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Here is another extract
from my Sewing Authentic Jeans Video
Specifically, here is how to sew
a Front Fly Zip Opening
It really is one of the hardest sewing tasks
This extract is for all of you
who are following
THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE
I should imagine the contestants
are wishing they had watched this video
Whenever I make myself a pair of jeans
I still look up my own guide
as it's tricky to remember the order of events
it's not that logical
For a detailed lesson on the Fly Zip
and indeed the Complete Making of
Authentic Jeans
join my site angelakane.com
You will get the Jeans Pattern
and the Jeans eBook
which is full of detailed instructions and diagrams
plus many more patterns and lessons
Currently £20 for the first year
and then £5 per year
if you continue to subscribe
For this you get everything
and I'm adding more all the time
This has to be the best value sewing class
Here is a quick guide to the Fly Zip
but for more detail see my site
These are the pieces that go together
to make the Fly Zip Opening
For jeans we remove
the fly extension from the left front
Iron interfacing to the left side
Then right sides together
pin and machine the fly extension
to the right side front
Press with the seam allowances
laying towards the extension
Press the facing to the right front extension
Pin the two fronts together
along the centre front
Machine using a basting stitch
or the longest stitch
you have on your machine
When you get to the mark
at the bottom of the opening
continue with a normal stitch
Clip the curve below the opening
Press the centre front extensions open
With the right extension to the right
and everything else to the left
place the zip, face down
with zip tape edge
along the centre front line
and pin
Using a zipper foot
stitch tape in position
Stitch a second row close to the teeth
with the zip open initially
lifting the foot with needle down
to slide the zip pull past the needle
and complete the machining
Fold with the zip right side up
I'm using a long stitch to baste along here
This is how our zip looks now
The right side extension is folded back on itself
Folding the garment over
with the left extension extended
with the rest of the garment
on the right side
The zip will fall into the correct
position for stitching the second side
Keep all the seam allowances to the right
Again, we stitch two rows
Firstly the row that secures the tape
Then the second row
closer to the teeth
Don't worry that you can't get close
to the teeth at the very top
It makes no difference on this side
These are the items we need for topstitching
Chalk the topstitching line
and a nice curve at the bottom
finishing about a quarter of an inch
below the tailors tack
From this diagram you can see how the zip lies
in relation to the centre front
and the stop stiching
You can stitch a double row here if you like
Always, always practise your topstitching
on some spare fabric
Here I am using a spacer tool
sometimes called a stitch compensation tool
It keeps the foot level
when machining through thick layers of fabric
You can also use a roll of fabric
See the full version for information
on how to achieve perfect topstitching
Pull through threads
and knot to neaten
Now for the zip guard
Fold, right sides together
Finish one end
Place centrally over the zip
This edge will be trimmed away
We are just pinning through the zip guard
and the extension
I have machined and overlocked
cutting off the spare fabric
Remove the basting from the centre front
We now have a working zip
The under guard is perfectly placed
with the zip off centre
and well out of view
We are nearly done
Stitch along the zip here
as far as you can
Then we topstitch along this edge
Fold the right side under
and again topstitch as far as we can
Pull threads to inside and tie
We don't need this tailor's take any more
We are also going to trim and neaten
the fly extension on the left side
Then with this seam pressed to the left
we will topstitch just to the left of the seam line
to meet the topstitching here
Backstitch to secure or
pull through threads
and knot on the inside
Now for the bar tacks
Use regular thread here
to match the topstitching thread
Where you put these bar tacks is up to you
Have a look at commercially made jeans
We've finished
The bar tacks look good
and the topstitching is beautifully straight
The inside is neat
we could have sewn in these ends
rather than knotting
The bar take holds the fly guard in position
If you don't like the look of bar tacks
you can just make a few stitches here
joining the zip guard to the left fly extension
So, that's a heavily edited version
of my sewing the Fly Zip video
taken from the Making Authentic Blue Jeans series
And the jeans after wearing
looking every bit as Authentic
as any of the designer labels you care to mention
The full version of this series
runs for over two hours
and is available to watch and download to Members
Membership currently costs just £20
Not only does that include 25 classic patterns
and 4 In-depth videos
I am now adding eBooks
for those of you who like to follow diagrams
My Making Authentic Jeans eBook
has 42 pages of detailed instructions
I take you through every step
Even a complete beginner could make these great jeans
It is the ultimate guide to making jeans
I explain fabrics, cutting layouts
facings, the fly zip of course
Part 2 is about slanted jeans pockets
back pockets with the logo
how to attach the waistband
making belt loops
stitching on your belt loops which is an art in itself
in fact everything that is covered in the video series
Membership is great value
My site is dedicated
to producing really useful guides
for all basic sewing skills
along with a little inspiration
Do join
Make a classic silk shirt
to wear with your jeans
which is another challenge for this week's
contestants on
THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE
If this programme has inspired you
to start sewing
look no further than my site
to help you with basic and advanced skill
and patterns for a complete wardrobe.
I'm looking forward to seeing
how this weeks contestants fair on
THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE