Center Seam Zipper For A Pocket

Avoiding Zipper Hell, Part II

A center seam zipper for a pocket is very much like a regular center seam zipper, but I'll go through the steps, anyway.

Sewing Tip #1: It matter less that you do it 'right' and more that you do it consistently.  That way, you know what you did and can make workable changes when things don't turn out quite the way you wanted them to.

Sewing Tip #2: Check - Your - Work.  It's better to spend 2 seconds checking that you are happy with the step you just completed than to discover at the end that you are unhappy with the work done at step 2.  In zippers there are plenty of little steps.

Sewing Tip #3:  Be aware of your material, perhaps test a scrap.  In this case I mean that pins play a big part of how I put in zippers and not all materials can be pinned without consequence.  The biggest one that comes to mind is leather.  Included in this class, though, is Ultrasuede and vinyl.  Every hole is permanent.  Silk charmeuse also shows every hole.  Pins need to remain in the seam allowances for any silk and most satins.  So, for silk charmeuse, I would recommend an invisible zipper or a different kind of closure, completely.

Sewing tip #4:  A brand new needle will fix most stitch problems.  Most of the remaining problems can be fixed by re-threading the machine.  Do it this way when you are having troubles: snip the thread near the spool.  Then, reach down near the needle (or lack of needle =D ) and pull the thread out of the machine  in this direction.  This keeps little lint balls from being dragged into even more difficult places.  The goal is too keep your machine out of the shop ($$).

Make two identical pieces of fusible interfacing and put them on either side of what will be the seam.  They need to be a little longer than you want your opening to be and about 3/4 to 1" wide for a 5/8" seam allowance so that they extend and stabilize past the seam allowance and into the body of the item you are making.  This will keep the fabric from sliding around so much.  Like before, if you have very stable fabric, interfacing is not necessary, I'm just using difficult fabric to bring as many possible problems to light so I can help you avoid them.

If the item is not lined, go ahead and finish the edges. If it is lined, this step is not  necessary.

Using a marking pencil or pins, mark where you want the ends of the zipper to be.  Then sew with a regular stitch until you get to the first mark.  Backtack, stop.   Lengthen your stitch length to a basting length and sew until you get to the second mark.  Stop.   Change your stitch length back to normal, backtack, and finish your seam.  I've circled where I've backtacked to make it easier to see.

Press your seam open, ignoring the first, red zipper on the left.  My plan changed in the middle =)

Insert pins to mark where the backtacks are.  This will allow you to see where you need to start, turn and stop while sewing the zipper.  Open up the seam so it lays flat, again.

 Position the zipper so that neither the tab nor the bottom stop are at either mark.  Have the zipper tab up and center the zipper.  Pin

Slip the zipper under the foot and position it so the first stitch of the needle will be right at the pin (the one farthest to the right is my marking pin).  Since I'm not sewing over the other pins, I'm leaving them, for now.

Before taking that first stitch, check the zipper coil to be sure it is centered.  Center it, if it is off.  Then put the needle down, remove the pin, and stitch.  Remember, only stitch about 1" at a time and reposition the coil, sew, reposition, sew, etc.  Stop with your needle down at the next marking pin.

Turn your fabric, go across the coil, put the needle down, turn again, and off you go back towards the tab. If your machine tends to jam when you go across the needle, the number one fix is a brand new needle.

Stop and secure the threads when you get right across from where you started sewing.

Here is the zipper with three sides sewn.  Remove the pins. 

Flip your item over so you are looking at the 'right' side.  Open up the zipper, very carefully.  Then, from the wrong side, push the zipper pull into the area you've opened up.

 Position your zipper foot to sew the last side.  Put the needle down.  With one hand, hold the zipper coils together, secure the thread, and sew across the coils until you meet with the seam on the other side. Secure the thread.

Voila!

Test to be sure everything works correctly.  I usually snip off and tack down the excess zipper on the wrong side.

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So, it occurred to me that I said for a pocket. The rest of this blog is how to attach a simple pocket to this zipper.

Cut a rectangle of fabric a little wider than your finished zipper size.  Normally I would trim the left side of this zipper, getting rid of those dangling ends, but I didn't as this isn't a real garment.  Make this pocket piece from a thin but sturdy fabric like cotton or a regular lining fabric.  Here I used some gold satin.  Be sure to cut it on the grain and have the corners square.  Play with the length to see what works for you. Too big (long) is easier to fix than too small (short). Finish the edges, some of the seams are small.

Looking at the back of the zipper, lay the pocket piece right side down and pin to the bottom edge of the zipper/seam allowance.  

Starting at the edge of the pocket piece, secure the thread and sew a narrow seam (I used 1/4") all the way across.  I sewed from this side so I could be sure not to catch the fabric under the needle by accident.  It is not necessary, you can sew from either side.  Be aware of the zipper tab; a regular foot has to go over this.  If your machine doesn't handle this kind of thing well, use the zipper foot.

This is the seam sew up and pressed down.

Take the bottom edge of your pocket piece and fold it up.  Pin it to the top of the zipper/seam allowance.  Make sure the fabric folds evenly and nicely.  If it looks like it has been folded off grain, adjust it until it folds correctly.  This is why cutting on the grain is important.

Pin up the sides if you are using a fabric that shifts.  This one does. 

Machine sew the sides between the bottom of the fabric and the seam allowance the zipper is inserted into.  In order to make sure that things don't slip out of the pocket, I hand sew the pocket piece to the seam allowance (making sure not to go through to the right side).

Here is the finished pocket!  I don't know about you, but I really like these three colors together =D