I'm looking for...

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Observations on zip installation

    Among the dresses I had to alter, there was this silk one, that was quite too big on the bust. It's a dress I bought from Zara a couple of years ago and only got to year once. I'm posting about it, because I want to show you the way they covered the zip tape. It may be a well known technique, but I've never seen it before.

This is how it looks when you unzip the dress.
There is grossgrain tape along the right side of the zip.


This is how it looks from the inside, when the zip is done.
The grossgrain tape fully covers the zip, giving a smoother feeling on your skin.
And if the dress is too tight, you won't risk catching skin while zipping!


Now let's observe how it's made... so that we may duplicate it!

This is the right side of the zip, on which the grossgrain tape is sewn.
So, if you wanted to duplicate this technique, you would first install the zip, as you would in any other case,
only you would sew the zip on both the fashion fabric and lining, treating them as one.
Then, while having the zip tape flat, you would sew the grossgrain tape 
above all them and really close to the edge.


You would end up with this.
See the edge of the grossgrain tape is hemmed. 


The bottom of the grossgrain tape is hemmed too, while catching the zip tape at the same time.


After you've sewn the grossgrain tape on the zip tape, you would turn the zip to the inside,
as you would anyway and you would catch the grossgrain tape on the top of the dress with a few stitches,
to keep it in place.

You wouldn't have to do anything special to the left side of the zip.


I guess you could use anything but grossgrain tape. 
Silk or satin tape, with some body, or even a folded piece of the fashion fabric, 
as long as it can be stiff enough to stay put!
     

See you around
Maria

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...