Recessed Zipper Attempt No. 2

Do you remember my first attempt at a recessed zipper?  It didn’t go so well so I tried again.  Since the first one had way too much bulk in the corners, I tried a completely different way of installing the zipper.  This means that there will still be slight openings in the top, but not much.  Well, there is a lot in this one, but that is because I messed it up big time.  Here is the tutorial for the one that isn’t messed up.

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As you can see, the zipper was way too short…so short that not much could even fit into the bag.  I actually ended up cutting off the zip end and breaking the other end of the zipper so that I could still use the bag.  I just love the fabric!

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From the outside you can’t even tell that the zipper is there, let alone messed up.  I hate wasting fabric so I am glad I am still able to use the bag.

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I sort of followed this tutorial for the casing, but realized there is an easier way that is pretty much the same as this tutorial.  The way I did it uses extra fabric and isn’t necessary.  I also struggled getting the casing lined up, so the second way makes it easier.

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Here is the zipper and the casing.  I then attached this between the two lining pieces on each side.

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I made the zipper so short because I thought that once I boxed the corners that it would be the correct length.  Yeah, not so much.

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Here is a view of the lining after it is completely sewn together.  I kind of thought it was going to be way too short at this point, but went ahead and finished the bag.

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Here is another view of the recessed zipper.  I liked the potential of this and have tried again with success.  So stay tuned for a successful recessed zipper.

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I am currently working on the tutorial for the successful version and plan on including enough detail that you should be able to calculate the pieces for any bag that you want to add a recessed zipper to.

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5 Responses

  1. Oh, bummer! I do love the fabric too, so I am glad you were able to save the bag. 🙂 Thanks for posting… even though it was not perfect. I actually love these posts… I feel like it makes it OK for me to mess up, too! (Which I do, a lot! LOL) 🙂

  2. I’ve read your excellent tutorial for the correct way to create a recessed zipper for a tote, but I wanted to thank you for keeping your original attempts posted to your website. By reading about your mistakes, I was able to toss my idea of “how it should work” because it was much like your attempt #1. I might have been happy with that if I hadn’t seen the one you did so nicely in your final tutorial.
    btw – many people are still pinning your first attempt, so it wasn’t really a failure – just different!

  3. I like the idea that you show your not so perfect attempts. It gave me confidence to go for it again and again. If on a post everything is perfect first tome then I think that I am somewhat lacking. So thank you so much for the story so far.

  4. I like the idea that you show your not so perfect attempts. It gave me confidence to go for it again and again. If on a post everything is perfect first tome then I think that I am somewhat lacking. So thank you so much for the story so far.

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