THRIFTY STITCHER
Claire-Louise Hardie teaches us how to insert invisible zips with ease
The one topic I’m asked for help with more than anything else is invisible zips. It seems to be a real sticking point for many, and I have seen people avoid making clothes that involve zips because of this.
There’s no need to feel nervous about invisible zips as they are just a series of steps to be followed. Once you master each step, it’s just a case of rinse and repeat every time you insert another and you’ll always get a perfect invisible zip. The beauty of an invisible zip is that all the stitches are underneath, so even if your stitches are wobbly they won’t be seen.
Before we launch into the process, there are a couple of things to note. The method I’m sharing here is just one approach, there are lots of different ways to tackle sewing in an invisible zip, each with their own merits and cons. I’m sharing the approach I have found works the best consistently.
My preference for sewing is to hold everything in place with pins, however I know that some people have mobility issues, or are nervous about pins moving around whilst they’re sewing the zip in. You can substitute pins for wonder tape (a type of double-sided tape) or hand tacking, or plastic clips. Essentially the method is the same regardless of how you hold the zip in place before you start sewing.