Side Zipper Sewing Problems and Solutions

I wore Beatrice to church one Sunday and a friend of mine, noticing it was a new dress, inspected both front and back carefully and was very complimentary, saying it might even tempt her to try sewing again. Then after a moment of silence, she asked hesitantly "How do you get into it?"


Yes, a side zipper can easily go unnoticed (AND is easy to reach!), but I also love a side zipper because:

• Tucked neatly under the arm, a side zipper in an off color is less noticeable
• A 14" length (vs. 22" for a back zipper) is less expensive
• No dealing with neck edges and facings
• A lapped zipper is easier to sew 

However, a flawless installation does not happen automatically. There are several problems to watch for, and I'll go through them one by one:
 Problem A: The stitching is puckering up on one side and you have extra or not enough fabric on one side or the other.
What is happening: The front and back side seams openings are not the same length.

 How to check it: Match the front and back to each other the entire length. You can see that one side is much longer than the other. Now let's talk about problem B, which has the same solution.

Problem B: The waist seams don't match up.

What is happening: You may have the same length, front to back, but the top to bottom are offset just enough to keep the waist seams from matching correctly.

Solution to problem A and B: You need to find out which piece is too long/short. Is it the front or back/ bodice or skirt?

Pull out the paper pattern and match it up to both the skirt and the bodice, both front and back, to find out which one needs the correction. In this case, the bodice allowance isn't accurate. Start by ripping the seam out back to the point where the seam diverges from the pattern.

 Place a pin to mark the match point.

Pin everything back together and check it to make sure it still matches. Now sew.

Problem C: We've got both sides the same, but sewing the lapped side of the zipper with a perfectly matched waist seam is difficult!
What is happening: You've pinned  your lap to the zipper tape over and over again, but still the waist seams do not match up once sewn. Figuring out just where and how to perfectly match seam to seam on the zipper tape, along with the natural drag of the zipper foot can  easily put everything completely out of alignment.

Solution to Problem C:

Mark your waist seam line on the zipper tape with a pencil, chalk, or erasable marker. We have marked two lines because we need to center the piping.

Sew the seam allowance to the zipper tape to make sure everything stays in place.

Then check your work before topstitching.

Use a walking foot to top stitch, measuring an even distance from the fold. Make sure you've given enough clearance and that the stitching will be on the right side of the teeth. A walking foot picks itself up with every stitch, which means the fabric is feeding evenly the length of the zipper.

Problem D: No matter how hard you try, there is always a "bump" in the top stitching at the end because the zipper pull gets in the way.
What is happening: You can't figure out how anyone could have straight stitching at the end of a zipper! The pull is too large. The zipper foot can't get past it,  you have an unsightly zag in the stitching.

Solution to Problem D: 

 Stop your stitching BEFORE you get to the zipper pull. With the needle in the DOWN position, raise the foot and push the zipper pull well past the foot.

 Lower the foot.

 Finish sewing to the end, pivoting at the corner just past the top stop. Use this method of moving the pull any time it keeps you from sewing a straight seam.

We have one lovely side zipper we can be proud to wear! Don't you just love a dress that looks great both coming and going?

A better way to sew zippers in fleece

Meet Sadie

My daughter often comes home to visit me with a project in tow, and this time she wanted a new cover for her well worn dog bed. A minor error in planning gave me an opportunity to rethink my sewing strategy, ending up with a technique that came out great. Many sewing "mistakes" are opportunities to be inventive, and sometimes the solution is better than the standard method.


We had planned a square bed made of fleece, about a 36" finished top and bottom with sides of about 3". We planned to put a zipper in the center of one panel so the stuffing could be removed for easy washing. In my hurry, I forgot to cut any of the side panels with a seam in the middle. I was already sewing the side panels together when this was discovered. We had enough fabric to re-cut, but I just didn't want to do it. Then the idea came to me- fleece doesn't fray, so shouldn't I be able to just sew the zipper down the middle and cut an opening? It's quick and fast, keeps bulk to a minimum. It turned out to be the perfect solution.

Since fleece stretches, I wanted to stabilize the panel ends. I cut two pieces of square muslin. I didn't worry about being too exact just yet.

 Then I sewed the zipper down the middle on both sides of the teeth. I laid the muslin with the seam allowance even with the zipper tape and sewed right across the end encasing the ends of the zipper. I turned the muslin to the edge, trimmed it to fit. I could have basted it down, but didn't.

 Here is a close up of what this looks like. You can see the muslin seam in between. This panel is now stabilized at the ends with the cotton and by the zipper in the middle so the fleece won't stretch out of shape.

 This is the right side.

 Then I took my tiny sharp scissors and cut down the center between the zipper top stitching.

 It's a perfect match- no bulky seams and you can't see the zipper pull unless I open the cut for you.

 Here is what the zipper looks like on the finished dog bed.

What do you think? Did it work out well? Never mind that we didn't mind the directional print. Perfection is not necessary. It's a dog bed!

 Sadie seems to like it well enough!

I don't sew with fleece much, but if I ever do, I will definitely use this method again!