Zip It!

Anyone want to guess what today's sewing topic is?  That's right:  ZIPPERS!

That "Z" word is enough to strike fear and panic in the hearts of some home seamstresses, but it doesn't have to be that way.  Anyone with some sewing experience and a sewing machine with a zipper foot can learn to install zippers.

I make a lot of purses these days, therefore knowing how to set in a zipper is a must for me.  Personally, I prefer a handbag with a zippered top mainly for security reasons.  I don't like the idea of someone being able to reach inside my purse to remove items that belong to me.

If you've ever had your non-zipping purse topple off your car seat spilling your contents throughout your car, you may have come to prefer a zip top purse, too. 

Here's my current summer purse.  This is my large zip top purse pattern.  This purse is based on a Palm Harbor pattern, but I've made so many changes to the original pattern that it no longer resembles the original design.

For this purse, I used a contrasting bright green zipper.  It may look like a design feature, but actually it was a necessity since I did not have on hand a zipper that blended with the backround color in this fabric. 

Check out this example of a zippered pocket on a tote which has a magnetic snap closure. 

For this particular tote, I also added a zippered pocket in the lining of the tote. That way, a wallet or coin purse could be securely tucked into that zippered pocket.

BTW, this particular zipper application is explained clearly in most of  the Palm Harbor Patterns . It is well worth learning how to insert a zipper this way if you like to make handbags or totes.

Here are a few pictures of other zipper applications that I often use in my custom handbag business. 

 

Stay tuned as I show you some non-zippered purses tomorrow!