Spent a couple of afternoons this last week installing a pair of new zippers on a couple of vintage hoodies I just had to keep around for sentimental reasons. Set about the process of replacing two worn out plastic zippers, with nice new sturdy metal zippers found on Amazon, which most likely will long outlast the hoodies themselves.
After taking out the old defective zipper from the first hoodie (Long Beach) with a very sharp seam ripper, sort of overly quickly half pinned, and half basted in the new zipper in by hand. Then borrowed Heather’s Kenmore sewing machine, and set about making a too fast and rather uneven stitch run up both sides of the hoodie. Realized when done next time it would be far better to slow down on the sewing machine, and do much better job of properly basting in the zipper to begin with.
So on hoodie number two (Yellowstone) I ripped out the old zipper, dug around through a big mixed box of thread, and found a spool that matched perfectly the blue of the hoodie. It was even a really heavy duty ‘button and cushion’ thread too, and so knew it would provide far greater strength when installed on the zipper.
Of course, the first problem I had was just threading the needle, since this thick blue thread is way too big to fit through the standard eye. Find my handy little threading tool, problem solved, at least for the moment. Having stitched about half way up, try to thread my small needle again, and manage to break my little tool forcing the heavy thread through the eye of the needle. Since I can’t thread the tiny needle without the broken tool, am forced to use a much larger needle, which isn’t as sharp, thus it also requires much more force to push through zipper and fabric.
Towards the end of very carefully stitching in my second hoodie zipper, up one side and down the other, I’m struck by a sudden realization: I’ve done all this stitching by hand, and my fingers aren’t totally numb! Sure is nice to have reliable feeling in my fingers again, and so am feeling rather grateful for that recent carpel tunnel surgery!
Anyway, new zipper fully basted in, and go to thread Heather’s sewing machine, but my ‘button and cushion’ thread is clearly too thick for that particular needle. So of course, I find a way to force the thread though the eye anyway, just to get on with the project. Yet within seconds, the sewing machine totally jams, obviously because I’m using a way too think thread. What an idiot!
Pull out wads of thread from machine, cut tangles of thread from hoodie, and locate a proper blue spool of regular thread, and rethread the machine and needle. Start up the sewing machine and… nothing. Not working, I’ve broken Heather’s sewing machine!
Panic sets in quickly. Heather will soon be home from work, I’ve got to go shopping for dinner, but I’ve got this dame broken sewing machine to fix! No time left to save myself, to fix dinner, and fix the sewing machine before Heather finds out! Naturally, she didn’t take the news well over dinner, but promising I knew how to fix it did help smooth things over for the night.
The following morning I took apart the sewing machine, located and made the necessary adjustment to the bobbin pick up timing, and put everything back together. Hooding under the needle and, machine isn’t working, again. Seems the clutch knob is jammed in the bobbin loading position, and is disengaged. So then off comes the knob, line up the internal notch, reassemble, and try again. Success! Finally have sewing machine working!
There I am, thread weight and tension settings made, I’m taking my time, slowing working my way up the first side of the zipper, when “SNAP” The needle breaks when it hits a particularly thick fold in the fabric! Shit! So back to the manual (does the flat side of the needle go front or back?) Installed the heftiest needle available, rethread, restart, and cross my fingers. Slowly, patiently, I stitch my way to the top of both sides of the zipper. Finally everything is working as it should, I’m properly controlling the machine, and the stitches are looking smooth and straight. After practicing on two of my hoodies, I finally know what I’m doing, but of course, now I’m finished. Oh well… typical.
At least I have returned two still useful hoodies back into active service by fixing these zippers for myself! Not only that, but I’ve also earned a few bonus points for preserving items that represent some very happy family camping memories.
