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I am a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. But whatever happens in my life, I keep sewing. I have worked as a political communicator and now as a teacher in my formal life. I have also written extensively on sewing. I have been a frequent contributor and contributing editor of Threads magazine and the Australian magazine Dressmaking with Stitches. My book Sew.. the garment-making book of knowledge was published in May 2018 and is available for pre-order from Amazon
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Sunday, April 2, 2017

Dropping down a back neck zipper

I just made a dress that has a neck opening wide enough so it goes over my head. Since the bodice is fitted I still need a back zipper. So I did what I always do in these situations and sewed the centre back seam closed down about 3" from the neckline and inserted the zipper below that. I got this idea from side zippers in vintage patterns- I get a lot of good construction ideas from those. Of course this means the neckline can be faced as one unit like an armhole. So much neater than a zipper top that opens at the top and you have all that business to take care of. I like the way this looks:



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an awesome idea ... leave the neck edge etc. alone ... and an zipper installed lower, with a centre seam, the garment can be more fitted .... and go over the head! Thank you for sharing!
Lynda from Toronto

Auntie Dini said...

I like the way that looks, too. I will try it with my next back zip application.

I think it may save a little dancing around when getting dressed, as well. I always struggle to get the back zip done right up to the top.

Anonymous said...

Very clever. Thanks for sharing. And yes, the old patterns had brilliant instructions. I miss that.
Vancouver Barbara

sewingkm said...

What a neat trick. Thanks for sharing.

Karen

Kay said...

Looks neat and pretty. And I agree with Auntie Dini; it looks like it would be easier to zip up.

That's pretty fabric. It looks like a super light weight wool. Is it? It looks like it would feel light and at the same time hygge. :-)

Anna said...

Thank you for sharing this excellent idea.

BeccaA said...

I often do this because the neck edge is so much neater.

LinB said...

A costumer's trick for setting in those inseam zippers: install them so that they zip up from the bottom, not down from the top.

The zippers are far less likely to work open by themselves going upward than to work open by themselves going downward.

Jane M said...

Yours looks so beautiful. I just tried to do one of those side zipper installations under the arm of the side seam in a sheath dress and made a botch of it. I need to find directions from an old vintage pattern on how to do it nicely.

Barbara said...

Jane did you use an invisible zipper? I find they work best. I sewed the seam above the zipper first then installed the zipper, then closed the seam below the zipper.