Zipperphobia!

It could just be one of my little quirks but I hate putting zippers into clothing.  One of my favorite things about sewing for SASS is that there are no zippers needed.  That's right, I'd rather alter a pattern to require a plethora of buttons down the back of a dress than have to install a zipper.  When my brother asked me to fix the zipper on his favorite pair of pants, I told him to buy a new pair of pants.  Like I said...this could just be a quirk of mine but I'm sure there are other zipperphobics out there as well.

Anyhow, when I went to replace the bodice of this dress I found that the zipper was of great quality and that half it's length went down into the skirt-which I was not altering in any way.  I ended up leaving the zipper on and figured I could do a little tutorial showing how I did this.  This method could also be used if you need to make quick alterations to a dress without having to replace or remove the zipper. 

This is a very picture-centric post-remember you can click on any picture to see it in more detail.

The first step is to rip out the stitches connecting the bodice to the zipper.  Rip out the first 5 or 6 stitches down the skirt as well so that you will be able to keep the zipper out of the way when you sew the bodice back on to the skirt.

After completing the new bodice (with the back seam basted and pressed apart as you do with any zipper installation) pin the bodice to the skirt, right sides together with the bodice slipped down around the skirt.

Start the serged seam by beginning with an edge that will be attached to the zipper.  Fold the zipper down and make sure it is kept away from the seam.  After a few stitches, check to make sure that the fabric did not bunch or fold at the corner where you began, which would leave a kink along the zipper. 

Serge around the entire waistline.  Tie off and trim the ends of the thread on both sides.

At this point, stitch along the waistline just inside the serged seam, making sure to catch the serger threads so they will not get stuck in the zipper.  As you can see in the picture on the right, the serger threads are caught in the second seam and pulled away from the zipper area.



Turn the entire dress inside out and press the seam allowances up towards the bodice.  Turn the dress right side out and press the waistline.  Steam is your friend!

Run the zipper up the inside of your basted back seam and pin it in place.  Sew the zipper on as you would regualarly.

After

Before

Pull your basting out with a seam ripper and you're done!