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tips on sewing sleeves/zipper

13 years ago

Hi there:

I've been sewing for 3 years, but most of my projects have not involved too complicated techniques. I feel like I am ready for a new challenge and was hoping to get a few suggestions on the best techniques to attach sleeves (or any round sewing for that matter) and zippers.

Thank you in advance for the help!

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Comments (4)

lizzie2
13 years ago
Jujucrafts. Have you ever thought of sewing a duffle bag? It includes the sewing in a circle and the zipper and is a great first project. There are patterns online and in some books that may it at your library. I usually put the straps on first then sew the zipper. Sew the zipper in on one side with right side of the fabric down to the right side of the zipper fold over so right side is up again and sew that side of the zipper again so it will be a very secure zipper and then repeat for the other side. Pin the circle to the rube and stitch. I usually hand baste the circle and tube together so it will be easier to machine stitch and then repeat for the other side. It is a great first project that I can use to take projects to events where my children are playing or when I go to the Y to work out. It is a fast project that will give you an item to use right away. If you make the side shorter you could use as a purse also.
izzie
13 years ago
I do sew but haven't made clothes/tops for a long time. For sleeves do make sure you mark the dots on the patterns to the material and match them up. I usually do very small snips/cuts in fabric to mark the dots, but be very careful if you do that so you don't cut too far. (Try using a lightweight cotton fabric for first project, just easier to work with) That marks on the pattern helps for the proper distribution of fabric. You do have to ease in and stretch the fabric to get it all fit together. I usually used just pins and never hand basted, but for the first time I would hand baste after you get it all pinned, lots of pins. ...Zippers, never did too many, they usually have good directions on the package.
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Comments (8)
Jayokie, I don't know where to start. What kind of zipper are you interested in putting in? If you do an invisible you will need a special foot for your machine. If you go to the Husqvarna website they have really good demos on all sorts of things, including zippers. It's step by step with very good visuals. I think you find the demos under the "sewing room" tab, then under "technics". As for placing the zipper in the right place in the seam, use a glue stick. A little dab of glue will hold the zipper where you want it, then stitch but let the glue dry first! I don't like to pin zippers, as soon as you get to a pin and have to pull it out to stitch you move the zipper out of position. You can also baste first to make sure you like it, then stitch. I really recommend the demos at Husqvarna, they are great and better than anything I have read in books. My problem with zippers is the placement of the very top of it, the rest is easy. Hope this helps.
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Your zipper foot has 2 half circle slots. One of these slots is where the needle goes when you sew and it should be against the cording with the foot on the other side of the needle. You should be able to run your stitching right on the stitching line of the cording. That is how it should go but if you have another kind of foot then maybe it is not a zipper foot or it's a kind of zipper foot I've never seen. If this doesn't help then maybe you could post a photo of the foot and tell us what machine you have so we are not flying blind
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1. I would place the top of the zipper at the top of the neck where it would go if the zipper was the correct length, then place a bar tack across the zipper at the place where it should end in the pattern, to prevent the tag part from trying to disappear down into the seam allowance when fully opened. Tack the rest of the zipper tail down on the inside to keep it flat (or you could even cut it off, if your bar tack was good and strong). 2. The bias tape I'm assuming is to finish off the raw edge since the curve will be too tight to do a neat hem. You could either cut facings from fabric scraps or make your own bias tape. 3. The recommendation to baste down the seam allowances is to prevent the elastic from getting stuck in the dead end of the seam allowance as you are feeding it through. Trying to come up with a visual, imagine the two pieces of fabric sewn together with their seam allowances are a pair of magazines, opened out at the centres and laid cover to cover one on top of the other.Now you have to thread a piece of string between the two covers. Unless you are very careful your string could go between the pages of one magazine and get stuck at the staples. But if you glued all the edges of the pages together on each magazine before you laid them on top of each other then the string has only one place to go, between the covers :-) This is the equivalent of basting down the edges of the seam allowances in the section where the casing will be. Personally I might not hem, just turn under once to make the casing, especially as this doesn't have to be a first-rate, built to last outfit.
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Comments (4)
Hi Kathi, Thanks for responding. I wish I knew how to post pictures on these forums to make things much clearer. There are instructions but I don't even know how to use our digital camera yet! I will work on this next year. But the good news is that I do know how to sew (but there is always much more to learn). I wrote "Sometimes the material attached to the metal piece that goes into the zipper pull will start to rip. This makes the zipper sides not match and it won't zip up right". I meant the other side of the zipper, not the zipper pull side. You insert one side of the zipper into the other side and then zip it up. The 1/2 inch long metal piece at the bottom is becoming detaching from the material. I just bought a curved blade seam ripper and already have the regular kind. I also bought the new zipper. But ripping out is time consuming for me and then all those little threads left over. Maybe tape will help to get the threads out. Most of my sewing lately has been repairs and I do love the fix things. My neighbor took her kid's coat to the cleaners for a new zipper and they said $50. The coat was not worth much more than that so she tossed it. The coat zipper I am talking about should be an easier one but the next coat I need to do has a placket under the zipper and will take more finesse. One at a time.
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kathi_mdgd
13 years ago
The directions on the zipper pkg are very good,read them over a few time b4 you do your project.Why not make a simple make up bag with a zipper first.It's made with the fabric in it's flat form(before it's joined together)insert the zipper,then make sure you UNZIP the zipper,put right side together and sew up the rest of the seams.

Sleeves aren't hard either,just follow the directions with the pattern and before you know it you'll be a pro at both things.
Kathi
sheesh
13 years ago
The best tip my mother taught me was to sew on the inside of a circle. That goes for everything - sleeves, hems, no matter what. It may seem obvious, but when you are wrestling with a lot of fabric, it almost feeds itself if you are sewing on the inside of the circle.

If it isn't clear from what I wrote, it will be as soon as you start arranging your pieces. Don't be afraid of zippers or sleeves; you'll get the hang of it.

Sherry

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