How To Add A Zipper To Pants

Sewing a attachment fly when making pants or trousers can exist quite an intimidating task for a lot of people. There are many different methods and techniques for installing zippers, some more confusing than the others but none are truly hard. Once you lot larn all the right steps and practice a couple of times, you'll see how easy it actually is to sew a perfect zipper wing.

Today we are going to show you how to sew a fly front attachment on pants and trousers. Traditionally, in women's pants and trousers, the fly is right side over left, whereas for jeans it'south left side over right. So if you are planning to use this tutorial to construct a pair of jeans, y'all need to motility your wing to the right side past switching the fly facing and the fly shield and the right and left references in these instructions.

If your blueprint pieces don't look exactly like the pieces used in this tutorial, they can easily be adjusted. Did you know that it's really very like shooting fish in a barrel to add a zipper fly to a pants pattern that doesn't include one? You can convert any zipper opening to a fly opening by drafting a wing facing piece that is at least i 3/8" wide and 3/4″-1" longer than your attachment opening. Every bit for the fly shield, yous need to double the width of the fly facing and lengthen the piece by another ½-iii/4". Don't forget to add together the seam allowances!

Follow this pace-past-pace tutorial and learn how to sew a pant zipper fly!

Materials

Cloth of your pick. In this tutorial nosotros are using our 4C22 REED Softened Heavy Weight 100% Linen

Matching sewing thread, pant or trouser zipper, i big button (36-40L), medium weight fusible interfacing

Note: Make sure your attachment is at to the lowest degree 1" longer than the attachment opening. Don't worry if you can't find the exact size, if your zipper is too long, yous can always trim it and brand it fit your opening. To shorten a attachment, whipstitch several times over chain, ¾" below desired new length, then cutting off the excess.

Tools

Pair of scissors, pins, ruler, measuring tape, fabric marker, attachment human foot, buttonhole foot, seam ripper, needle, sewing car

Difficulty

Advanced Beginner

Sewing Fourth dimension

ane hr

Steps

Note: Please annotation that our standard seam allowance is iii/8" (1 cm) unless otherwise indicated.

ane. On the right front only, cut off and discard the 3/eight″ (1 cm) zipper extension. The left front end must have this extension so that the zipper can be get-go from the centre front by three/viii". This extension hides the zipper and makes it invisible from the right side of the garment.

ii. Finish the front and back rises using your preferred method (serge or zigzag stitch).

Next, ready the pieces.

iii. Utilise fusible interfacing to the incorrect side of your fly facing piece. Serge or zigzag run up around the curved edge.

four. With right sides together, stitch along the bottom edge of the fly shield at a 3/8" (1 cm) seam allowance. Trim and clip the corner to reduce bulk.

5. Turn the shield right side out, press and finish the raw edges together. Make sure not to trim whatsoever seam allowances off if yous are using a serger.

half-dozen. Now that the preparation is over, take your left and right fronts and pin them right sides together along the crotch seam. Stitch the lower part of the forepart crotch seam from the zip notch all the way to the lesser of the seam using your standard seam allowance (three/8" in this tutorial). Call back to backstitch at the outset and end of the seam.

7. Fold the left front extension to the incorrect side and press.

8. Working from the right side of your pants, marshal the attachment teeth with the folded border and pin in place. Be enlightened of your seam allowance and position the zipper stop about i/2" below the tiptop of the pant front, to allow some room for the waistband to be attached.

9. Switch to a zipper pes and run a line of edgestitching all the way down approximately 1/16"- ane/8" from the folded edge.

Next thing to practice is to attach the fly shield to the left pant front.

10. Slide the fly shield underneath the zipper and align its finished border with the folded over front extension. Pin in place.

xi. Stitch right on height of the existing line of stitching to secure the fly shield in place.

12. Pin the wing facing to the right front pant right sides together and directly edges aligned.

thirteen. Stitch from elevation border to the attachment notch at your standard seam allowance (three/8" in this tutorial), a few millimeters past the notch to the inside of the crotch seam line equally shown below:

14. Press your facing and seam assart away from the pant front and and so fold over to the within of the pant. Topstitch along the folded edge.

15. Gently curlicue your left pant forepart with the zipper on superlative of the right pant forepart to make up one's mind the position for the other zipper record.

Brand sure that zero is twisted and that the right front is extending over the left front past iii/8" (1 cm).

Once you lot've determined the skillful position, pin the zipper to the fly facing just, non to the pant front.

16. Open the attachment and stitch the pinned tape in identify.

At present that the zipper is installed, the very final thing to do is to create that nice J-shaped topstitching on the right side of the garment.

17. To become a really nice shape, we recommend using a tacking thread to marking the stitching line. Don't do too large stitches and follow the curve of your wing facing.

xviii. Turn the pant over to the correct side and topstitch along the basting stitches.

19. Remove the basting stitches.

Optional: Run up a second line of topstitching effectually the J.

xx. Bartack at the crotch point, where your J meets the eye front end, as this is a stress point.

21. To secure the fly and prevent information technology from flipping back and forth, place a small bartack at the corner of the fly shield and wing facing.