ZIPPER INSTALLATION

TIPS for Installing Your Quick Zip™ Zipper System
c. 2005 Darlene Epp

Here are a few tips that will help you immensely when you install your zippers.  The zipper sets come with a great little booklet full of colored pictures, but it's good to have some extra hands (or friends) to help you out, and they’re never around when it's time to sew the zippers on, so here's what I do.

1. Fold the selvedge of the canvas leaders over and press to form a 1” hem. You can do this right on the rollers. Press in the direction that the zipper will cover.
(After installing the zippers, you may want to stitch down the loose edge of the hem.)

2. Put on your largest extended base. ( in lieu of friend #1)

3. AFTER marking the centers, separate the zippers. PIN each side of the zippers to it's prospective canvas leader, aligning the centers and pinning from the center out. (The leader each piece attaches to is printed on the left side of the zipper.)

4. Now, before sewing, zip the "Backing" zipper to the "Takeup" Leader Zipper.  (in lieu of friend #2).


5. Snug up the leaders so that everything lies nice and flat, but doesn't pull, and slowly stitch next to the folded edge of the leader, removing pins just before you get to them. There is no problem with the hopping foot going over the teeth of the zipper. (I use the clamps to put extra tension on the end of the leaders, in lieu of friend #3.)

The extended base gives a nice flat surface to rest your hand on and keep everything in line
as you stitch.

6. After stitching both sides of the Backing and Takeup Leader zipper, unzip the Backing zipper and zip the "Quilt Top" zipper to the Takeup Leader zipper.

7. Sew the edge of the quilt top leader to the zipper.

8. Unzip and then attach the other side of the zippers to the top and backing sides. These are the zipper sides that you'll pin or sew your backing and top to. 

9. Once the zippers are attached you can mark inches on them, starting from "0" in the center and wroking to each side.

To Mount the Quilt Top and Backing to the Zippers 

My OWN personal preference is to attach both the backing and quilt top with the longest straight stitch on my Pfaff. It has the built-in even feed foot, so there's no problem with the top layer being pushed ahead of the bottom layer. I start in the center and work to each end.

If you have your customer “stay-stitch” around the perimeter of both the backing and the quilt top, there is much less danger of stretching the edge when attaching to the zippers or simply pinning on to the canvas.

I can have a King size quilt mounted in 15 minutes this way. If I pin on, it still takes me forever, and I stab myself numerous times in the process. I've only pinned to the zippers once, and said "never again!" I had the bottle of hydrogen peroxide handy on that one! Some people use safety pins and thus avoid the stab wounds, but I have "finicky" wrists and safety pins are difficult for me.

To make SURE I put the Backing and Quilt Top on the right direction, I take the backing and top to the machine and pin to each zipper side, just in the middle. I no longer trust myself to remember as I’ve put it on upside down too many times!

I hope these tips help. I LOVE the Quick Zip™ zipper system and could have saved many hours, days, weeks, months of time in the last 11 years if I'd only given in sooner!!

c.2005 Darlene Epp