold on the edge of the zipper.  It will seem like you are pulling the facing across.  This is correct.  Sew the facing onto the edge of the zip.

 Now fold the zipper back so that it is sitting flat and sew across the top.  This is bagging the top of the zipper.  Repeat the same process on the other side.

 Happy Sewing

Judith aka genie

Designers come up with beautiful designs, however if there’s a zip involved, you could be stuck when it comes to replacing it if the zip breaks.  Most haberdashery businesses, only provide the standard zips.  That means if you come up against something out of the ordering you may find it difficult to find a replacement.  One option is to go to second hand shops and see if you can find a zip in a second hand garment.  I have used this option many times, and have been successful most of the time.  So don’t throw the garment away because the zip is broken and you can’t replace it.  Do a little searching until you find one.  I had a lady contact me from the United Kingdom (I live in Australia) and I found the zip she needed, which she couldn’t find in England.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie