Sewing zippers is not a tricky process. But when you need to insert it into clothes, where every seam is in sight, the task is complicated. This happens with the zipper in the skirt, especially in tight. It must be sewn in so that it is imperceptible, and so that the seam does not tuberosy. And for this you need to use some tricks, which we will discuss below.
How to sew a zipper in a skirt
Not all fabrics can be sewn with a fastener without problems. It is easy to sew the lock to dense-textured materials without distortions and stretches, which can not be said about thin fabrics or knitwear. In the process of sewing, the fabric can skew, stretch or go in a wave.
What you need to insert the lock yourself
To avoid distortions, use doublerin. This is a thin braid of lining material, on the one hand has a layer of hot-melt adhesive in the form of small grains. He is taken to the location of the castle, and under the influence of the high temperature of the iron, the braid is glued to the fabric. This will allow you to sew the fastener neatly, without distorting the fabric and tubercles.
In general, to sew a zipper into a skirt, you will need:
- doublerin;
- lightning - one-piece, secret or spiral;
- iron and ironing board;
- sewing pins;
- scissors;
- foot for regular or hidden zippers;
- sewing machine.
IMPORTANT! Instead of doubler, you can put on a non-woven ribbon for hem.
With a belt
In this case, the fastener is sewn at the stage when the skirt (sun or pencil) is almost ready - the belt is sewn, it remains to connect everything from the back. You need to sew in a hidden zipper so that the joint is neat, and the lock is fastened to the end of the belt.
IMPORTANT! You can sew a regular zipper, but then a button will be needed on the belt.
So, the belt should be sewn on one side and ironed at the fold. To sew a zipper:
- expand the belt and make a notch on the allowance of the skirt, not reaching 1 mm to the seam. The distance from the edge to the notch = width of the tape with a zipper. Belt oversize simply unscrew up and secure both with pins. This is necessary to remove excess thickness at the site of sewing on a secret fastener;
- take the zipper with the keychain to you and tuck the free edges of the tape away from you so that only the teeth look at you. Open the lock and flip half to the other side;
- attach the folded half to the fold of the belt, flush or 1 mm lower. Release the bent edge and secure with a pin, sweep to the skirt;
- make a stabilizing seam anywhere;
IMPORTANT! In the process, the zipper is sewn to the front of the skirt, then it will bend inward.
- bend the teeth as far as possible and lay the stitch with a special foot. You can turn your hands off if there is no foot for secret locks. But be careful not to flash the teeth, otherwise you will have to rip and sew again. The stronger the teeth are bent, the closer the line is to them, the more invisible the lock will be on the product;
- fold the skirt with the front parts inwards, fasten the zipper. Connect the line of the belt so that it is on the same level on both sides. Pin the lock with a pin and sew 1–2 cm. This is necessary to make sure the belt line is even with the lock closed. If everything fits together - sew it to the end.
IMPORTANT! Remember to unfold the skirt and belt allowances on the other side to remove the thickness.
- sew the skirt all the way down. Fold the belt along with the tails of the braid, catch it and sew it. When you sew the belt completely, leave a little more thread. Insert them into the needle and manually, with a hidden seam, sew part of the belt to the clasp.
Without belt
This option is easier to execute. Having stitched 2 parts of the skirt and putting marks, sweep away the fastener fastening place, continuing the stitching. Iron the seam, turn it in different directions and iron it. Attach the clasp to the seam with the key chain down and catch one part of it.
Close the zipper, and bite the second braid so that the front of the skirt converges in one line at the junction of the parts. Now in open form, lay a line along the front of the skirt to the place where the castle ends. Close it and sew a small strip across, this will be the transition from the right seam to the left. Turn the skirt and, when closed, lay the stitch to the end. At the end, drag the slider down so that it does not interfere with sewing.
IMPORTANT! This method is not suitable for secret locks.
With side lock
The lock on the side is made so that it is not noticeable, so it’s logical to take a hidden zipper for it. It is not difficult to do this if you are able to work with this type of fasteners. Here is the algorithm:
- Put the skirt turned on the front side on its side. The seam is looking at you. Attach a lock to it, keychain to yourself and unfasten. Flip one tape from the center to the outside. Attach this part to the seam, face to face.
- The free tail of the braid protrudes into the allowance of the skirt so that the plastic restraint is flush with the waistline. Take the lock, and then sew it on.
- Turn the skirt to the wrong side and take 2 braid, and then sew it. The upper tail is tucked and sewn along with a belt or waistline.
IMPORTANT! If the skirt is lined, then sew it on top manually by a blind seam, covering the inside of the braid and leaving only the teeth visible.
Seamless
When sewing a seamless skirt, the lock is sewn at the beginning of work. It is necessary to lay a line in the waist so that the fabric does not warp. On the line of the back seam, make marks 2-2.5 cm above the zipper fasteners. Before these marks, you will need to grind the back seam.
Fold the skirt face to face and grind the back seam to the marks. Now sweep away parts, continuing the line of grinding. Iron the seam, then unfold it and iron it in different directions.
Now let's sew on the zipper:
- put it face down on the seam - the keychain is looking down. Upper locks of the lock, place near the line along the waist line;
- pin the braid with pins to the seam allowances so that the line with the teeth lies on the same seam line;
IMPORTANT! Pin the braid on the table. If you keep the canvas on weight, it will go in a wave.
- take the fastener to the seam allowance so that the thread goes close to the teeth, but not end to end, otherwise it will not be convenient to sew later;
- remove the mark that connected the 2 parts of the skirt above the stitch. Do not confuse with the mark you just made;
- unfasten the lock. At the junction of 2 parts of the skirt, lower the slider into the hole and unzip it to the end. Having done this, you can easily see where the back seam ends;
- grind the lock on a sewing machine, laying the stitch as close to the teeth as possible;
IMPORTANT! Lay the line not to the end of the tape, but to the seam. Do not forget to make tack at the end of each line.
- through the hole transfer the slider to the front side and fasten the lock;
- make braces at the lower ends of the braid so that it does not turn away when putting on the skirt.
Pleated
On a skirt with bow folds, the zipper is placed on one of the side seams, if it consists of 2 parts. If you sew from one part, the lock is sewn into the seam. It is necessary to calculate the folds so that the fastener turns out on the bow.
Another option is to sew a lock between the pleats. It is suitable for products from flowing fabrics. The fastener is placed on the side or back seam, and the folds are calculated so that the seam gets between the bows.
IMPORTANT! The lock is sewn after fixing all the folds and one part of the belt. The technology for locking the lock in this case is the same as the skirt without seams. The upper part is treated like a skirt with a belt.
Features of working with secret lightning
Using low-quality secret lightning, the result will upset you even if all the features are observed. Therefore, the most important, more important than the special foot is a high-quality lock.
Signs of quality hidden flashes:
- open and close it several times, the slider should slide easily and without feeling an obstacle. Otherwise, it will quickly break;
- at the opened lock, the plastic stopper must freely turn away with the teeth. If it is soldered to the braid, you cannot bend it and start the line correctly;
- plastic stopper flush with teeth. Otherwise, the lightning will not close properly.
When working with countersunk zippers, it is important to use a special foot. It is designed in such a way that when laying a line, it itself pushes the teeth as far as possible. This is necessary so that only a thin line connecting the two parts is visible on the front side of the skirt. This happens when the line is laid right next to the teeth of the clasp.
IMPORTANT! The foot for secret locks is plastic and metal. Both perform their function the same way, but the second will last you longer.
You can, of course, cope with the standard zipper foot, which is included in the set of modern sewing machines. But it’s unlikely to get so close to the prongs. After all, the special foot has grooves for the links, and getting there they turn as much as possible. And the needle passes right next to the seam on the braid’s tape so that it remains invisible on the finished product. Another advantage of the special foot is that it opens up a place for sewing, and the risk of stitching along the teeth is reduced to zero, in contrast to the standard device.
