As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to get the ol' Weekender bag back out. I stopped when I got to the zipper. I wanted a double-pull zipper, but it's impossible to find a double-pull purse zipper that's 30" long. You can only get parka zippers (think of them as the opposite of the purse zipper). Purse zipper - pulls together, bag closed. Parka zipper - pulls together, coat open.
I spent my lunch buying zippers at Joann. I got a Coats & Clark plastic parka zipper. They are separating zippers, so the pulls are "stuck" on the zipper part. I had to cut the end teeth off to get the pull off.
Step 1 - Cut the teeth from both ends of the zipper.
Step 2 - Move both pulls to near the ends of the zipper (zipper should be closed).
Step 3 - Completely remove ONE pull (zipper should still be closed).
Step 4 - Reverse the direction of the pull.
Step 5 - Put the removed pull on the end of the zipper with the existing pull.
Voila! A purse zipper from a parka zipper! I think this will be ideal for the Weekender - all the purse zippers at Joann were a little flimsy and none were 30" long as required per the pattern.
My only complaint is that the zipper seems a little chinsy and the pulls are both different! One is nice and rounded, the other is small and rectangular. Oh well. The zipper isn't the focal point of the bag so I'm just going to deal with it!
Oh and I bought a 36" zipper because I wasn't sure how much I'd end up cutting off or how much extra that 30" included. I will let you know how much I need to chop off when I try to install it! Hopefully that will happen this weekend at some point.
Let me know if you have any other great zipper ideas for the Weekender bag!
-Melissa
No comments:
Post a Comment