Being a sewing teacher, I often get questions from my students that I think are worthy of sharing with others who may have the same problem.  Here is a recent sewing question.

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Question

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“My husband wants zippers added in the legs of his “coveralls” so that he can put them on without removing his work boots.  I know I have to open the seams but would like some instruction before I start as I’ve never added in a zipper. I’ve really only done about three zippers all together.  thanks. . .”

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Answer

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First of all, you don’t really have to put the zippers in the seams.  You can do that, of course, but you might want to consider the sewing technique where you would put the zippers in either the center front or center back of the pant leg and the zipper teeth would be exposed. 
 
I prefer this sewing technique because usually you don’t have much of a seam allowance to work with in ready-to-wear garments.  The center exposed zippers work well.  My husband has these on his hunting coveralls and loves them.

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Supplies

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You will need 2 nine inch metal zippers with large teeth (not the separating kind).  The zipper teeth will be exposed when you are finished installing the zippers. 
 
I also recommend that you buy some paper backed fusible tape like “Steam A Seam.”  This tape is 1/2″ wide.

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Mark and Prepare To Install Zipper

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Find the center of the pant leg and mark a line on the right side of the pant leg with chalk or a marking pen.  This is where the zipper will go.

Measure up from the top of the hem of the pant leg about 9 inches and put a mark, so you know where the zipper will end.  You want to try to have the teeth of the zipper begin above the hem of the pants to help eliminate bulk. 

The zipper doesn’t have to go into the hem.  The hem area will just be an open space.  That’s OK.
 
Draw a center line on a 10″ strip of the Steam A Seam.  About 1/2″ from the top end of the strip, put a dot.  Draw 2 lines from this center dot out to each far corner of the tape so it looks like a V.  Please be accurate and neat here as this will help form the opening or window to expose the zipper.
 
With the V at the top, lay the lined Steam a Seam tape over the pant leg line and press it in place.
 
Now, with sharp scissors, neatly cut on the drawn center line and 2 V lines of the tape cutting through the tape and fabric of the pant leg.
 
Remove the paper strips from the fusible tape.

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Install Zipper

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Lay the zipper with the face or right side up having the pull tab toward the hem of the pants.
 
Then, fold under the fused edges of the pant leg so that they butt up against the metal zipper teeth.  Do NOT cover the teeth!

 Push the little V under to form a nice square at the top of the zipper where the bar stop is.
 
Press well to fuse the pant leg to the zipper tape.
 
Now, using a longer stitch length on your machine and a zipper foot, sew around the zipper to hold it permanently.

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You Now Know How To Sew Exposed Zippers Anywhere

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The zipper opens from the bottom up the leg to create a larger opening to accommodate boots.  The exposed zipper is seen in many fashionable garments.
The larger metal teeth zipper should work well for heavy duty coveralls. 
 
You might want to experiment with any old zipper (any kind)  and some scrap fabric so you will feel more confident when you do the coveralls.  It will be more clear when you see it.
 
I hope this makes sense and helps you.  Good Luck!
 
To Your Sewing Success,
Marian
 

 

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 25th, 2006 at 11:52 pm and is filed under Sewing Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.