Lazies, As you have probably gathered by now, I often sew with zippers. Shortening zippers is a way of life in my studio.  In fact, I usually stock my favorite colors in 22″ length, then shorten them if needed. That way I usually have the color I need in the length I need. I rarely buy zippers in shorter lengths anymore because I can always cut a longer zipper down to the size needed.

I want to share with you a post over at Kathleen Fasanella’s www.Fashion-Incubator.com ^[1]. Earlier this week Kathleen posted a nice picture tutorial for shortening a separating zipper ^[2].  Her technique is the same method I have been told to use for shortening any metal zipper, but I haven’t had to do that yet.

When I shorten a poly zip, I keep the top portion in tact and stitch across the zip toward the bottom for the length needed.  Kathleen’s technique removed teeth at the top, keeping the bottom in tact.

Also, take a look at these other two zipper tutorial links at Kathleen’s blog:
Centered Zipper Template ^[3]
Centered Zipper Tutorial ^[4]

Kathleen, thanks for the great tutorials.

Update Jan 2011: Tutorials have moved here Fashion-Incubator tutorials ^[5]

Joan

Image courtesy of Kathleen at www.Fashion-Incubator.com ^[1].