What if zipper is too long

Amanda Rose sewmuch2say. The problem is that not every zipper is the right color or length for the project I am completing. But that isn't a problem, because there is a way to lengthen or shorten any zipper to fit your project! I am going to show you both ways today.

Note: There are other great ways to lengthen and shorten a zipper. I am just showing you what I do! How to Lengthen a Zipper. Recently, I was making a zippered clutch I will be showing you a tutorial on it soon. The length of my fabric was I really wanted to use a yellow zipper from the pile. So, I decided to add tabs on either side of my zipper.

A tab goes on either side of the zipper. So the finished size of each tab because I want each of my tabs to be the same size is 1. In order to have finished edges, I took this number times four. So I need each tab to be cut 5" long by 1" because that is the width of the zipper. Measuring, Marking and Cutting Out a New Zipper When dealing with a plastic zipper and a invisible zipper, the extra length that you need to remove will be from the bottom of the zipper tape.

You need to make a new bottom stopper either by sewing by hand or by using a machine. Measure the area that you need and mark where you want to place the new stopper.

For invisible zippers, measure and marks from the back side since that is where the teeth are. When measuring metal zipper, you should measure from the top of the pull to the stopper. Featured Video. Materials Zipper Thread. Measure and Bar Tack the Zipper Measure the area you want to insert the zipper into.

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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. LOG IN. Search for:. Measure Measure down from the top towards the bottom to the preferred length. Mark Mark the zipper tape where you will be placing the new bottom stopper. Sew Use your sewing machine to make a line of straight stitches across the tape, starting a few stitches before the teeth and extending a few stitches on the other side of the teeth. Invisible Zipper with Plastic Teeth Just as with a regular zipper, with an invisible zipper you remove the excess zipper length from the bottom.

Measure Measure down from the top to where you want the new stopper to be. Mark Mark straight across the zipper tape and teeth. Sew As with a regular zipper, use your sewing machine to make a line of straight stitches across the tape, starting a few stitches before the teeth and extending a few stitches on the other side of the teeth.

Your stopper should now look like the image above. Measure and Mark Measure down to where you want the slider to stop keeping in mind that the length of a zipper is measured from the top stop to the bottom stopper and not by the length of the zipper tape. Your zipper should look as it does above, with your mark showing the new top stop of the zipper. Reattach If you want to reuse the metal stopper at the top, remove that as well and reattach it at the new top of the teeth.