HOME | DD
taeliac — Tutorial: Centered zippers
Published: 2008-01-02 01:11:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 70958; Favourites: 1279; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
Oh yeah. Startin' off the new year with tutorial submissions!Well, I had my camera downstairs in my sewing room with me while I was working on my latest, spontaneous Wai-Loli outfit, and I figured, what the hell. More pictures are good by me. I was working on putting a zipper into the pleated skirt, and figured that this was something I've struggled with for longer than you can imagine, until just recently.
I must emphasize, this is just following the instructions that are on the little inset thinger that comes with zippers - that sheet that I used to just throw away! *sigh* I just wanted to do a photo, "step-by-step" in the hopes that it doesn't seem so frightening to do. This is the most basic form of putting in a zipper, and shows the topstitching.
I'll try to do the other types eventually, too. Like, whenever I wind up putting one in next.
And I'm so sorry - it seems like I am always working on red projects when I decide to take pictures for a tutorial - I hope this one is pretty easy to see, though!
The teacup font was made by ~coconut-lane and can be found here [link]
2008 Sam Lemieux/Taeliac Studio Cosplay/`taeliac [link]
Please do not redistribute, reprint or modify this at all without my permission. Don't steal!
Related content
Comments: 174
so do you put bias tape in after the zipper goes in? and how does that work?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yep, if you're using bias for the waistband or the like, you would usually do that after you put the zipper in - if you're too afraid of sewing over the zipper, putting the bias on by hand is the best option - just hand sew it in place and tuck in the raw edge, if that makes sense :3
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hehe, no problem at all!! I'm going to do one for other types of zippers, too, because sometimes they're just a pain to remember how to do and I need to reference back at them
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Excellent tutorial! I needed this to remind myself how to do them *v*
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I made a 50s dress for my friend and this would have helped a lot to make the zipper look more better placed D:
But next time I WILL remember this. And make all zippers look nice and well-placed
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i'm just adding stuff on my new account. i love your tutorials though
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Why is it that every time I need a tutorial, I find one of yours? 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
thank you! I've been looking for a tutorial for some time.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I just sewed an invisible zipper by hand on a velvet skirt I just made..
It was my first piece of clothing!!
And I don't think it came out that badly. But it was a pain to get the zipper lined up with the opening..
I was trying to follow your tutorial, but since I don't have a sewing machine, I just improvised! hehe
My hand stiching isn't perfect.. (quite the contrary actually) but since it doesn't show... I guess the important thing is that it holds the piece together! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
After the dozen or so tutorials I had seen and watched before, yours was the one that made sense to me. You eased the frustration on the costume I was working on because I could not progress until the zipper had been sewn in. After your tutorial, it took only several minutes to get it done and correctly. You are my new favorite person!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I hate zippers.
Will try this though. Thanks for sharing.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
oh gawd, thank you so much. I've had an incompleted dress that I just can't seem to get the zipper right on. I hope I can get it right! *wonders where the iron is*
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This'll help me with my zipper sewing a bit more, Thanks a bunch~! > w <
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thank you so much for this tutorial! This helped me put in my first zipper on the back of my Princess Zelda dress. ^^
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hooray!! I'm so happy to hear that!! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Here's a better picture (it's updated, anyway): [link]
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Why, thank you!
Actually, I have! I only have one full-body picture, though, and it's not up to date. 
I have more pictures of my armor and my sword in my gallery!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
OMGGGGGG HOW DID I MISS THIS TUTORIAL BEFORE?! <3 Apparently I've been putting zippers in all wrong for 2 years, haha!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I actually tried this method when installing the zipper on my friends Selphie dress - and OMG WOW! It came out soooo much better than any I've done before. 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
your tutorial saves my life xD day after tomorrow ,I'm cosplaying Tinkerbell but I had some problems with zip ^^'
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ooh! Hooray!! I'm happy to be of help, and sorry for the late reply - how did it go?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
you can check result hear [link] ^3^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I've used this tutorial twice now. Once for my new Rikku top and now for my new denim Rikku shorts!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
You are so many times my hero! I decided, on a whim, to make an actual circle skirt out of fabric instead of plastic, to wear about in life, and I've used your circle skirt tutorial (awesome, of course) and then I decided instead of doing it the way i did for another outfit, I'd try your centred method...
It worked perfectly. Thank you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
"scream a little into a pillow"
No truer words spoken, my friend. I hate zippers so much. Even more than sleeves...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I hear you on that one. Sleeves have been my pain for the past couple of days - screw one thing up, and that's that 
But, yes! Zippers = evil.
Invisible zippers, though, if you have the right foot for it, are a lot easier - I prefer them so much, they're just easier to whip in~
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
very helpful :]
do you think this method would work with hand sewing?
XD I'm to poor to get a sewing machine lol
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It most definitely would work with hand sewing, you're just going to want to be sure that you use little stitches, and back stitch every few stitches, too, because the zipper is going to be taking a bit of a strain, to keep it from pulling out or something like that
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
So, to clarify, did you put in an invisible zipper with a normal zipper foot?
I've put in an invisible zipper once for textiles class at school, but we had invisible zipper foots. But I'm done with that class now and my machine at home doesn't have an invisible zipper foot, only a normal one, so I was wondering if it was still possible or if I was SOL until I bought one.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
No, invisible zippers are very different - you need the special foot (okay, if you're really careful, you can put them in with a regular zipper foot, but I only did it successfully once
As bad as it sounds, if you only have the invisible zipper, you can put it in by hand ~ follow the same instructions that came with the zipper, and hand sew it in
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Sigh, lucky for me then.
And I have put in part of an invisible zipper by hand, it was not fun.
But thanks anyway
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh noes! I've had to do that before
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Fortunately, I think I'm in luck and my mom's friend has one she'll lend me.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Success! I have invisible zipper foot and she's letting me keep it because she already has 2.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This looks so much easier then what I've done in the past. I like your way of doing it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Why thank you
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ah! Your tutorials help the crap out of my confused mind! Even with sewing books, this zipper business still leaves me scratching my head going "o__O".
That bias tape one is absolutely fantastic, too! I'm so glad I remembered to look it up again; this Anthy Himemiya vest is seriously kicking my @$$. The last time I looked over your bias tape tutorial (probably a year ago or so now) I was so confused, I had no idea what bias tape even was or that it existed until I searched your tutorials.
Any more you make, I'm sure, would be beyond helpful to anyone just getting their hands wet in the sewing community!
I'll definitely post pictures of my vest once it's completed (which is happening rather slowly ;-; ) and tell people about your tutorials, and so you can see how much you've helped the process. :3
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I will definitely try for some easier tutorials, too, of anything that may be helpful to people
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I just came up with a possibility for a tutorial: Creating a full princess gown skirt with fabric that isn't quite wide enough to use the half-circle technique with. (*coff* This is my conundrum at the moment! *coff*)
Even just a link somewhere or a suggestion or even a quick two sentence explanation would make my day. I'm having such a terrible time trying to find something that explains it in SOME way. ><
Oh! By the way, I thought you might like to see what your Bias Tape tutorial has done for me. (It's done wonders, I assure you. I skipped right on past that top-stitching phase for bias tape and did it the right way the first try! Thanks so much! ^ ^)
--> [link] <--
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh, well, if that is your issue, you can make multiple gores - make them as full as you can, but not full half or quarter circles, and just add more... hrm... okay, so it's harder to explain than I thought - I'll add it to the list
There are quite a few good patterns for full skirts, though, and I think patterns are on sale at JoAnns right now
And, thank you so much for the link! It looks wonderful so far - so crisp, that is for sure! Isn't it amazing how the puckering and that just kind of disappears when you do it that way
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm actually on a sewing spree this week (Spring Break off of school) and I was hoping to get the vest done (sans the epaulets) and at the very Least get the skirt cut out and possibly even pinned. If I can sew all the seams down that would make it so much easier to get the petticoat finished. I understand to basically cut rather big and really long trapezoids and sew those together kind of like princess seams? I'm not 100% sure how to go about that without wasting all my fabric-- I can't buy any more, I got it on sale and it was all they had left! It's a bargain with a higher risk, but I belieeeve!
And I've been planning this Anthy costume since Daisho Con! I can't wait to show it off at NBC, even if the hallways there aren't nearly as wide and open as the Ramada in Stevens Point. ><; I just managed to get the zipper in (although silly me I bought a closed zipper so I can't open the vest front anymore. Oops! 
Thanks for the compliments on it so far. Glad to see a pro has promising remarks on my work! :3 -Appreciate it!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
| Next =>