Sewing a zipper into a wool cardigan

#1

Hi! First post…

I’ve knitted a cardigan sweater from Noro Big Kureyon, and I’ve knitted a 1" garter stitch placket to hold a zipper. I’m really fumbling with sewing the zipper in:

I began by pinning the zipper tape to the backside of the placket, and then I did a baste stitch [excuse any terminology confusion; I’ve never done this before]. At this point the edge of the placket was pretty nicely parallel to the edge of the zipper, and it was close without risking having strands get caught in the zipper. The placket did have a slight roller-coaster effect which seemed to be caused by the pinning - which created “hills” every so often. It also curved a bit from side to side. But I’d been warned that it wouldn’t look perfectly straight at this point, so I went on…

I then began sewing a quarter-inch backstitch. After about a foot I pulled out the pins and found that the roller-coaster dips and turns were still very much there!

It doesn’t look good to me. Can anyone suggest some techniques or hints for doing this?

Thanks!
Chap

#2

Hi Chap
What kind of zipper is this? A poly or a metal?
Are you sewing by hand or machine?

It could be that your zipper is too light for the knit. But also know that poly zippers in particular “roll” a lot. They are not weighty enough to pull themselves straight.

Here are the best tips I know for sewing in a zipper -

  1. Only baste and sew in one side at a time. Open the zipper and baste it to one side of the garment. Sew in place. Close the zipper and then baste and sew in the other side of the garment. The reason is that doing only one side at a time takes a lot of pressure off the 1st side. By the time you have the 2nd side in the full garment is taking the pressure off the second side.

Your pins should cross your sewing line - not run parallel to the sewing line. As you sew its natural for your fabric to shift just a bit. If your pins run parallel to your sewing line then your fabric cant shift over the pins. Instead the fabric bunches up ever so slightly against the head of the pin making sewing in that area tighter. This can cause ripples.
If you are sewing by machine make sure you are holding the zipper and the fabric at the same tension when sewing. If one is tighter than the other you can get ripples too.

  1. Consider useing a basting tape or glue instead of pins. This will help you keep control over your stitching - even if you are sewing by hand.

  2. Dont back stitch - double stitch instead. Back stitching is strong but can put a lot of pressure in one spot - allowing the rest to shift ever so slightly out of place. Its better to sew straight in a line. If you are sewing by hand you can then sew across your stitch gaps by comeing back out at the place your stitich first went in and continuing down the line. Like making a line of figure 8s.
    If you are sewing by machine a double stitching over your line will have the same effect. and no shifting from the feed dogs moving back and forth as they have to do with a back stitch.

I hope this helps!

#3

A poly.

By hand. I was advised not to use a machine (for reasons I didn’t quite understand).

Your suggestions are fabulous, and completely understandable.

I think I will look for basting tape. My 2" pins were parallel to the sewing line, and I’m sure that contributed to the roller-coaster effect.

I will use the double stitch, as you suggested.

Thank you very kindly for your help!

Chap

#4

Hi Quirky,

One question regarding tip #1:

My zipper is the sort that separates at the bottom, and I have been working with it as two separate halves. I wasn’t sure if you were assuming that or not. Is it still best to do as you suggested and close the zipper before doing side 2, or to leave the halves separated and affix the second half separately to side 2?

Thanks,
Chap

#5

I’ve done a fair amount of Googling but can’t find a how-to for double stitching, in the context of sewing. All I’ve found are references to tatting or knitting. Does anyone have a diagram or detailed explanation of double stitching as described above? (I don’t even know what it looks like.)

Thanks,
Chap