Changing a zipper without spacers

Zippers often fail: either the “pawl” will fall out, or the lock will “corrode”, or the “teeth” will break... To replace the fastener, as a rule, it is necessary to space the parts of the clothing into which the zipper is sewn. But flogging the fastener is not enough, you need to insert a new one, adjust both sides of the stitching of the zipper and the fabric, and even on two pieces of clothing. The main problem is to sew a new seam so that the edges of the item do not stick out in different directions, and the zipper stays in the fabric, and not next to it. However, all of the above troubles can be easily avoided by working a little on the appearance of the old fastener.

Materials for work:
• Detachable zipper greater than the length of the item (or old zipper) – 1 pc.;
• Pliers, large needle, matches, sewing machine, scissors.

Stages of work:

First stage: disassemble the broken clasp.
Using a large needle, pry up the “teeth” of the broken zipper and move them to the side. The “teeth” are easily removed from the fabric base of the fastener. If you can’t get rid of them with a needle, you can use pliers and pull off the “teeth.”When using pliers, it is necessary to grab only the upper part of the “tooth” with them, so as not to tear or damage the fabric base on which they are held.

Carefully unbend the metal zipper fastener located at the top of the fastener. This fastener will still be needed for the new fastener.

After dismantling the “teeth” and metal fastening, remove the “pawl” by sliding it up until it stops.

This is what the item looks like after disassembling the broken zipper: everything has been removed, but the fabric base remains in the details of the clothing.


Second stage: adjust the new fastener to length.
Place the zipper next to the item and measure the required length. We cut off the excess so that the length of the new fastener is a couple of centimeters longer than the length of the old one.

Since the fastener should not touch the body in the neck area, in the upper part of the zipper it is necessary to pull out the “teeth” on both sides of the zipper in the right place (at the end of the old zipper).

We insert the metal parts removed from the old zipper into the empty spaces and, using pliers, secure them to the new fastener.

We carefully remove excess “teeth” with pliers or a large needle.

To prevent the fabric from fraying, burn the cut edges of the fastener with a match or candle flame.


Stage three: attach the new fastener to the item.
We attach a new zipper to the fabric base remaining from the previous fastener (after disconnecting it). To avoid shifts and bevels, you can fasten the fastener and fabric not with pins, but with a basting seam.

We bend the upper edge of the fastener inward (on one side of the bend there is a new zipper, and on the other - the fabric base of the old one). After stitching, the burnt edge of the zipper will not be visible.

We similarly attach the second part of the disconnected zipper to the second side of the item.

We sew the fastener at the points of attachment with the fabric base of the old zipper.

That's all! It took about ten minutes to replace the zipper.


In twenty minutes the suit acquired two new zippers! The work looks neat, the manipulations performed are completely invisible. The most important thing is fast and simple!