Penny Inn Sew Along - Week 3 continued! (and a quick zipper tape tutorial)

I apologize to anyone that likes to work at a nice steady pace, I seem to start out like that, have great plans, procrastinate (or take on more than I should), then do a mad rush to finish stuff in time.  Since it's almost mad rush time, we need to use the rest of this week to get a little further along!


Step 12 - More card pockets!

Did I mention that this wallet has a million card slots?  Ok, not quite that many, but it's a LOT.  Now that you are an expert from making the first set of card slots, time to make more!  And just to make sure you are an expert, you're going to do the same exact set of card slots twice, one with a back and one without!

Step 13 - Zipper Pockets!

It's very important to have the top marked correctly on this piece, otherwise you're going to end up with some odd pockets!  If you are using zipper tape instead of the pre-made zippers, you can cut it to the exact length needed, but make sure your pull is on first.  I seem to always end up with one end shorter when I add on a zipper pull, so I started putting them on before I do the final cut for size.

Step 14 - Two more zipper pockets!

Maybe it's time to buy stock in a zipper company!

If you are interested in using zipper tape, here's a quick picture guide of how to get the slider on!  There are tons of videos, so be sure to look for those if you need more help.

Step 1 - Get out your roll of tape, and a zipper slider.  Find the end.

Keep an eye on your zipper pulls, they like to wander off.

Step 2 - Pull the end apart a little

Step 3 - Cut off about 4 teeth on one side (I always do the right side, not sure why...but it works for me!)

Step 4 - Slide the zipper pull onto the uncut side - make sure you stick it into the end that has 2 distinct slots, not the end that is one hole.  (you want it to zip closed when you pull it up)

Step 5 - Stick the cut side into the zipper pull so that the teeth are just barely at the opening.  Grab hold of both ends.

I'm barely holding onto it, but there is some of the black sticking past the zipper pull

Step 6 - Wiggle the zipper a little to get the teeth in there, then pull up and hope you got it on! 

Magic!

Step 7 - Cut the zipper to remove the 'messed up' end, then cut to the required length.  If you are not immediately sewing it into the project, you probably want to tack a few stitches across either end to make sure you don't accidentally slide the zipper pull off of one end.  (done that.  Many times.)

NOTE**  If your pattern calls for a certain size zipper, you might want to cut your own at least an inch or 2 longer just to make sure you aren't too short.  Manufactured zippers have extra at either end that some designers include in their sewing.  A 10" zipper may be closer to 12" total length.** 


Ok, that's all for this week, next week is where the real magic happens and you end up with an amazing wallet!