This is a sad story, but it is not at its final ending.
I did an incredible job of inserting the invisible zipper into the side seam of the wool tweed dress. The seams/piping details lined up perfectly, as did the pattern/plaid features. The top and bottom of the zipper were free of puckers and twists. It was by far the best invisible zip insertion I’ve ever done.
I tried it on once before sewing the lining in place, and it actually fit (I was somewhat worried that it wouldn’t have). Then I hand-stitched the lining along the zipper, and also stitched the midriff lower seam of the lining to the garment itself. I opened up the basting on the pockets. All that was remaining was the hem, and a final pressing.
And then I tried it on and zipped it up. It was a bit of a sticky job to get the zip past the thick piping edges. But it went up.
And then I put my hands in my pockets and …. the zipper gave way. Damnit!!!
I was rather upset last night. I posted about this problem to the SelfSewn Wardrobe group, and went to sleep. This morning, I was encouraged by the members of the SSW group – get a heftier invisible zip and I should be okay, was the consensus. There’s no need to move the zipper to the centre back seam as long as my zipper is up to the task, and a weenie little size-2 nylon invisible zip is not adequate.
I’ve ordered a size 5 bridal zipper in beige from Wawak.ca and it’ll supposedly arrive next Friday, although it might be a little later due to the covid. I’ll have to undo my handstitching to get it in, but the dress should be fixable.
There’s a bit of a problem with the way the front centre neckline is quite ‘open’ but I think I’ll just put in a few tacks there and maybe wear a bra or camisole that provides some coverage there. Or heck, just go with the cleavage.
