Replacing a Zipper / Shortening a Zipper

Dear users, dear authors,
do you have anything to share about this?
Replacing a zipper in a pair of jeans / shortening a zipper, etc.

I’ll write something about this tomorrow; today I’m too exhausted to pass on anything sensible and, above all, correct to you. I also have illustrated instructions for you again

Best regards, Inge

Get some good rest, Inge.

Well, for me, replacing or sewing in a zipper is a total nightmare! It always ends up crooked for me. So I’m really looking forward to Inge’s tips. 

Shortening a zipper:
If the zipper is too long, you don’t necessarily have to buy a new one—you
can shorten it. To do this, you’ll need a pair of pliers and a bit of dexterity
, then first remove the front stop / small metal tab, then use cutting pliers to remove the “teeth”
and secure it again with the metal tab.
LG, Inge

this is how it should look when it has been sewn in well. I know it isn’t that easy and takes practice, but it can be learned, and once you’ve got the hang of it, replacing a zipper is done in no time
I sewed these jeans for my husband a few years ago; he loves them because they’re custom-made and fit perfectly.
The pattern goes from bottom to top

Best, Inge




because now the zipper has to be folded in the right direction, and then the whole thing is topstitched from the right side of the pants and bar-tacked at the bottom so the zipper can’t tear out




this is what it looks like when the zipper is closed, and it has to be, because now it gets a bit more complicated again, but with a little practice it really isn’t sooo hard



here’s the inside view of the zipper in the pants



this is how it should look when both the fly facing and fly shield are sewn on



when the zipper has been sewn to the fly shield, the whole thing is sewn to the right front pants piece on men’s pants at the fly facing so that you can just see the teeth, as in the picture. This works best with a zipper foot, or if you can move the needle on the sewing machine far enough to sew it on close to the edge.





the fly facing is the part you can also partly see when you look at the pants from the front. Usually it is marked on the pattern and cut accordingly, and then pressed with fusible interfacing, which gives it stability. The chalk line shows where the zipper is sewn on. The fly facing is pressed over on both pants pieces so that at the bottom, at the crotch seam, it sticks out about 1 cm; this centimeter is important later when sewing the pants together.


for a pair of pants you usually need a zipper 18 or 20 cm long, so the fly facing and fly shield need to be the appropriate length. The fly shield prevents the zipper from rubbing against the stomach.


I sewed a new zipper into my anorak. It wasn’t easy as a beginner.
I had to try several times. 

It’s not exactly easy to sew a zipper into an anorak either; to be honest, I don’t really like doing it.

Best regards, Inge

Thank you so much, Inge, for sharing your expertise with us. People used to be more frugal back in the day, and I used to sew new zippers into pants by hand. You just couldn’t afford to throw away a pair of pants just because the zipper was broken. But it wasn’t a pleasant job. These days, zippers really do break very rarely. I can’t even remember the last time that happened.

If the zipper on my favorite anorak were to break, I’d take it to a tailor. They can sew it in professionally. I couldn’t do that myself. When I buy a new jacket with a zipper, I always take a close look at the quality of the zipper. If it’s no good, you won’t enjoy the jacket for long.

Best regards, Ina