This is the beginning of a whole new series of posts as It's Sew Easy TV uploads Series 1500 to their online site. This means the series has finished airing on PBS stations across the USA. Have you had the chance to catch any or all of these episodes? If you saw them already you may enjoy watching them all over again. Perhaps this is your first chance to catch them week by week. Each Friday at noon EST a new show is uploaded, and it stays online for a full week. With the online version you can relax and watch during a half hour that fits your personal schedule.
This season is designed to "super charge" your sewing with each lesson geared to make your sewing time more fun filled and fulfilling! See a detailed list of each show in the series when you CLICK HERE. In this new series of posts I'll preview each show and provide additional tidbits of sewing information to coordinate with the show. Let's get started with the first in the series. This one is titled Be Your Own Designer.
In show 1501 Angela Wolf starts off her A-Line skirt Sew-Along. This is her own original pattern. What a flattering skirt style! In this show you'll learn how to read important pattern sizing info, insert a concealed zipper, add a narrow binding for a waistband, and sew a machine stitched blind hem.
Adding the waistband and stitching the hem is pretty straightforward so I thought we'd talk a little more about the zipper insertion. Angela uses a concealed, (also known as invisible) zipper and inserts it will a regular zipper foot by sewing very close to the coils. Personally, I like using a foot that is specially designed for the task. More about that in a minute.
You'll find presser feet designed and sold by companies that manufacture this zipper style. Two common ones are made by Coats and by YKK (Unique® brand). Take a look at the packages above - did I mention this is an old zipper style? The package I have on the right is tagged with the price of $1.00 LOL!
This type of hidden zipper has been around a long time. The coils are rolled to the back of the zipper tape and are sewn to the fabric right along the seam line. During insertion the coils lay flat but after stitching they roll back and disappear into the seam, giving them their concealed, or hidden characteristic.
This type of hidden zipper has been around a long time. The coils are rolled to the back of the zipper tape and are sewn to the fabric right along the seam line. During insertion the coils lay flat but after stitching they roll back and disappear into the seam, giving them their concealed, or hidden characteristic.
The tan zipper you see here is Coats, the white one is Unique®, both of these coordinate with the specialty feet which include various shank adapters to fit most modern machines. The third, salmon colored zipper is somewhat of an "antique." It was given to me by a friend who sewed skating costumes decades ago. It has YKK on the tab and it's made up of metal teeth. I haven't tried inserting this type but it does evoke a bit of nostalgia for the days when all zips were made of metal.
As I said, I'm a fan of using a specialized foot, designed to match your machine brand. Here you see the Brother style. Recently they released a "new and improved" version. Look closely at the one on the left in the above photo. This new style has a guide in the center to help hold the zipper firmly in place while stitching. In addition, the grooves on the underside are deeper than the original foot. This helps keep the rolled coils of the teeth from moving out of position as the foot passes over them.
Here you see a close-up of the grooves on the underside. This foot works with all Brother machines that have the horizontal bobbin case, including machines with a 5mm throat plate. Overall, it is an improved foot designed for modern concealed zippers. Visit your local Brother dealer to see this new foot.
I'm a huge fan of this type of zipper! It's my "go to" type for most of my garments and I like it for home decor and accessory projects too. Click on the image below to check out this Clutch Purse from a previous Brother Blog post.
You'll see step-by-step instructions for inserting a concealed zipper and learn how to make a pretty purse in the process.
Here are a just a few more zip tips to help you prepare to sew and invisible zipper.
- Color wise, the most important part of the zipper is the tab. When properly inserted, this is all that shows on the outside of the garment.
- For best results, press zipper coils flat before sewing. Be sure to use a low temp on your iron to avoid a meltdown of the coils.
- Avoid using the Pivot function if you have this feature on your machine. You want the foot to stay in place as you move along the coils.
- If you have the updated Auto Up feature that automatically raises the foot when you stop sewing then you'll want this turned to OFF as well.
CLICK HERE to see a short YouTube video of the new Brother style foot in action.
If you are ready to go and watch the show visit www.itsseweasytv.com. Show 1501 is online until 12-28-2018.
Questions or comments about the concealed zipper and zipper foot? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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