Today’s a big day. We’re sewing our zippers! While the pattern sufficiently explains it all, I can’t help but emphasize a few important parts and adding in a few little tips and reminders.
Follow the instructions in the pattern to attach the Zipper Bindings onto the quilted panel, making sure to sew to the lining side first! Then pull it taught before stitching onto the Main fabric side. I like to sew right along the folded edge of the binding. I really try to focus on getting a nice, straight line since this top-stitching will be very visible.
When you line up your zipper to sew it on, make sure to orient it as shown in the pattern. You want the zipper to be open at the top and most of the extra zipper length at the bottom. This will help when attaching the second side of the zipper.
As you sew the zipper on, sew slowly and stay about 1/8″ away from the edge of the Zipper Binding. Again, focus on sewing a straight line and keeping the zipper teeth at the same distance away from the Zipper Binding the whole way down. As the presser foot gets close to the zipper pull, you can lower the needle, lift up the presser foot, slide the zipper pull past the presser foot so it’s out of the way, and continue sewing.
I use my standard presser foot when attaching the zipper because it’s pretty thin and works well. Feel free to use a zipper foot or whatever works for you!
When attaching the second side of the zipper, line up the top and bottom raw edges of the quilted panel piece on either side of the zipper tape before sewing. Clip or pin the zipper tape into place to help keep everything lined up as it’s sewn on.
You’ll need to wrangle the quilted panel a little to get it out of the way of the sewing machine needle. This is where the extra zipper length comes in! Unzip the zipper as much as possible to allow for easier maneuvering.
Those are my tips for today!
For the Foxboro Pouch, I prefer to use size #3 zippers, although the larger size #4.5 or #5 zipper also works well on the large size of the Foxboro Pouch pattern. Below, I have a variety of links for my favorite zippers.
