How to Sew in an Invisible Zipper

I have always avoided invisible zippers. They intimidated me, and all the instructions I could find made it seem complicated and not worth the effort. Then, one day, I set about learning and realized, it's the simplest thing! Invisible zippers give a polished, professional look to dresses, shirts, and pants. I encourage you to give it a try.

1. Prepare the zipper.
Lay the zipper on your ironing board, and then unzip it all the way and flip it over.

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2. Iron the zipper.
Using a synthetic setting on your iron, press the coils flat, so that the stitching next to the coils show.

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3. Pin the zipper to your garment.
Pin the RIGHT side of the zipper to the RIGHT side of your fabric, using a 5/8" seam allowance.

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4. Attach your invisible zipper foot.

This is a special foot that does not come with your sewing machine. If your machine comes with a foot, it is for regular zippers. Invisible zippers need to be sewn almost right at the coils and therefore require a special foot. These are usually plastic and can be found cheaply in the same section where you find the zippers. Attach to your machine, according to the directions, and ensure that the needle is positioned directly over the center hole in the zipper foot. Also, make sure that your sewing machine is set for a straight stitch.

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5. Sew.
Position garment so that the right groove of the invisible zipper foot is over the zipper coils. Sew, remembering to backtack at the beginning.

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Continue to sew until the zipper foot touches the zipper's slider. Backtack to secure stitches.

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6. Repeat with other half of zipper.

Pin the other half of the zipper to the other half of your garment, RIGHT sides together. Ensure that the zipper is not twisted. Position the left groove of the zipper foot over the coils and sew until the foot reaches the slider.

7. Stitch remaining seam of garment.

Close zipper and flip your garment inside out.

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Slide the zipper foot to the left so that the needle goes through the outer notch. Pull the ends of the zipper out of the way and lower the needle, by hand, to about 1/2" to the left of your last zipper stitch. Sew for about 2 inches.

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Then, switch to your machine's regular presser foot and finish sewing the seam normally.

Flip your garment rightside out and check out your handiwork!

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