Here's a blog post that I originally wrote for The Daily Stitch, the Village Haberdashery's blog. Once again, they have been very kind and allowed me to re-post it here for those that didn't see it first time round. BTW, you can find the VH's range of zips/zippers here.
The ability to shorten a zip is a very
useful skill to have in your sewing-bag of tricks. Often a student will arrive
at a class I’m teaching all stressed out because they couldn’t find the exact
length zip that a sewing pattern called for, in the right colour for their
project. My advice is always this: focus on finding a zip that is a great
colour match for your chosen fabric. If the zip is a couple of inches too
small, it’ll still probably be fine for your project, and if it’s too big then
it can easily be shortened. If you type in ‘How to shorten a zip/zipper’ into
YouTube, you’ll find heaps of videos on the subject. However, here is the
method that I prefer…
Please note: this tutorial is for
shortening regular or invisible/concealed zips with nylon teeth, not metal
ones.
Step 2: Place a pin where you want the new
stopper to be. Alternatively, you could mark the zip tape with chalk or a
marker pen.
Step 3: Put a strong needle in your sewing
machine (I like to use a 90/14 needle for this process). Position the zip
underneath your presser foot so that the needle is directly above the pin that
you placed in the zip tape. Lower the presser foot so that the zip tape is
clamped down and remove the pin.
Step 4: Slowly sew across the zip tape from
one side to the other. It may feel a bit weird to do this, so use the hand
wheel rather than the foot pedal if sewing over the zip teeth is freaking you
out. But don’t worry, your needle is extremely unlikely to break!
Step 5: When you reach the other side of
the zip tape, make sure the needle is piercing the zip tape (use the hand wheel
if necessary). Then lift the presser foot, spin the zip round 180 degrees ,
lower the presser foot again and stitch back over the row of stitching. Do this
three or four times to create a strong new zip stopper.
Step 6: Remove the zip from your sewing
machine and snip away any loose threads.
Step 7: Measure ½” below your new zip
stopper and cut the excess away.
Step 8: Most zip shortening tutorials stop
at this point, but I like to seal the bottom of the zip tape to prevent it from
fraying. Quickly pass the cut edge through the flame of a lighter. I’m sure
this goes without saying, but please take care using a lighter!
Done! A freshly shortened zip to your exact
specifications, that won’t fray in the wash!
