"Just whip it out."
"It's just a coat I wear to throw the Frisbee for Bonnie (her dog)," Karen said. "I didn't know you can replace the zipper slider and pull! I cut out the zipper. A new zipper is in the pocket. "
"Can you sew in the zipper? I don't care how it looks. Don't tear out any stitches. I just want it to zip. Just whip it out."
"Just whip it out," is what artists hate to hear. I was married to an artist.
Last night after hiking, I laboriously pinned and re-pinned the zipper to set it in properly. The neck and hem must be even. Snaps must work. It must zip up easily.
By cutting out the zipper, Karen didn't give me much fabric to work with. This morning, I carefully hand-based the zipper on both sides. Some areas were so rock-hard I used pliers and a thimble to push and pull the needle. A thousand and one stitches.
With the sewing machine, sewing in the zipper was easier than I thought. Didn't think the sewing machine could handle the hard places.
It took four hours. "Just whip it out," my foot!
16
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14 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I thought this was something to do with Blazing Saddles....
Paul4747
Level 8
Oct 25, 2019
2
I thought of "Blazing Saddles," too.
Laughed writing the headline. My dirty mind amuses me.
@LiterateHiker It amuses me too.
People tell me to get my mind out of the gutter, but where's the fun in that?
There's nothing quite so rewarding as repairing and reactivating a garment, like a coat. It protects you, it embraces you, and your repair puts new life into it. I've repaired pants, coats, shirts, etc.
BitFlipper
Level 8
Oct 24, 2019
1
Good job...clever girl...and great perseverance!
Marionville
Level 10
Oct 24, 2019
2
Thank you, dear. I'm nothing if not determined. With sewing, I let my perfectionist freak flag fly.
Why not just replace the zipper with velcro instead, much easier and quicker as well?
Btw, did you know that Velcro is BANNED in New Zealand because the sound of it scares the sheep into thinking that the farmers a wee bit randy again.....LOL.
Triphid
Level 9
Oct 24, 2019
2
On such a long coat, Velcro would never work. It would get twisted, stuck and tangled. Hard to yank apart.
A zipper is much more comfortable and easier to handle.
I have never seen a coat with Velcro closure. In America, we use buttons, snaps and zippers.
@LiterateHiker I've got a similar 'winter' jacket, I think, and I replaced the zipper with Velcro ( can't sew up clothing if my life depended on it but can sew up a deep gush on myself just as well as any surgeon can and have done more times than I care to count btw) the Velcro is attached in strips all the way along the opening at spaces of about 1-2 inches from neck to the knees. Instead of putting in a horizontal pattern I put it vertically on both sides then it grips better and doesn't twist or warp and stays closed and tight no matter what I'm doing.
How did you attach the Velcro? I sew it on.
@LiterateHiker Superglue, it works great too.
My late girlfriend could do this also,until her hands refused to co-operate
WayneDalton
Level 8
Oct 24, 2019
3
Oh come on... old age, poor eyesight, arthriticy fingers, .....
Just kidding! <maybe>
bigpawbullets
Level 9
Oct 24, 2019
3
For sewing, I wear a hiking headlamp to illuminate the stitches.
@LiterateHiker
We'll need of picture of this.
@LiterateHiker
You're not sewing a zipper on a coat!!!!!!!
Just pulling your leg.
Hey, that’s a very misleading headline. I sat down to read this post and it is about a coat. 
Sierra4
Level 8
Oct 24, 2019
4
I thought the same thing. My mind runs in the gutter.
Well! Someone had fun with those directions...starting with the title....
LucyLoohoo
Level 9
Oct 24, 2019
2
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