In which I talk more about the green Mohair/crepe wool Vest.
Some finishing details have to be thought of before you begin. In the green vest I had to decide how to finish the edge of the vest before I cast on as I wanted an integrated rolled edge. I have spoken about that detail, and the way in which I sewed the shoulders together. Now I will turn to sewing the zipper in.
First I took the zipper to my sewing machine and ran a line of stitches along the length of the zip, setting the stitch length at what I thought was a reasonable size for hand stitching the zip into the garment. I did this because I am not a skilled hand sewer, never have been, and I wanted a guide both straight, and with uniform lengths.
I pinned the zipper to the fronts using T-pins set at right angles to the front. This prevents the stitches from “creeping” from the position you want them to secure. The bottom and top of the zipper are secured first, then the middle and then the middle of each section between these pins. The garment is also divided this way – bottom, top, middle etc.Lining up these positions the zip and garment are united.
I like the hide the knot when I start sewing, between the layers where it will never bee seen, then sew a double stitch for extra strength. The beginning and end of the Zipper are the places most likely to come apart over time. A few extra back stitches here are good investments in time.
To avoid that creep factor, pierce the garment and zipper at 90 degrees .
Using the basted machine stitching to guide me, I stitch right close to the start of the edging, in the valley of the purl stitches (between the body of the garment and the edging) designed for this purpose. at the top, I folded back the tape and sewed that down. then I turned over the lining and compared both sides. One was a tad longer than the other, so I removed a couple of inches and sewed it again so that it matched the other side. No one can be perfect all the time. It’s all part of trying to make a project the best it can be.
Now that the zipper was attached to the outer layer I could finish sewing the lining right up to the edge of the zipper. Hmm, how was I going to sew the lining to the zipper without the thread showing? Hiding the knot as before I sewed the lining to the stitching along the zipper so that the stitches were hidden between the zipper and the lining. That way the thread did not go all the way through to the outer layer and so would never be seen, and the zipper pull could run all the way to the top of the collar without catching either layer or poking my neck.
The bottom end of zips are made with a piece of plastic molded on so the tape does not fray. I leave this last inch or so at both ends to tackle last, and, with a new double thread and a sturdy sewing needle, forced through the plastic several times to secure the ends firmly. I pulled out my basting thread and even though I had tried to avoid sewing through it, I had to fiddle with this. Lastly, I found an end that had not been woven in, so with that done, the garment was complete.
I hope these finishing notes, and other observations will help someone.