I have a dress with a broken zipper, and a pair of shorts ditto. I’d like to salvage them because they still fit otherwise, but the prices I’ve been quoted are somewhat daunting.
I’m not a real seamstress; I do simple mending like replacing buttons and tacking up hems, and I also do cross stitch. I also don’t have a sewing machine. But I have enough dexterity with a needle that I might be able to do this, if I know what to look out for. What do you suggest?
Definitely try and do it yourself. Worst case, you ruin the dress and the shorts, which aren’t wearable as is. So you aren’t really out anything but your time.
I have replaced many zippers. I save old zippers from discarded garments for this purpose.
First, use a seam ripper to carefully remove all the thread holding the old zipper. This is the tedious part and where you can do damage. Don’t tug or rip too much. Do as many individual threads as needed to pull it out. I use close up glasses to make sure I don’t rip part of the garment.
Second, measure the zipper and find a replacement. You can always use a longer zipper and trim off the top end.
Third, remembering how the former zipper was attached, lay out the replacement and pin it into place with straight pins.
Fourth, do a quick long stitch on your machine and test the zipper for performance.
Fifth, assuming all goes well to this point, add more reinforcement stitching.
PS. If you don’t have a machine, it’s going to take many rainy days to complete.
Okay. And it may not be many days. Hand-stitching is not that different from cross-stitching, and I can do that by the hour. I’ll be sure to make note of how the former one was attached. And in fact, this may rule out doing the shorts. You know how the base of a jeans zipper is often embedded, so to speak. This is the same thing. But the dress zipper is accessible.
Do the easy one first and get your confidence up. Then try the shorts. All you need to do is take more apart on the shorts to get to the zipper. You can take shortcuts if aesthetics are not a major factor. Sometimes as a shortcut on athletic stuff, I will simply cut the old zipper off as close as I can with some sharp bathroom, nail scissors and then sew the new zipper right over the old cloth. That saves lots of time, but the thick material will be hard to sew by hand. A cheap machine will save you time and money over the long run.
The idea probably is not applicable to either of your garments, but I throw it in for those with other applications. I often favor snaps over zippers, especially for jackets. Snap kits are available at Walmart and sewing stores. You can cut off or leave the broken zipper and add the snap. They also make snaps that sew on, but these are generally pretty small and weak.
Sew on Velcro also works to replace zippers in some applications.
A book like “sewing for dummies” might be helpful. I’ll be the dissenter - I think the shorts are the easier project, because although it is more technically difficult to remove and replace the zipper, the zipper won’t affect the fit as much, and it won’t be incredibly obvious if its not straight.
To fix the zipper on the dress, first remove the broken zipper. Turn the dress inside out, and sew the dress together where the zipper was, as if you didn’t need a zipper. Press open the seam with an iron. Center the new zipper on the seam. tack on zipper with big stitches so it stays put, but this isn’t the “real” sewing. Check to see the zipper is aligned correctly - put the dress right-side out, as if you were going to put it on, and look to see that it is hanging normally. Turn wrong-side out again, and sew on with multiple passes, because zippers take a lot of stress. Slit seam open (the one you did first), and you’re done.
Or, what this lady says:
Have you check price at your local dry cleaner? They can sometimes get you a deal.