Don’t Fear the (Replacement) Zipper


The one act of sewing that universally strikes fear into the heart of even the most sturdy sewing enthusiast is the act of putting in a zipper. So much consternation caused by two little innocent strips of teeth, but why? I’m going to say the root of this evil is not installing a new zipper, but rather the latent fear replacing a broken zipper. After all, we can sew, right? So how hard could it be to just take out that old broken zipper and pop in a new one? Pretty hard, cupcake. Pretty hard. Here are a few tips to increase your odds of success.

  • Plan… with your phone! I know you want to hurry up and get started, but before you do, let’s make a preemptive strike towards success. Everyone has a cell phone now and thus easy access to something better than memory – photography! Before going at it with the seam ripper, take some pictures of what it looked like before you ripped it apart (both sides!). You are really going to appreciate some reference pics in about 15 minutes.
  • Rip it good – Once you go at those jeans with the seam ripper and quickly find out how hard that is, the initial inclination is to just take out enough stitches to get that sucker out of there. Herein lies the problem. If you just barely had enough room to get the old one out, then getting in the new one will be harder than parking an F150 in a Boston parking garage. You are going to have to rip those stitches back, waaaaay back. You are going to want to rip out enough seams to be able to lay the whole thing flat.
  • Baste, not waste – Next, I’m going to recommend something that is pretty much anathema to modern sewists: basting. I know we live in an age of the Clover® Wonder Clip – possibly the greatest quilting accessory ever – so why ever baste again? Zippers, my friend. Zippers. Basting will enable you to get into all those little, tiny seams and corners. Normally, one rips out the basting stitches after the job is done, but in the case of zippers, I just use the same color thread as is the zipper and leave those little guys in there because, after all, we’ve done enough ripping for today.
  • The right tool for the job – Finally, my last tip for guaranteed zipper success is please use a zipper foot. If you don’t have one, you can get an after market knock off zipper foot at your local big box sewing and crafts store for a few dollars. It is worth the drive to the store, even if you do end up buying more fabric that you don’t need while there. The zipper foot enables you to get really close to the teeth. Trying to use a regular foot will result in you having to sew with the teeth under the foot and that’s going to skate all over the place and leave the stitches really loopy.

I hope these recommendations will help make your next zipper repair project a success. Before you know it, you’ll be doing what I do: taking zippers out of old jeans and saving them, just for the sake of having a bunch of cool little zippers!


Check out the NEW By the Yard® 2025 Calendar for Quilters!

By the Yard® 2025 Calendar for Quilters

Fall Into Quilting

It might already be too late

Fall is the perfect time for quilting. Summer vacations are over; the kids are back to school; work hasn’t
hit the inevitable end of the year crunch yet, and the quilt shops have all their holiday colors out in full
bloom. Time to start making holiday gifts… or is it?
Every year right about this time, I am stricken with the ambition to make handmade gifts for everyone I
know. Then, with startling regularity, the last week in December I’m scrambling for gifts because I pretty
much didn’t finish anything. What is a habitual crafter to do? Consider this:

  • Start Early – For what is worth, it’s October. Its already too late. Juts go back to knitting your
    Rhinebeck sweater. You might (barely) still have a shot at that.
  • Prune the List – I know you are awesome and crafty, and it would be cool to give some
    handmade love to everyone, but you need to be realistic. Pick one or two top loved ones to craft
    for this year.
  • Cookies are Still Handmade – Everyone else can get a tin of homemade cookies. How else could
    you bang out 10 handmade gifts in an afternoon? You know that cute tiny Santa fabric you
    didn’t have time to make into rug mugs for your entire quilt guild? Just cut a square with your
    pinking shears, affix with a ribbon to the top of a mason jar full of cookies and it’s pretty good
    enough.
  • Get a Jump on Next Year – Everything you planned to do but it’s already way too late (refer
    back to #1), just make it anyway. You will have a head start on next year. I have said this for
    three years running and I still haven’t finished a January birthday gift for my Bestie. It will get
    done eventually and when it does, its going to be awesome!

Remember, there are always local donut shop gift cards.


Check out the NEW By the Yard® 2025 Calendar for Quilters!

By the Yard® 2025 Calendar for Quilters