This Way Up

One of the challenges in sewing in a lining of just about any sort, is that you really only have 2 kicks at the can. Oh sure, some people might be able to eke out 3 or 4 tries (I suspect the correct term for that is "eek"), but if you're working with a fabric that frays (charmeuse - I'm looking at you, bitch) or a zipper insertion, you're likely asking for trouble the first time you unpick.

Of course, when one beautifully sews a zipper into a lining, and then just as beautifully sews that into the outer garment only to find that the zip insertion in the lining is inside fucking out, well, then (s)he has no choice but to use up that second life-line.

Ask me how I know.

Now, let's add some fuel to this fire: Let's say that you originally used double-sided wonder tape to "baste" the zip to the lining. (On the first try, that works beautifully, fyi.) On the second go, after you've picked the stitches and the zipper off the lining and the double-sided tape stays seriously affixed to the frayish, floppy lining fabric, then you've got some issues. (Non-sewists: No technical skill is required to understand this scenario. Quite simply, it's a royal fuck-up.)

Word to the wise: At this point, throw out the original zipper. Give it to the sewing goddess and get a new one. Cuz if you flip the old one over (with some of that adhesive still stuck on that side), you're going to wreck a couple of needles and then - even when you get a nice-looking finish - the charmeuse is going to stick to the zipper in such a way that every time you try to open or close the fucking garment, the lining is going to get sucked into the teeth.

Cuz if you don't do it before you start the second insertion, you won't have another chance. And then your "looks pretty good" skirt with the zipper sandwiched (professional-like) between the lining and the fashion fabric will merely look good.

Personally, I prefer functional closures.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink something strong and eat an ice cream bar before dinner. More reflections on this suit are pending. And lots of shots, natch.

PS: I grabbed the camera to take some pics - I mean, it doesn't look half-bad - but the kid (amateur photog that she is) burned out the batteries again. So we'll have to wait till tomorrow for that.

Zipper Dentata

For the woman who doesn't understand zips, the lapped jeans zipper is a special kind of anxiotic. Otherwise having come quite a way with the Jalie jeans - at the regrettable, frustrating, pace of a snail, I might add - I have spent the last week contemplating its many potential pitfalls. I've read Peter's tutorial, I've read Debbie's. And, seriously, it just scares me more.

Don't get me wrong. Debbie and Peter are awesome instructors and their instruction is well-thought out and beautifully presented. So have at it, Jeans Sewists of the Future.

To me, it just looks really fucking hard.

By the end of today, I couldn't handle the suspense any longer. While, arguably, I should be knitting (more on that soon), I just had to hit the sewga room (aka lair) as soon as I got home from work. Note: Mid-week sewing is a rarity in these parts.

I brought every tutorial I could get my hands on. Combined with the (thankfully) useful Jalie technical drawings - the directions are a bomb IMO - I got with the job.

Within an hour I had sewn the zip neatly - that tape Debbie mentions is SO useful - but when I turned the whole thing over, it occurred to me that I can't tell the difference between it and a regular invisible zipper. Have I done something wrong? I'm sure I followed the combined direction to a T. There does appear to be a slight overlap on the left side (if you can call it that) but it's not very pronounced. Does one create the lap by sewing the left fly front in that ubiquitous rectangle-meets-oblong top stitch shape? I haven't done the top stitching yet. I figure I should determine whether I need to rip the whole thing out first.

I guess my problem is that, despite all I've read and the many pairs of jeans I've reviewed, I just don't know what it's supposed to look like at this point.

I would welcome any feedback.

PS - I know this would be easier to judge with photos but I just don't have the energy for snaps tonight.

Zip It Good

Word to the wise, peeps: Don't try to serge the outer zipper to your seam allowances in an effort to make things neater.

There seems to be no method to get to the top without the zipper stop getting in the way (wherever you situate it as you start to serge). So the intrepid sewist (at least this one) ends up with a reasonably tidy, if peculiar-looking, serged outer seam allowance (which includes the zipper tape) until she gets most of the way there - at which point the thread loops start falling off the edge of the fabric given that she's desperately avoiding running over the zip stop with the precious serger blade.

Upshot: Weird meets messy.

It's preferable, IMO, to bias tape the length of the entire seam allowance in question - from zipper top to garment hem. While this may be out of place with the rest of the garment (unless - while often impractical and unwieldingly time-consuming - every other seam allowance is bound the same way), at least it will be uniformly clean from top to bottom.

I suppose - and I think I'm totally making this up unless one of you has suggested it and I'm stealing your idea - one could:

• cut extra wide seam allowances (like twice the required width),
  
• sew in the zip, then fold the outer SA towards the zip and seam line (to create a turn under),
• then fold it again over the outer edge of the zipper - and all the way down to the hem - creating a kind of binding that makes use of the fashion fabric itself.
  

In that case, presuming this could work, you'd have a clean edge all along the allowance, which would encase the outer zipper tape for its full length.

Why I care about this - given the numerous other glaring flaws I should probably turn my attention to - is beyond me. Just call it my public service.

Shout Out to the Experts: Finishing Fabric Edges Around Zippers

Hello Sewists:

Y'all know how I hate inserting zippers. Nonetheless I keep on with them, invisible and "regular", though invisibles seem easier to complete without utter crisis. I don't know what my issue is. I've read and watched dozens of tutorials on working with both varieties. They all make zips look like a piece of cake. Whatever. This post isn't about how I look for any opportunity to use a) stretch fabric or b) snaps.

This post asks the question: How do you make your zippers look pretty from the inside?

When I sew, first off, I serge all exposed fabric edges - including the fabric edges that will abut the zipper. Then I install the zipper (invisible or regular). At this point - if I haven't completely lost it - the zipper is secure, but it looks kind of crappy-tacked-on atop my serged edges.

Obvs, if I line the garment, the problem is solved. Likewise, if I choose to use binding along the seam that the zipper's inserted on. Alas, 2 bound edges when the rest of garment edges are serged looks kind of stupid, no? And binding every edge is way too labour intensive for (let's say) a casual summer dress.

What do you do to nicely finish fabric edges around zippers? Do you simply leave the zipper alone and think it looks fine? Do you serge over the zipper outer edge and affix it to the outer edge of the fabric (which you then serge at the same time i.e. after you've inserted the zipper and sewn up the seam the along which the zipper sits?)

Please do tell.