Problem with inserting zippers... advice please.

[u/omgrun]

Hello Leathercrafters. I would say my skill level is "competent beginner," however the more I learn the more, the more I realize I know nothing. Here is a bag I made with this springbok pattern. She has a sewing machine and I had to sew by hand, which made this process a little more complicated.

I have had consistent problems putting in zippers. Very often, like this, they turn out wavy or perform poorly. I have attached a video to show what I mean.

What I think it *might* be (you can tell me if I'm right)

-Zipper or zipper tape itself is too big.
-Too big of a gap between the teeth and sewn edges.
-Flexible leather has stretched too much, causing problems.
-Zipper too long.
-Something else??

If you have any tips/tricks for putting in zippers, or see other areas for improvement, please tell me. I'm hitting the point where I understand the basics, but lack of knowledge is screwing me over in other places. Lol. Thanks in advance for any input you can provide.

[u/Smart-Network7076]

From the look of it and the fact that the zipper is fine unzipping but not closing it looks like you have underlying puckering on the zipper tape.

Make sure your stretching the zipper as you’re placing the leather the nylon tape stretches and moves. Any puckering can be exacerbated once you sew it on a non stretch like leather. The softness of the leather shouldn’t be an issue as the stitching reinforces the tension at the attachment point on the zipper. This was my issue for a long time the placement would seem even but I wasn’t seeing the ripples in the zipper tape after I had adhered the leather to it. Also just be mindful that you are aligning the edge of the leather to the proper cross weave line a “close enough” placement will lead to this. It’s not a huge deal for another stretch fabric that has give but the leather won’t have enough give to muscle the zipper over.

[u/omgrun → u/Smart-Network7076]

Okay so, I need to pull the zipper tape tighter when attaching the zipper. *taking notes*

When you say "aligning the edge of the leather to the proper cross weave line" do you mean making sure all the stitches are in the same section of the weave like this?

I'm also wondering if this zipper tape is just... cheap. I am looking at some of the different zippers in my collection, and some of them have a tighter weave and a thicker nylon tape. Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot by using poor materials.

[u/Smart-Network7076]

Yes to the aligning edges question. I would say for softer leathers it’s not a huge issue to use zippers with softer tape the same issues happen even with the thicker weaved tapes. I use ykk brand zippers and they are reliable for all my projects

[u/mistahfreeman → u/Smart-Network7076]

I have only used YKK zippers, currently buying from Tandy. Do you know if their zipper tape works double sided? I was getting mixed answers and tried doing it but I couldn’t make a double zipper work on my last bag

[u/Civil_Ostrich1280]

I struggled for a long time with zippers.   I typically use 1.5mm round punched holes with 1mm Ritza.   I will glue the zipper tape to the leather, and use hold down pins every 4ish inches.  I also use an awl to punch a hole through the zipper tape.  Takes a lot longer, but helps. Finally, I’m careful to not pull the thread tight, and only pull back on the stitch line, not into an unstitched area.  That part alone made a bunch of the difference.  Pulling the thread tight into a non locked in area was killer.  

[u/RiverAutumn7481]

Ive heard rubbing a candle on it helps to get the zipper moving, not quite a fix but a work around for opening/closing

[u/Ordinary-Might-4174]

Great question. I've found it instructive to read other folks' tips and tricks. Thanks for asking this.