Knitty Bitz

Zips can give a garment a more finished look.  There are many ways in which to use zips in knitting.  They are often used for convenience on a child's garment instead of buttons or on a cushion to make removal of the cushion pad possible.

Before You Start

Make sure that the colour of your zip co-ordinates with your garment and that you have matching sewing thread.

Choose the weight of your zip to suit your knitting, i.e. lightweight zips for lightweight projects, heavyweight zips for more bulky projects.

Attaching Your Zip

• 1. With the zip closed and the right side of the garment facing up, pin one side of the zip to the project so that the knitting covers as much of the fabric part of the zip as possible.  Tack in place using a contrasting thread.

• 2. Pin and tack the second side of the zip to the other side of the garment in the same way (unzip the zip for ease if necessary).

• 3. Using matching thread and backstitch, sew the zip to the garment from the front, making sure that you stitch as close to the zip mechanism as possible and taking particular care to keep your stitches as invisible as possible.

• 4. Turn the garment inside out and sew the zip flat to the garment, again ensuring that your stitches are as invisible as possible.

• 5. Tack down the ends of the zip.

Useful Tips

• When pinning and tacking in the zip, make sure that any patterning or stripes match up exactly.

• Use small stitches to ensure that the zip is secure.

• Decorate the zip pull with a special decorative zip pull or make your own with beads.