Zippers can easily see more than one life by using them again in bags, totes and garments. Occasionally a zipper is broken but compared to the number of zippers that are working perfectly that are thrown in the landfill, the number of broken zippers is minimal. Carefully removing and reusing a zipper is one of many ways to save money by sewing.
The first step is to examine how the zipper is attached to the garment. In many cases another area of the garment will have to be taken apart in order to remove the full zipper. It is best to remove any stitching that is holding the zipper rather than cutting it out an risking cutting the zipper tape, which could render the zipper unusable.
Follow these steps to obtain a reusable zipper.
- Remove any stitching holding the zipper in place. How to Use a Seam Ripper to Remove Stitching
- Remove all of the threads from the zipper.
- Press the zipper tape to remove the wrinkles and possible warping from the garment it was attached to. Do not iron with too high a heat on coil zippers. Zippers with metal teeth are more forgiving of high heats on an iron but then you have to use a press cloth of some form to prevent the metal teeth from scratching your iron.
- Use spray starch or sizing to give the zipper tape a bit more body, which can make it like working with a new zipper when re-sewing this zipper into the next item.
- If the zipper tape is unraveling, use stitching or pinking shears to stop the unraveling.
