I had the privilege of presenting an educational segment titled Zip it up! Zipper tips and tricks, on a recent Sew Fest show hosted by Sewing Machines Plus. To watch this segment on their YouTube channel you can CLICK HERE. You'll find my 30 minute segment running from time stamp 1:59:44 to 2:31.
During this live show, I shared many of my top tips for successful zipper stitching and gave a detailed explanation of various zipper feet. I'm following up the show by including information on the feet here in this blog post. Keep in mind, as a Brother Ambassador I'm showing feet and referencing part numbers from that manufacturer. However, you'll find most or all of these feet available for just about every modern machine model around.
At the end of this post, you'll find links to zipper stitching videos and even more detailed information to help you zap your fear of zippers!
During this live show, I shared many of my top tips for successful zipper stitching and gave a detailed explanation of various zipper feet. I'm following up the show by including information on the feet here in this blog post. Keep in mind, as a Brother Ambassador I'm showing feet and referencing part numbers from that manufacturer. However, you'll find most or all of these feet available for just about every modern machine model around.
At the end of this post, you'll find links to zipper stitching videos and even more detailed information to help you zap your fear of zippers!
Now . . . let's meet the feet!
ZIPPER FOOT #1: Part #X59370-051 for 7mm machines. Standard snap-on zipper foot included with many machines.
Top Side of Foot
Bottom Side of Foot
IMPORTANT! For this specific foot, you’ll want to select a center needle straight stitch. Let’s look at the top side and the bottom side of this foot. On the top side, this “I’ foot has a right and left space for snapping on the foot. Coordinating holes on the right and left make space for the needle. The narrow toe gives good visibility for sewing along zipper tape or topstitching zippers. On the bottom side, this foot is flat down the center and has two distinct grooves. While this foot can be used for stitching a wide variety of zippers, it is designed specifically for sewing common zipper application such as the lapped zipper and slotted zipper. Note that this zipper foot is wide in the back. That is to accommodate the grooves that are designed to travel over the zipper coils. For other zipper applications you’ll find yourself needing to move the needle position away from the center and out towards the left or right, coordinating with the side of the foot you are using.
Top Side of Foot
Bottom Side of Foot
This is a low shank foot that must be attached by screwing it onto the machine. Machines with a high shank will require you to use the low shank adapter.
Low Shank Adapter
Both the top and bottom side of this foot is flat and it has the characteristic holes on both the right and left side for accommodating the needle. Long and somewhat narrow, it maintains good contact with the fabric when sewing close to zipper teeth or cord inserted in piping. Start with the center needle straight stitch, and then loosen the screw at the back to move that foot from right to left, fine tuning the position so the foot is off to the side and allows you to sew exactly where you need to. Resist the temptation to use this foot for sewing seams. Because it is narrow, it does not provide as much contact with the feed dogs as the standard straight and zig zag foot does.
Top Side of Foot
Bottom Side of Foot
This snap-on foot is the “new kid on the block” in the Brother world. Sleek and narrow from front to back, this foot offers excellent visibility and the opportunity to sew very close to zipper teeth on all kinds of zippers. IMPORTANT! If you’re using SA208, you need to make sure you use just two needle positions, either the far-left straight stitch (7.0) or the far-right straight stitch (0.0). This foot is ideal for accurate topstitching on many zipper applications and sits very firm and flat on the fabric layers. It’s ideal if you want to sew close to zipper teeth while maintaining good contact with the fabric layers as well as excellent visibility.
Top Side of Foot
Bottom Side of Foot
Misc. Zipper tips:
- In most cases, it’s best to purchase a standard zipper at least two inches longer than what the pattern calls for. Extend the top part of the zipper beyond the edge to avoid having to stitch next to the bulky zipper stop. Pin zipper above the tab to protect form zipping off zipper when cutting to final length.
- The term zipper coils and zipper teeth are used interchangeably. “Teeth” can be molded or made form metal. It’s okay to stitch over polyester coil zippers but never sew over metal zipper teeth.
- Create a new zipper stop when necessary, by stitching a bar tack over the zipper teeth.
- Always interface zipper area to keep fabric from stretching or distorting.
- Consider adding ribbon or strips of fabric with added decorative stitches to extend the width of standard zippers and make them suited for decorative application as exposed zippers.
You'll find videos for sewing slotted, lapped, & concealed zippers, plus lots more free information you can download HERE on this page of my website. Enjoy and please leave your comments and or questions below. I'd love to hear from you!
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