Conquering the Zipper!

Ever since I was little I've had problems with zippers; I break them, I jam them, I cut myself on them. Really, zippers and I have issues. But, I thought it was probably time to graduate from velcro to zippers if I really want to be able to make some of the bags, clutches and skirts that are on my "must-do" list.

So, on the pretense of heading to Home Depot to buy more foundation stones for the chicken coop, I drug my parents to Joanne's and stared at the zipper selection for about five minutes until my Dad got bored and told me to "buy one already". I didn't know what size I needed though ~ who knew they weren't one size fits all?! ;) I knew a purple one would go well with a bag I wanted to try so I bought a 14" inch zipper for a buck and off we went to actually buy the stones for the chickies.

And look what I made..!



...an honest to goodness make-up bag, or clutch, whichever my imagination wants it to be in that moment! I don't have a pattern for you to follow exactly as I took bits and pieces from different tutorials around the web but I'm hoping to replicate it soon. I think that the available pattern that it resembles most is this tutorial by Liesl Made.

My first foray into zippers was not without its mishaps. Did you expect anything less from me at this point? :) The zipper was too long, of course, since, in my exuberance, I bought it before even knowing what size my pattern would be. So, I cut off a few inches from the top (of the side closest to the actual mechanism when it is zipped shut). This would have been fine, but in another moment of exuberance, I zipped the little zipper head right off of the end! Oh boy, that was a problem. With a little BFI and a few choice words I was able to force it back on with some pliers and save the project!



I was also intimidated by the zipper foot dealio on the sewing machine so I just used a normal straight stitch about a 1/4" from the zipper and it actually ended up working just fine. Yes, I know that I need to figure it out eventually but I thought one battle at a time would result in something I could actually use later :)

Anyway...I like it!

I like it a lot, in fact, and must now make more in fabulous colors to match luggage tags and make-up rolls.

This set is just toooo cute together :) I'm thinking teals and browns next...





Ok, I must stop procrastinating and write my four page paper on market analysis and some other such business-y thing that is due tomorrow!

Happy Crafting!