Reuse That Old Handbag Hardware December 13, 2006

By Diva Els

Since I made my last leather bag I felt the urge to sew another one for everyday use. I save my bags although they are be worn out or out of date but I cannot throw a bag away. One of my favourite bags ((bought 10 years ago) was worn out but I still like the design and the hardware was good enough to reuse again.
 

So I made a copy of this bag.
A piece of dark green butter soft leather was in my stash and waiting for a use.
I measured the bag width, length, height, and depth and made a paper pattern.
The original bag has a center seam at the side where the zipper pocket is placed but I had enough leather to skip that seam. I interfaced the leather parts with a fusible non-woven special leather interfacing which can be ironed with a warm iron.
The non-woven interfacing is cut with seam allowances. The bottom and side part could use a bit more strength so I added an extra layer of a sturdier interfacing between the first and second layer (this one without seam allowances).
The shoulder straps also could use a bit more strength so I did some testing and used a piece of petersham ribbon as an extra layer.
The opening of the bag where the zipper will be attached is stabilized with fusible seam tape as well as the lining opening.

I used leather glue to hold the leather seam allowances, and a hammer to flatten the seams. The bag has two pockets on both sides, one is an open pocket, 

and on the other side a zippered one.


The lining is interfaced with a fusible cotton red interfacing. The inside pocket is made of a double layer of the lining fabric.
The inside pocket

has a double function, the outside is a zippered pocket while the under layer is an open pocket,

This pocket is sewn at the lining by topstitching around the edges. I also added a key ring at the side depth of the bag.
When I was sewing the short end of the zipper at the bag with the hardware ring attached, I noticed I made a mistake. The hardware has a silver colour and I used a matching green with brass colour zipper teeth.

I removed the green brass zipper from the opening but left the pocket zipper because that side is not shown to the public while I wear that bag. I wear my shoulder bag on my left shoulder so the zipper pocket is towards my body. I bought a new green zipper with silver teeth which had a nice zipper pull,

but the colour was not spot on and the zipper was not working properly. It was stiff. I tried to smooth it by rubbing beewax on the teeth but it did not help. So I decided to use another zipper from my stash. This time a grey one that worked okay but needed to be covered to hide the grey tape.
I used 2 strips of leather to cover the tape.
I stretched the leather a bit while sewing the leather at the zipper tape so the zipper has the same shallow shape, to match the bag’s shape.

So the zipper is sewn in on a different way. The original bag zipper opening is topstitched and the zipper tape was partly visible.
It was easy to sew this bag on my Pfaff sewing machine because the leather was soft, the hardest part was sewing in the zipper. I needed to do some tests for the zipper to see which order to sew it. I found out that the short side of the zipper, where the ring is attached, needed to be sewn in first. Secondly, the zipper long ends on both sides, and lastly the other short end where the shoulder straps is attached.
The lining is sewn in by hand at the zipper tape,

because I had already glued the leather seam allowance to the inside.
The final step was to add the bag stop,

which helps to prevent the shoulder strap gliding of my shoulder.

Finished bag.

Done and ready to use.

Sewing Invisible Zipper November 8, 2006

By Diva Els 

I prefer to sew the zipper after the seam underneath the zipper opening is closed. I use a longer zipper for example the zipper opening is 12 inch my zipper is at least 13 inch. A too long zipper can be cut of with a pinking shear from the bottom after the zipper is sewn. If your garment will be lined a couple of stitches over the coil will do to stop the zipper from separating .For an unlined garment it is a neat way to finish the end of the tape by covering it with a piece of lining or a satin tape.
The opening is stabilized with fusible interfacing .

I find it easy to have a mark on my fabric where the zipper needs to be stitched ,that’s why I start sewing the zipper opening with a large stitch and a loose tension. sew the seam beneath the zipper opening as usual.
Press the seam open and remove the stitches of the zipper opening seam. The pressed seam for the opening has now a fold which acts as a guideline.
I sew on a Pfaff with snap on feet and do not use the plastic invisible zipper foot which has to be screw on. I use the normal zipper foot,

Press the seam open and remove the stitches of the zipper opening seam. The pressed seam for the opening has now a fold which acts as a guideline.
I sew on a Pfaff with snap on feet and do not use the plastic invisible zipper foot which has to be screw on. I use the normal Pfaff zipper foot.

I need to press the zipper coil flat so I can sew with my usual zipper foot.

Here you can see the difference of the flat pressed coil with the not yet pressed coil.

The zipper coil is placed over the pressed fold, you can pin the zipper in first to check if you are on the right spot.

If you want to be sure you can baste the zipper tape (in this example the left side because that is the one which will be sewn first) Using a non perfectly match color thread in the spool will be handy if you need to rip the stitching in case it went bad. Think black thread on a black zipper you can use dark grey or dark blue which is easier to see if you need the seam ripper.

I start sewing the zipper from the top down ( I sew the left side of the tape first) with a few backstitches and the last stitch is at the end of the opening I don’t backstitch here but I sew backwards.

The next step is sewing the zipper from the top down ( I sew the left side of the tape first) with a few backstitches and the last stitch is at the end of the opening I don’t backstitch here but I sew backwards in a diagonal line for about 1 inch towards the outer edge of the zipper tape.

Close the zipper and pin / baste stitch the other side of the zipper at the fold line sewing from the bottom towards the top. Do not backstitch at the beginning this can be done later when you have checked if the zipper is sewed perfect without bumps.

Close the zipper the full length again to check if the zipper is sewed perfect
Because the zipper is longer than sewed the pull is now at the loos end of the zipper .

The last inch gentle pulling the zipper pull from the inside.

A few backstitches by hand with the upper thread pulled down .

Zipper is done, view from inside.

And ouside.

posted by Els | 9:19 AM   

14 Comments:

Gorgeous Things said…

Els, what a great tutorial, thank you! I have always sewn my invisible zippers on before closing up the seam, and I always have a fight with my garment to avoid any bubbles at the zipper bottom. This method looks like it will eliminate that problem. Thank you!

11:50 AM  

Lorna said…

Thanks, els! I have also sewn these in before sewing the seams. I don’t use the invisible zipper foot either as it does not fit my machine. I usually just use the machine zipper foot as I cannot adjust the needle position on my machine. Do you switch the needle over when sewing in the zips?

1:37 PM  

Abi said…

Thank you very much for the visual tutorial.Almost exactly what I do except I use the Viking invisible zipper foot and leave a 5cm gap unsewn.I then try to fudge a bubble free end.All I need is to use a longer zipper.
Excellent.

2:09 PM  

Anonymous said…

Els, thank you very much. I hate fighting that little bubble at the end of the invisible zipper. I’m going to have to give this a try. It looks like a very sleek method.Jodi

2:29 PM  

hjm said…

Thanks. I use invisible zippers a lot but have never produced one that I really liked. You have several tips here that I will try!
hjm

2:52 PM  

Mary Beth said…

Great tutorial, Els. Thanks!

4:51 PM  

Gigi said…

That’s great, Els! I’ve always inserted mine into an open seam but I’m excited to try your method.

4:51 PM  

Anonymous said…

Thanks for this. I’m going to print and follow on my next invisible.
Betty Fleet

4:59 PM  

Phyllis said…

T%his is great! Very thorough and easy to understand. I’ve been wanting to improve my invisible zipper sewing for a while now.

6:30 PM  

Lisette said…

Very good timing! I have a bunch of stuff that needs Invisible zips and the ones I’ve done I haven’t liked much. Thanks so much for this!

6:21 AM  

Cindy said…

Els, Thank you! Great tutorial! I cannot wait to try this method on my next invisible zipper.

8:03 AM  

Anonymous said…

Somehow these pics remind me of another example in one of Threads Magazine’s tutorial. The colors you chose are very difficult to show details just as that of the Threads tutorial. Invisible zippers are easy and fun once you know how but can be daunting for a beginner. I personally prefer to use the special invisible zipper foot but I have also used the same foot/machine brand like you did successfully. I would finally like to add that Pfaff did make an invisible zipper foot (metal) which has the same part number as the one you used, however it cannot be used with the IDT.
Signed: Aging Eyes

9:24 AM  

Anonymous said…

Els,This is a great tutorial! I wish more people knew how to put in an invisible zipper. It looks so much more professional! In fact, I only ever use a fly front or invisible zipper application, so I can’t wait to try your method. I, like others use the open seam method.

3:44 PM  

Anonymous said…

Thanks Els for this tutorial! Always try to finesse that little bubble at the bottom with tiny handstitch. But I’ll try your method - that diagonal stitching on bottom intrigues me. I’ll be off to the machine to try this. Thanks again! UTZ

3:12 AM  

Buttonholes on 38th St. June 28, 2006

by Diva Georgene

I guess Galaxy on 38th St. between 7th and 8th Ave. in Manhattan’s Garment Center doesn’t need the designer’s buttonhole business anymore. I was in despair until I found Jonathan’s on the same side of the street closer to 8th Ave.

Ostensibly an embroidery business at a storefront level, they do a land office business making buttonholes. I’ve seen people lined up with everything from duvet covers to fine men’s suits. You can see a lot of different designer lines coming thru here, as many sample studios do not have industrial buttonhole machines. To avoid that ‘loving hands at home’ look, a professional buttonhole is necessary.

It’s hard to find a Reece style buttonhole anywhere anymore. Stand in line, pick your thread color, and wait. Or if you have a big bag o’ stuff, drop it off and come back in 30 minutes.

Great service, and when you need it, you really need it.

Those of you who live in proximity to New York City will appreciate this service - get your buttonholes done, and shop the Garment Center for fabric while you wait. Did I mention that Spandex House is almost directly across the street?

See their website www.jonathanembroidery.com . I was able to get heatset rhinestones added to an embroidery done in China, when my supplier forgot to put them on the sample. Thanks to Sunny at Jonathan’s I was able to look like a hero!

One that didn’t make it May 31, 2006

By Diva Georgene
I received this sample from a factory in China in an appalling state - the trim was awful, the buttons were awful, it was nothing like what I envisionned when I sent off the development.
So what? you may ask. Only that I spent countless hours renovating it: ripping off everything and reconstructing it bit by bit, from setting on all the trim by hand, adding an organza bias to the hem and cuff to give it a little heft.

Here’s the a view of the cuff before I added the passementerie trim.

All of this was done by hand - impossible to put this knit to the machine and control it.

A trip to Britex netted me an impossibly expensive remnant of Italian silk twill to use as a facing. The knit was too soft to hold up the front, and the factory had not followed my instructions to put in a facing with fusible. Since there was no way to get more of the knit, I could only hope to match the color.

I prayed that this shopworn remnant would look better when I brought it back from the cleaners. The color was spot on when I finally got it back and I was able to find enough ‘good’ bits to cut out a back neck facing and the inside front.

Altogether I feel like I spent a 100 hours, and hundreds of dollars in this make-over. Unfortunately it got the axe, so now it’s in the reject sample pile. Let me just say I have a better insight to the workroom at Chanel now. They do this with Linton Tweeds however. I am not sure whether this would be harder or easier than my ribbon stripe knit. Too bad it’s not my size, I would wear it forever. If you add everything up, it definitely equals couture, although it didn’t start life that way. 4-Pocket Jacket R.I.P.