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Tabbed zippers
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I got motivated back in October, '22 to make Christmas gifts. Without yet a new woodshop location to vent my craft, I decided to revisit the zipper bag project which I had made in a previous a year. I had a jumble of suitable zippers on hand along with some fabric odds and ends. As I was working my way through the same construction steps, I thought to review a few YT videos to refresh my memory and came across a few other websites which inspired me to continue stitching well past the Christmas holiday season.
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| Layout |
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Decorated panels: sashiko and machine stitching with zipper
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Finished Christmas gifts, one of which was regifted
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I stumbled upon a new YT channel that helped me to better understand zipper tabs and convinced me to routinely box the corners, which helped me to, I think, create sharper zipper bags and with more confidence. The updated procedure led me to understand that the length of the zipper determines the other dimensions.
And at around the same time, (this process has spanned a few months and the sequence of events only gets progressively murkier with age and as I age), I came across a subscribed posting, which introduced me to a new rabbithole: kinchaku.
I saw an example there and here and I recalled that I had been given some linen placemats, which since I don't ever intend to use, I had been thinking of some way to repurpose the stiff, hardy cloth. Despite only ever seeing examples of the Lotus bag online, I think I generated some passable results. The sides are a bit more rigid due to the linen so they function more as buckets than bags; more as bowls than sachets.
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| Lotuslike bag |
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As I was picking apart the placemats, I got into a groove and began culling some shirts and trousers, the utility of which had moved beyond my ability to further patch them up. Some of these clothing items generated cloth pieces which went into kinchaku but other segments only produced fragments too small for any sort of lotus bags, and that shortcoming led to yet a deeper level of rabbithole venturing. This
YT video and
channel led me to fashion these examples.
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Shirtweight fabrics reassembled
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buttondowns cycled up
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I had developed a competent level of sashiko handstitching but I wanted also to expand the decorative options on these little sewing crafts.
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the layout
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| handstitched |
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zippered and bagged
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systematized construction
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for somebody who still uses coins
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I experimented briefly with double needles in order to create a visually bold line, but I was disappointed with the results. Perhaps if my sewingmachine had more stitch settings, hélas. I ended up with realizing the following examples which employ a zigzag stitch and embroidery floss. There was a slight learning curve involved before I understood what I was doing from beginning to completion. I, nonetheless, believe I have simply rediscovered a technique for which I simply haven't yet stumbled across its commonly known name.
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The innovative, unnamed technique
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| rainbowed |
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| closeup |
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seasoned composition
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I do, however, want to share one development which merits documentation and promotion due to its upcycling potential. I tend to wear pants longer than any branded manufacturer banks on but there comes time when they, too, are simply little more than a source of cloth strips for patching other garments. In my experience, holey front pockets are often what gets patched first so that when the retired pants are picked apart, there is nothing there but patched scraps. Back pants' pockets are something else entirely. After recently deseaming two pairs, I noted that the back pockets were remarkably pristine from the time of original manufacture, having served as little more than lint traps. Sometimes it can be inspirational to simply stare at material for a spell in order for its fullest potential to reveal itself
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It can be difficult to accept the inevitable
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Fusible patches
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None the worse for wear
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While this technique might not be equally applicable to all back pockets in men's trousers, it ought to work for all highend, tailored examples. I had been working with various zippers in making zipperbags and so it fortuitously dawned on me that the buttonholed back pockets could be remade with zippers and a a little bit of reinforcement.
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reinforcing the buttonhole
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Determining the zipper length
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I typically use doublesided ironable adhesive when making patches which allows me to accurately position the patch before securing it with a zigzag stitching. I think the brand that I began using this method with in the states was HeatnBond. I managed to buy several meters of something similar in the PRC but on the second attempt to replenish my stock, the same merchant could not understand what I was asking for.
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cutting the tabs slightly wider
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recovered buttonhole
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I did the same in this example and then used some midweight cotton sheeting to cover the buttonhole and strengthen the opening before retrofitting the openings with zippers, which were cut to length and then capped with a tab on the slider end which was simply folded into thirds. From the same trousers, I salvaged lengths of of the inside edges which were covered in bias tape. I used the same fusible adhesive to help secure the tabbed zipper into position before topstitching.
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installed underneath the top hem
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stitched in place, folded down and topstitched through a canvas patch
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And then it's a rather straightforward procedure to attach these repurposed back pockets onto the interiors of cloth totebags to increase their utility
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shouji cozies
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variation on a theme
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Floralized potential
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For those whom I've missed seeing during the various lockdowns, covid chaos, and pandemic restrictions, I wish you all a belated Happy Groundhog Day!
