How to Replace a Zipper in a Jacket

[Johanna]

I asked Bonnie to put together a tutorial of how to replace a zipper in a jacket, and she put this together to share with you. Bonnie lives in a cold state, and is friends with hundreds (thousands?) of bikers. If you have ever ridden a bike, you know how important your leathers are- and if your zipper breaks, well, you'll do anything to please the Zipper Queen, as it should be.

We all really appreciate the time you took to do this great zipper tutorial, and hope to see many more from you now.

Thanks, Bonnie!

~J

zipperqueenLW.pdf

zipperqueenLW.pdf

[terrahyd]

GREAT JOB WITH THE TUTORIAL. EVEN I UNDERSTOOD IT.....Doc......

[Crystal]

Thank you, Bonnie! Much appreciated and needed tutorial.

Crystal

[ClayB]

It's great to see more people sharing "how to's". Some of these things that you do so often may seem simple to you, but for some of the rest of us, the tutorials are just what we need to help us understand how some things are done. Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into this. It's really appreciated!

[mpatterson]

Great job Bonnie,

Thanks for the time you gave to make this so others can learn from your experience it took a while to put this together and I appreciate it

[broncobuster]

shucks you guys are making me blush

[Aurelie]

nice tutorial!

now i guess i will not be "scared" of doing it!

[stargazer1682]

This is great. I just bought a leather jacket that actually fits me from a secondhand store, but the zipper is going and needs to be replaced; so I'm glad I found this.

Can anyone clarify the step where it says to take the bottom of the coat and pushing it away from the zipper?

Also, what kind of sewing machine needle should be used for this?

Thanks

[Northmount]

If the slider is damaged, but the rest of the zipper is in good shape, you can get replacement slidders. They come in different widths (measured in mm) and for different types of zippers (plastic teeth, metal teeth and metal coil). Also for zippers that unzip from both ends.

A number of sliders have a number and letter on the back. The number is the width. The letter has something to do with the style, but I haven't found any reference for it. Some sewing notions stores will tell you that their slider fits all jackets. Not so!

Check sewing notions stores, outdoor outfitters, textile outfitters, etc. to find a source near you. It's a good idea to take the jacket with you to ensure the new slider fits. Else you may be making another trip to get the right one.

Tom

[stargazer1682]

I don't know if the last post was regarding my question - I wasn't asking about changing the slider, I was asking about clarification on installing a whole zipper and the instructions in the PDF. Namely what it meant by pulling the end of the jacket away from the zipper when installing it; as well as what kind of sewing machine needle was needed for sewing on leather?