by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 29, 2013
I thought I would follow up my Cargo Duffle post with the zipper tutorial I promised. Especially since Kim asked for it – she wants to make a cargo duffle as well! This bag, by the way, performed beautifully on it’s maiden voyage via 3 differently sized airplanes. It is the perfect size to fit under the seat and leaves just enough space to rest your feet beside it. Letting you use whatever leg room you can get!
When I was buying supplies for the duffle cargo I was disappointed that I could not find a zipper that closed into the middle. Instead, all my local fabric shop had were zippers that met in the centre and opened at each end. I’ve been experimenting with zippers lately and have found that I am shortening a lot of them to fit my projects. So I thought, maybe I could flip the zipper slider around to open the zipper teeth in the opposite direction. I was pretty excited when it worked!
The only negative I can find to this process is that it won’t work on a metal zipper – at least not as far as I can tell. I was unwilling to pull my metal zipper apart because the teeth seem to be different on each side. If you take a look at the teeth on a plastic zipper (below) – they are symmetrical and will fit into the zipper slider in any direction – making the whole process of turning the slider around possible. I’d love to know if you’ve tried this and what your conclusions are.
What you need:
- plastic two way zipper
- pliers
- craft scissors
- craft knife
- sewing machine
- small fabric scraps to match your project
Here we go:
Step 1: (1a, 1b) The bottom of the zipper has two pins with stoppers molded into them (circled in red). Take your craft knife and carefully (Please!) cut off the two stoppers. This will allow your slider to come off the bottom of the zipper. (1c, 1d) Take note how the pieces look as you remove them.
Step 2: Without separating your zipper lay it right side up and mark the left and right pieces on the top – just past the top zipper stoppers. This will be hidden once you are finished, but I used my water soluble fabric marker anyhow.
Step 3: Remove the top zipper stoppers. (3a) I found the best way is to use some old scissors to cut through the stopper right beside the zipper tape. (3b) Once it has been cut the stopper will pull off with a bit of gentle tugging. Be careful not to cut the other teeth or the zipper tape!
Step 4: (4a) Both ends of your zipper will have the stoppers removed now. (4b) Lay the zipper pulls next to the zipper pin end in the correct order. Technical info: The wider end of the zipper pull allows the zipper teeth to be pulled in and fastened together. So the wide ends of your pulls should be facing each other together in the middle.
Step 5: Push the stoppers back onto the zipper at the bottom end, one at a time following the photos below. Open and close the zipper, being careful not to accidentally pull the zipper pulls off of the tape – since you don’t have stoppers at the ends anymore.
Step 6: To make a temporary stopper, put a bar tack near the end of the zipper teeth at each end. Set your machine to a zig-zag with “0” length and the maximum width. Stitch several (10-15) stitches in place. Make sure the width crosses over all of your teeth or you will have a broken needle! (Trust me – I know from experience…)
Step 7: I also covered the ends of my zipper so the bar tack would not show when I used the zipper in my cargo duffle. If your zipper is too long you will not need to do this because the ends can be stitched into the project.
- Cut 4 pieces of fabric wider than your zipper tape and long enough to reach from the end of the zipper to 1/2″ past where the teeth start. This length will be different for each end. You can also pick the longest length and make them both match.
- (7a) Place the pieces right sides facing at the edge of the teeth/bar tack.
- (7b) Stitch using a 1/2″ seam – be careful when stitching over the teeth. I usually turn the hand wheel and move the fabric around to avoid breaking my needle.
- (7c) Fold the fabric down over the end of the zipper and top stitch close to the folded edge of the fabric.
- (7d) Cut the edges from the fabric so it matches the width of the zipper tape.
All finished – now you can install it in your bag project!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 28, 2013
I hope you are having a wonderful restful Saturday and you all enjoyed your Christmas holiday! Today I am writing from South Texas where we are visiting my parents for a two week vacation. The weather here is a tad cold and rainy, which is odd for this area. But we are not complaining – it is NOT snowing or freezing rain. And despite the chilly-ish forecast, we are off to the beach on Monday.
Last week our faithful group of survey answerers let us know that we all sew almost everything! Tied for a close second everyone likes to sew Quilts and Clothing. I have to say that I enjoy everything as well – though I tend to leave quilting at the end of my list. That is slowly changing – as I find quilting and making small projects a lot of fun and will be posting one next week. That’s likely leading to some full size quilts soon (hopefully!)
Ready for this week’s question?
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by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 25, 2013
Merry Christmas to you and yours today! Hope you have a wonderful day. (And maybe sneak in some sewing?!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 23, 2013
I’m so excited to share this bag with you today! Anna from Noodlehead shared this Cargo Duffle pattern – it’s a free pattern available from Robert Kaufmann. As soon as I saw it I wanted to make one to use as an airplane carry on. We are visiting my parents this Christmas, so it’s going to get lots of use!
The pattern is the perfect size and looks amazing when it is finished. It’s very professional and the construction method makes it strong enough to hold its shape well. I got the fabric from Warp and Weft back in the summer. I’m on a scooter kick… and I love the blue, red and creamy white. I had the navy blue twill and Kona for the pockets in my stash. The inside is lined in some quilting cotton I picked up at Fabricland.
The zipper opened at each end – like a double zipper on a coat. I was really happy to find out that I could turn the zipper pull tab around so it zipped into the centre. I’ll be posting a tutorial on how to do it soon – it’s easier than you think! (Update: Here is the zipper tutorial.)
I added a large zipper pocket to the inside so I can store all of the surprises that will hopefully keep the kids happy for the trip. It is really easy to do this because of the way the bag is constructed.
I wanted to talk a bit more about this bag – the construction, the quilting (which I’m now addicted to!). But it’s Christmas dinner day today so I should likely get back to everyone! Have a great start to your week. Hope you enjoyed the photos with our lovely ice storm in the photo backgrounds. It’s been fun seeing our icy winter wonderland outside!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 22, 2013
Back again! A tad late this week. We had a fun day yesterday with family and the beginnings of an ice storm – which has let to part of our neighbor’s tree lying on our fence this morning. Exciting?!
Last week’s survey asked “Is your holiday sewing finished yet?” Over half of everyone voting are taking all the time they can get. Only 2 people are finished – lucky them! I’m tempted to post the same one this week – just for curiosity’s sake! To see if the ratio of finished projects increases. I’m finished – but I cut way down on the handmade gifting this year. Instead I am concentrating on making a Carry-On and 2 Backpacks for our trip to visit my parents by plane this year. They are in South Texas – which is going to feel so good after our chilly winter weather!
On to this week’s survey – Let’s find out what you like to sew the most. I’d love to be able to tailor posts to reflect what you are interested in! And – THANK YOU for participating – I really enjoying finding out what you think on a weekly basis! As always – if you have more to discuss about the week’s question – leave a comment so we can talk about what you have to say!
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