Hardware Heaven
Creating a Double Pull Zipper
I recently wrote an article for Issue 11 of the digital sewing magazine One Thimble on creating your own double pull zippers and thought you might like to have a read of it here on my blog as well! I learnt how to make double pull zippers a few months ago when designing my Little Freehand Pack pattern and once I had made my first, I was hooked!
Creating a double pull zipper is soooo easy…. Like amazingly easy, MUCH easier than you think it will be! You don’t need many tools, they don’t take long to whip up, and you can add them to almost any bag that already has a zipper component to it.
Materials required:
- Two zippers you would like combine into one zipper with two zipper pulls (I’m using two long pull zippers)
- Pair of pliers or a metal skewer
Take your two long pull zippers and remove the top zipper stops off both zippers. These are the small metal ‘claws’ at the top/open end of your zipper on each side. I like to use a small metal skewer however a small pair of pliers will work as well.
Take the zipper pull off one of your zippers and put the zipper tape aside (you won’t be needing it).
Rotate the zipper pull 180° and move the zipper pull on the second zipper down a few inches so it is out of the way.
Feed the end of one side of the zipper tape into the zipper until the pull is sitting at the start of the zipper teeth. Ensure your loose zipper pull is facing the opposite direction to the pull on the second zipper – both should be facing each other with the rounded ends facing in (and the flat ends facing out).
Holding the pull and tape in place, feed the second side of the tape into the pull until the pull is sitting at the start of the teeth and the two ends of tape are level with each other.
Holding the ends of the tape firmly in place together and level with each other, gently wriggle the zipper pull down and onto the teeth to create your double pull zipper.
If your zipper tape looks uneven and is not sitting flat when the zippers are closed together, you can check if the teeth have been fed through the second pull correctly by looking at the teeth at the very start of the tape. There should only be one tooth sitting past the last tooth on the opposite side. If there is more than one tooth, take your added zipper pull off and have another go feeding it on evenly.
And that’s all there is to it! How easy was that!
Now that you’ve had a go at creating your very own personalised double pull zipper, the possibilities are now wide open for adding a double pull zipper to your next bag or project!
Happy sewing! Lisa.
Oh, that looks so easy! I might have to try that for my weekender bag! Thanks for sharing this!!
It really is Michelle! Definitely give it a go! 🙂
But you’d better put one of those stops back on or that zipper head is going to come right off!
Depends how you’re using it Barbara – if you’re installing it in a bag then both ends will be enclosed within fabric so no chance of the zipper pulls coming off. 🙂
That does look easier than I thought it would be but how can I ever use the other zipper now that it is without the pull tab. I do not want to waste it. Can someone advise me what to do about the extra zipper without a pull tab now?
Yes Polly it’s super easy! Unfortunately some zipper tapes are wasted but it’s somewhat unavoidable. Some shops/zipper brands do sell extra loose zipper pulls which you can use to make double pull zippers instead of having to sacrifice a full zipper so that could be food for thought. 🙂
I used the extra zipper tape to make bracelets!
OMG you are so clever. i buy bulk zippers . i could use two colored zippers tog. the mind boggles at how this could be used. thanks for the post smarty pants
Haha thanks Carol! I certainly didn’t figure it out myself but was super excited when I tried it for the first time and it worked! Thought others might like to know how to make them as well! 🙂
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So well explained with good pictures of steps, very good tutorial! Thank you!
Thank you Guylaine and you’re welcome! Feel free to share pics of your double pull zipper in my patterns group on Facebook! ?
http://www.facebook.com/groups/andriedesigns
Is there any reason why this wouldn’t work? This is a trick I learned from my grandmother decades ago and used so many times. When I planned to do this for a project earlier in the year I simply could not make it work! I still haven’t worked out if it could have been the wrong kind of zipper or slider or some weird malfunction. I’m thinking zippers by the yard is usually coil zipper instead of molded teeth, but I wasn’t using a molded teeth zipper (like a heavy jacket zipper with teeth you can easily see the shape of each tooth and count them). I’m sure I had it even/just 1 tooth past the last tooth on the opposite side.
It makes me wonder if something has been done to the pulls to make them not work somehow and force people to buy more expensive double zippers/purse zippers in bland colors. Just minutes ago I failed to get a replacement slider to work properly on a long piece of leftover zipper. At first it was ok and operated to open and close util I got within an inch of the end. I took it back off and tried again, but can’t get the two sides of the tape to join at all now.
Hi Mel! Thanks for your comment and yes, there are lots of reasons this wouldn’t work such as matching zipper tape made by one company with a zipper pull made by another company. Size is also important in that the size of the zipper tape/teeth needs to match the size of the pull etc. I recommend sticking with a brand you can trust and using the same zipper tape and pulls from that same brand/manufacturer. Hope that helps! 🙂