Woo hoo, I have an excuse to make more zippy bags! Sara has to travel to a work conference and I offered to make little bags for her closest work friends. She needs 5 total, and I have been working on them so she can take them to her colleagues.
Now that I have found a pattern I like, I am cranking out a couple each day.
Can you guess what this is? 63 yards of zipper tape. I can get around 3 zippers from each yard, so that equates to 189 zippy bags. I will never have to buy zippers again in my lifetime. The package came with loads of zipper pulls, which you have to insert onto the tape for each zipper you make. These zipper tapes are cheap ones I got on Amazon. But here's the thing. They aren't very good quality. In fact, they aren't great at all. Here's why: they fray, the fabric is flimsy, the zipper itself is weak and floppy, and worst of all the ends of the tape are completely cut off, which means it is super hard to get the pulls on.
When you buy a good quality zipper, such as the YKK, By Annie, Lori Holt, Atkinson Designs, Coats & Clark etc, each zipper comes with a tab at the top, right? That is what you need if you are inserting a zipper pull. It is possible to get a pull on a cut zipper tape, but it is a struggle, let me tell you. The By Annie zippers that are sold by the yard have this tab on two ends of the zipper tape. She instructs you very clearly to only cut one end of the zipper tape so that you can continue to easily put on the zipper pulls using the remaining tab.
This is a By Annie zipper. It comes by the yard along with a number of zipper pulls that you can easily put on the zipper tape. See the tab at the top of the zipper? There is another one at the other end (not shown in the photo). If you only cut one end after installing the pull, you will always have the tab at the other end of the tape to make installing the next pull possible.
The cheap zipper tape I bought is just cut off straight on both ends. No tabs. Inserting those zipper pulls took forever and was something I would pay extra never to have to do again.
The entire package of cheap zippers costs $29, which seems like a bargain for 63 yards of zipper. However, I think I would have been better off buying better quality zippers in the colors I actually needed and then cutting them down to size for my bags. The good quality Atkinson zippers come in a gazillion colors and cost $1.74 for a 14-inch long one.
Live and learn I guess. Amazon can be convenient, but sometimes those "bargains" aren't the greatest choice.
12 Responses
The bags are adorable!! I have never had the guts to tackle zippered bags because I have never had a class in how to do those by-the-yard zippers. I can do the presized zippers ok. I guess I could look up some youtubes and figure it out. I love the fabrics – lucky Sara and friends!!!
Your bags turned out so cute! I am sure your friend will love them.
I just made 24 pouches for a woman I work with. I buy all my zippers from Wawak.com. Funny name but they have all kinds of zippers and sewing stuff. I like the YKK 4.5 bag zippers for my project bags and bigger pouches and the YKK #3 nylon coil non-separating zippers for the curved top pouches. They carry lots of different colors, in lots of different lengths, and bulk discount pricing. A 14″ YKK is $.54 and if you buy 10 they are $.35. They are nice zippers too!
I just bought two new large cutting mats that were together less expensive that buying one large mat most places. They carry lots of bag hardware and thread. No, I do not work for them or get any financial benefit from this; I make a lot of bags and like to share a source. There shipping is on $5.95 unless you buy over $99 and it’s free.
I recently saw a video from Sally Tomato on how to attach a pull to a cut edge zipper. She opens the zipper teeth and cuts a half inch off one side and then threads the pull on to the longer side. The shorter side joins up as you move the pull up. I too have struggled 🙂
Along with that line of thinking, I have noticed the rise in pop up sales. The products are of questionable quality and have tags cut out. I suspect they are made in other countries and sold at a huge increase in price. Notice if you search the company name on safari, you can determine if the company is a high risk company. I’ve been tricked often enough to research often.
Your zippy bags are so cute! I know Sara and her friends will love them!
Sara & her friends are going to love their bags! And, I recognize some of those fabrics! Good use of leftovers from great designers–even Miss Rosie’s for a couple of them! 💕
Such adorable bags! The zipper talk went right past me – I’ve never sewn a zipper. They have always scared me. I don’t have a sewing background except for two years of home-ec in junior high. We never had to sew a zipper, or even a buttonhole. I’ve heard that they are very simple to sew. Am I alone in zipper fear?!
Your bags are stunning! Hopefully they all have usable zippers on them – LOL. So sorry about the cheapness of those you recently ordered. About 10 years ago I ordered a bunch (50?) of the 4.5 bag zippers from YKK in loads of colors, and then sort of stopped making so many bags to use them up. Probably only used 3 out of the whole bunch. I’m now going to have to dig them out and play with them!
To Jan Smith — the Terry Atkinson (pattern designer) method of installing zippers in these small bags is really easy, much easier than sewing one in a dress! You just have to be very careful while sewing over the nylon coil of the zipper.
Separate the zipper that has been cut straight across into the two pieces. Cut 1/4 inch of the teeth off one side of zipper tape. Insert the full coil side into the zipper pull first, then insert the side from which you cut the teeth. Hold the ends even with each other and zip shut. Finish the end according to pattern directions.
well, it looks like several of your readers have had the same problem with the tape and discovered ways around it. that’s great.
safe journey, Sara. I hope her work colleagues love the bags. I know I always do. ;p
Inquiring minds want to know…what pattern do you like for the bags?
Super cute bags! Good luck with your zippers!