A little while ago, I launched the pattern for my Pennine Way Convertible Backpack in my Etsy shop and a lot of people asked about the bound zipper that I chose to close the top. Was it hard to put in? How was it done? I promised faithfully to write a post explaining all about it and I am ashamed how many months have passed since. But I am here now and I am super excited to be able to show you how to achieve this very satisfying bag closure. To begin with, here is the sort of thing that I mean….

And here again on my Saratoga Tote. As you can see, it is neat and tidy and a really secure way to close a bag.

When you open it, it is really neat too. The lining doesn’t get stuck in the zipper and, best of all, the lining is actually a drop in one which is so easy to achieve.

This time, I will be referencing my brand new bag pattern, the Naxos Tote . I am sure that once you see how to do this, you will love the method too. There are one or two things to keep in mind but they are not huge and it will be another important thing to add to your sewing repertoire.

So what do we need to make a bound zipper? The specifics will be in your pattern but the basics needed are:

• the top zipper (usually this will be finished on the end with a tab of some sort and it will ALWAYS be longer than needed). More about that second point in a bit.
• the lining; completed and ready to go
• the bag outer; ditto
• the binding. This will be bias binding because we need the stretch and movement and usually it will be the same fabric as your bag outer. Here again, the pattern will give you the specifics that you need.

Before we get started, just in case you are not sure how to make the bias binding needed for this job, I have a post about bound lining and I talk you through how to make the binding itself. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here is the post that you need. Too often, we buy these things when we need them but making it is an essential skill worth having. Right! On to the job at hand….

To begin with, you will need to drop the lining into the bag with the wrong sides together. So it will look just as it does when finished. Check for the fit and adjust it if necessary. Although the seam allowances are always given on a good pattern, anomalies will creep in- even the different fabric weights can make a difference. Bag makers, like dressmakers and tailors understand the need for fussing over the fit

When you are happy with the fit of the lining, machine baste it all around the top to secure it. This will give you a raw edge at the top but that will be gone in a minute. Adiosing that raw edge is the reason for the binding.

Before we get on to the zipper, it is important to note that we don’t start or stop the zipper right on the end of the bag. It actually begins 3/4″ from the left side and stops 3/4″ from the right. This is to give a bit of ease and room to move. This is repeated on the other half of the bag. Always measure and mark these points. Eyeballing it (and getting it wrong) will mean a zipper that is on the wonk.

Now to the zipper. I am going to show you two methods here. The first one is for a continuous zipper on a roll and the second is with a ‘normal’ zip where you have some tooth free zipper tape at the beginning and the end. They are pretty much the same but there are some details worth mentioning. For the continuous zip, firstly, come in about 1″ on the opening end and make a series of small ‘V’ shaped snicks in the zipper tape.

This essentially removes some fabric so that the zipper can fold up on itself and out of the way. These little notches must be no deeper than 1/8″. If you go in deeper, you won’t be able to hide them in the seam. Here again, if in doubt, draw a removable line to help you.

I always hand baste the zip in. This seems like an extra and un-necessary step but especially if it is the first time you have used this method, it makes it so much easier and more precise too. I have put many of these zips in and I still hand baste. It gets all of the pins and clips out of the way and the zip stays put which means that you get to concentrate on your sewing.

To begin with, clip or pin the zip into the top of the bag. Let’s break it down. You have your mark 3⁄4” from each end of the top of the bag. This is where the zip starts and ends. Open the zip right out. All the way to the tab. You have a long zipper for a reason and it gives you much more room to sew. At the start mark (usually on the left and the side of the bag away from you) clip the zip on, curling the end up in a sort of right angle. You can just see my turquoise start mark in the picture

Clip along until you come to the end mark. Now hand baste along this side. Sew right along on your machine, backstitching at the start and finish for added security.

Repeat all of this for the other side and the other half of the zip. Then check that it closes nicely before proceeding to the next step.

Finally, when you are happy with the way the zip is sitting, cut that excess bit of zipper off. We don’t need it and we certainly don’t need it to get in the way of the binding. You can see my white basting stitches too and note that they are very shallow – that is because I am lazy and do not like to unpick them

So now to put in a ‘normal’ zipper, basically much the same thing happens but with a subtle difference (that is quite important) at the start. At the beginning of the zip, instead of cutting the little notches. And turning up in a right angle, simply fold the zipper tape up and under. The zipper turn-up won’t stay there so a couple of tiny stitches will help it to behave.

Clip it, into place beginning at the start mark etc., baste it and sew it and then trim that bit off the top when it is all looking great – again, I would definitely close the zip and ensure that it is sitting nicely before you trim the turn-up bit off.

So what happens at the other end? Well to be honest, the excess zipper ‘tail’ just hangs when the bag is finished. At the end of making, it can either go inside the bag or outside. If you want to tuck it in, you have that small amount of ease to wiggle the end of the zip down into the bag. I usually have my zipper tail about 4″-5″ long. It can be out (and you have that cute tab decorating the end)

Or you can wiggle it down into the bag and hide it

You can still change your mind and bring it out if you need to. I actually think that inside looks a bit neater….

Anyway, back to business…go ahead and trim the excess zipper turn-up.

Do this on the other side too and then we are all ready for the binding to go on. The first thing to do is to turn your bag inside out. This allows you to see what is going on with the zipper tail as you sew. Even though the binding for all three of the bags featured in this post is canvas and not very wide, because it is cut on the bias (this diagonal grain) it will not easily fray. Still handle it gently though, just in case.

When you start the binding, fold the end over by about 1/2″. Then when you have finished the loop around the bag top, you will have a nice folded edge which means the right side of the binding will be neater.

As you see in the next photo, I am just coming up to finishing the full top loop and what I will do next is to allow the binding to overlap that first folded over bit by about 2″. Backstitch to finish securely and trim off any ridiculously long amounts.

The picture coming next shows the tail end of the zipper being held out of the way of the needle. As I mentioned before, this tail end of the zipper will just ‘hang’ and you can see better how that works in these photos. This bit has to be kept flat and not caught up in the sewing. It will naturally veer out of the binding. It is easier to show you than to explain…..

As you come past the bit where the end of the zip is, simply ignore it while holding it out of the way and keep sewing. There is a bit of sideways movement possible in a zipper but don’t pull so hard that it puckers. Keep checking. This is the weird bit of this exercise and once you have done it once and have a feel for it, it will be very easy to do.

To finish the binding, I always see if the top edge needs trimming and if it does, trim it and then fold the binding over the raw edge on the top of the bag and tuck the raw edge of the binding in. This is how we get rid of that raw edge on the top. As you will see too, that 1/2″ folded beginning on the binding now means that everything is neat.

Turn the bag the right way out again and poke the corners out to give everything a nice shape. Fold the other raw edge of the binding under to create the bound edge and to get rid of that raw top. Hold in place with some clips

You will be binding on the outer side of the bag now and I always finish this bit by hand. In all my years of sewing, I have never been happy with the results when I machine sew the second half of the binding. I have often been seduced into trying and it always ends in tears. And it is not quicker as I usually have to unpick and do some cussing. So I hand sew along, tucking the binding as I go to keep it neat.

And there you have it! That is actually all there is to making a great looking bound zipper. I think that the weirdest thing about the whole process is the end bit where the zipper just emerges from the binding and hangs and when you understand that, the rest is a doddle. If I had to leave you with one bit of advice, it would be to reiterate that you must ensure that the zip is long enough and by that I mean, much longer than needed. You have to be able top open it right up to get it out of the way so that you can sew. Remember, you can always shorten a zip!

This post has featured my new PDF pattern, the Naxos Tote and it will be in my Etsy shop and my Sew Modern Bags (link coming very soon) shop very soon.

Happy sewing and see you next time!

Hugs

Debbie xx