Zipper help

[Jeff M.]

I made a quilt for my son and the zipper pull came off after some rough use. I was about to buy a new slider and noticed one broken tooth on the zipper. I assume this is how the zipper pull came off because all the zipper stops are in place.

I’d rather pull my own teeth than try to remove the zipper and sew a new one with my awful sewing skills. I’m honestly amazed the quilt hasn’t fallen apart. The broken tooth is about 17.5″ up and the total length of the zipper is 21″. Would it be possible to just add a top stop at the spot of the broken tooth and shorten the zipper? Would I need to break a tooth on the other side of the zipper and add a top stop there as well? Any repair suggestions are welcome.

[Michael B]

ive just sewn a small patch of grosgrain on some of my zippers where I wanted them to stop. Just a small piece wrapped around each side of the zipper teeth and sewn through. Stopped the zipper there just fine.

[Jerry Adams]

I just take a needle and thread and go around and around between the two teeth just before the gap

or put a drop of epoxy

[Jerry Adams]

you only need a stop on one side, although it’s easy enough to do both sides, a little more secure

[Jeff M.]

I appreciate the suggestions. Picked up a couple new zipper sliders but they aren’t closing the zipper. From what I can tell it seems like the teeth are lining up properly. Tried crimping the sides of the slider with needle nose pliers and that didn’t help. Any thoughts? I’m pretty sure it’s a #5 YKK slider that I need but maybe I guessed the wrong size? It’s been too long since I made this quilt for me to remember what size zipper I used.

[Dave @ Oware]

Looks like you need a smaller slider if that one isn’t bringing the teeth together.

[Roger Caffin]

It is possible that you bought a slider meant for a #5 coil-coil zip, but you are now trying to use it on a #5 toothed zip. I do not know, but they may be different.

OR, it could just be that you just need to get the teeth properly engaged right at the start for the rest to follow. Some ‘persuasion’ may be required.

Cheers

[Jeff M.]

I’m pretty sure the sliders I bought are specific to vislon zippers rather than a coil zipper, but they are off amazon so anything is possible I guess. I’m able to get the teeth “started” but that doesn’t seem to help the zipper slider at all. I’m having a tough time finding smaller vislon replacement sliders. It may just be easier to buy a new zipper and sew it to the old one.

[Roger Caffin]

Amazon will sell anything offered, under any brand the vendor wants. It is a far more dangerous place than ebay or alibaba for fakes and frauds.

I did a search for the BRS-3000T stove there. I found no less than 12 (twelve) quite different stoves with that name, some of them very ‘strange’ too. Utterly unreliable place.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

Cut the teeth off.  Close to the row of stitches.  Then sew on a new one.

Theoretically, you could rip the row of stitches with seam ripper.

From your picture, it appears that the teeth aren’t being closed together?  Like the zipper pull is too big?

Zipper pulls are cheap.  Buy one of each possible size?

[Jeff M.]

A smaller zipper pull would be my preference. I’m not sure why I’m having such a hard time finding them in smaller sizes. The last local sewing shop I called didn’t even know zipper pulls are sold separately.

[Roger Caffin]

I just thread about 100 mm of 10 mm ribbon through the hole in whatever pull tab is there, double it over and give it a couple of passes with a sewing machine. I can grab that with mitts and overmitts on, in bad weather. Um – heat-seal the ends first.

Cheers

[Sam Farrington]

The photos did not enable me to spot the problem.

To avoid such problems, I buy the zippers, including the matching pulls, and keep the purchase separate from all others.  Even if an older purchase begins to slow the zipper, I buy new zippers with pulls.  This has saved a lot of grief in the middle of a project.  The costs are relatively low compared to other materials – DCF anyone?

[Roger Caffin]

For what it is worth … I have repaired some embedded zips by very gently (GENTLY) squeezing the narrow end. The top and bottom halves are joined at the wide end, and it sometimes seems that this join stretches or deforms a bit, so that the two halves of the zip are not pushed together properly. Squeezing the top and bottom halves together at the narrow end usually fixes this.

I suspect that pulling on the tab tends to distort the slider over time, such that the crucial part where the teeth are pushed together, is stretched apart.

Caution: if you squeeze too hard (the join is only a little bit of light alloy), then the zip slider will be jammed solid and you won’t be able to move it.

Cheers

[Jeff M.]

I actually tried the squeezing trick with the new pulls. I finally started using my brain and compared the zipper pull on my daughter’s (functioning) quilt to the replacements I bought for my son. Definitely bought the replacement zipper pulls a size too big. So, ordered some smaller ones and I should hopefully be set once the small pulls come in.

[Roger Caffin]

I think ‘sliders’, not ‘pulls’. The ‘pull’ is the handle on the slider.
Anyhow, the wrong size would not help!

Cheers

[Sam Farrington]

“I think ‘sliders’, not ‘pulls’. The ‘pull’ is the handle on the slider.
Anyhow, the wrong size would not help!”

Thank you, Roger, for the reminder.  After a project is completed and there are no issues with the operation of the zips, I remove the metal pulls and replace them with bright yellow woven cord.  It weighs less, and works better than the metal, for me anyway, despite some suggestions that the metal pulls provide more leverage.  Haven’t found that to be the case with #3 inner and outer tent zips,  or with #5 water resistant pack zips.  Also, I stick with YKK zips, as they have been the most trouble free.

The #3 YKK outer tent zips from Warmlite weigh only .02 oz more per running foot, including the tape, and have found them to be more durable.  I use flaps on outer tent zips rather than water resistant treatments, as the treatments slow down the operation of the zips and prevent use with just one hand.  Have no idea why the #3 YKK zips from most suppliers are lighter and less durable than the #3 YKK from Warmlite;  but the heavier ones work best for exterior use, and the lighter ones are fine for inside netting doors and the like.

It is a challenger to design zipper flaps that prevent leakage through exterior doors, but worth the effort.

[Jeff M.]

“I think ‘sliders’, not ‘pulls’. The ‘pull’ is the handle on the slider.
Anyhow, the wrong size would not help!”

Yes on both accounts! I keep mixing up “pull” and “slider”.

[Roger Caffin]

I never use the so-called waterproof zips: they are much too hard to operate in the cold. Instead I have a storm flap over the zip.

I find a 50 mm flap of simple silnylon (no hems) over a zip works very well. When it is raining the flap ‘sticks’ to the material on the other side very nicely.

This also shows my pink string pull on the zip. Yes, there are 2 pulls on the zip, although the lower more visible ones are now obsolete and never used.

Cheers

[John L]

I have switched to velcro

[Author]

Posts