Invisible Zipper

So this is a slightly belated post.  I went over zippers way back in March of last year, you know, back when I still was motivated and regular in the whole sewing lesson thing.  Anyway, I skipped invisible zippers at that time because I didn’t own an invisible zipper foot.  Well, lo and behold, my mother gave me an invisible zipper foot for Christmas.  And it turns out her gift to me was really a gift to all of you, as well, as I am about to enlighten you all with the lesson you’ve been waiting nearly a year for.  I give you…

 

INVISIBLE ZIPPERS

The Book says, “An invisible zipper…is used if it is desirable to retain the look of a plain seem look.”
So that just means you want the zipper to be, get this, not seen, or invisible.  Like this:

See how the center seam there looks like nothing but a seam?  You can see the zipper pull at the very top, yes, but I mean other than that.  But look what it’s hiding!

An invisible zipper!

This is the zipper foot for my Viking:

Yours may look a little different, but all should have that nice little hole in the center of an otherwise solid [on top] foot.  Then if you flip it over you’ll find two friendly little grooves.  The grooves allow for you to move the foot right over the top of the zipper, while the hole allows you to sew SUPER CRAZY close to the zipper teeth.

 

And you also need an invisible zipper, which are surprisingly easy to find and not at all invisible in the store.  They look something like this: 

First you need to prep your zipper.  Out of the package, the teeth will be facing up and towards you. 

They need to be ironed off to the side, rolling them flat

So that just the stitches of the teeth are showing on the top of the zipper and the teeth themselves are facing down.

 

Open the zipper.  Place the zipper face down on the left hand side (your left) of the correct side of the garment.

Baste in place along the raw edge of the left hand piece.

Lower your invisible zipper foot down onto the zipper, with the zipper teeth in the left groove of the foot.  Make sure, as you sew, that the teeth stay rolled off to the side and not facing up.

Stitch along the length of the zipper

 

(Note the smaller stitches, close to the teeth.)

Close the zipper

Now fold the garment along the seam/zipper edge, right sides together. 
Baste in place.  Open zipper.  Keeping the already sewn and zippered edge away from the machine, place the foot down on the zipper so that the teeth are in the right groove of the foot. Sew down the length of the zipper.  Make sure, as you sew, that the teeth stay rolled off to the side and not facing up.

Close the zipper again.  Slap on your regular zipper foot onto the machine.  Fold the garment right sides facing, along the zipper.

Pull the end of the zipper up and out of the way

And sew the rest of the garment’s seam closed from the bottom of the zipper’s stitching down the rest of the seam to finish the seam of the garment.

Press the seam allowance open and stitch the flappy ends of the zipper to the seam allowance (but not through and onto the outside of the garment itself).

And now look! Or don’t, because there’s nothing to see!  (on account of it being invisible)