This tutorial has kindly been provided by Sew Curvy Corsetry who sell everything you need to make corsets from patterns, fabrics and accessories to full corset making kits. They also have useful tutorials on corset making and general sewing techniques.
Invisible Zips
Next, sew a line to mark the seam allowance where you are going to sew your zip. It is best to do this on an open seam (ie, don’t sew any of the seam until the zipper is in). The zipper teeth are going to sit on this line.
This is an invisible zipper foot. It is made of plastic, costs around £3.00 and is ‘multi fit’ – so it can be used on lots of different machines. Most machines are “short shank” and this foot is for short shank machines. It came with no instructions and took me a while to realise that the regular machine foot has to be removed in it’s entirety in order to fit this foot. The brown base slides through the blue part in order that you can line up the needle properly.
In the (terrible) picture below you can see that the needle is right in the middle of the foot, the mid point being marked by a notch just behind the needle. The notch can be better seen in the picture above.
An invisible zip is sewn in an open position unlike a regular zip. Align the right side of the open zip to the right side of the fabric, with the teeth sitting just over the seam line that you have marked. Pin it in place and then baste. It is very important to baste the zip on before you machine. Trust me, it only takes a minute and will avoid a lot of heartache later, not to mention a sore back and a sore head. In my experience, once you start unpicking, you can’t stop! It’s as if suddenly a curse arrives on the zip.
For a neat edge, attach your usual zipper foot and sew down the other side of the zip on the seam allowance.
This will give a secure and neat finish to the inside of your item.
Et voila! You should have a perfectly invisible zip!
