Zipper Tips for the Dungiven Dress

The prescribed zipper for the Dungiven Dress is a 36” (91.5 cm) two-way separating zipper, with brass teeth or aluminum teeth. There’s a notch at the top of the zipper and the bottom of the zipper on the front edge of the pattern pieces. 

Recommended Zippers

• Two-Way Jacket Zipper (US)
• Two-Way Jacket Zipper (Canada)
• Two-Way Plastic Zipper (Canada)
• Two-Way Brass Zipper (US)

The zipper is sewn with a centered application including a facing. This means that the CF seam of the Front and the Facings are basted and pressed open, and a zipper sandwich is made to enclose the zipper. The edges of the fabric between the stitching and the exact center front provide a covering that protects your skin from the zipper teeth. (In contrast to an exposed zipper, where the teeth can touch your skin, or not using a Facing, again allowing the teeth to touch your skin while wearing.)

Bonus Zipper Tips

There are a few areas where bonus tips might be a help to you in the zipper construction! It’s not rocket science, but it does take a bit of slowing down and extra care. Here are some of our installation experience and snafus to help you along:

1. Buy a 36” (91.5 cm) two-way separating zipper. If it is not separating, you will always have to have a portion of the dress zipped. The front will not open like a jacket, and you will never be able to wear the dress as a duster/topper. If it is not two-way, then you’ll limit your styling options and always need the zipper zipped all the way to the bottom. Just make sure you read the descriptions very carefully before you buy, since the keywords can overlap with other types of zippers! (Ask us how we know. Oops.)
2. A bit of practice and some careful prep go a really long way. We were developing the instructions, so we had the luxury of sewing quite a few Dungiven Dresses between everyone on the team, and we did get better at the process each time! Not that you should go and make three dresses right away, but also don’t be too hard on yourself!
3. We learned that turning down the speed of the machine to force ourselves to sew slower was a helpful move. 
4. We also learned that some of us prefer to glue the CF seam allowances right to the fabric, rather than basting the zipper in place. It prevents the top layer (the Front, the one right against the presser foot) from shifting against its own seam allowance. 
5. It is really, really worth having the Wonder Tape/glue to align the zipper sandwich layers. It lets you take your time positioning in the seams right over the center of the zipper teeth, and then you can press to really adhere all of the layers. Let them cool before you pick up the assembly and go to the machine! 
6. Look out for the zipper pulls as you sew. It’s okay to open a few basting stitches, keep the needle down, and wiggle the pulls out of the way, then keep sewing. The needle will keep your spot, and you can gently move the slider. I sometimes push it with the tip of my seam ripper or my awl, because my fingers won’t fit under the presser foot far enough to manipulate the slider! 
7. If you rip every fourth or fifth basting stitch on the needle thread, the basting of the CF seams will still hold secure but also remove much more easily if you pull the bobbin thread. And if you don’t do this, use some tape to pick up the zillions of tiny thread bits after you’ve removed the basting stitches. I used packing tape for this and actually rubbed the tape with my nail to make it really grab the thread bits, and it worked fabulously.
8. Don’t expect perfection from yourself! Good is good enough! I really mean it. On my last sew, I finally nailed the outer topstitch perfectly only to realize with dismay that I had rushed the Facing centering and it’s more than a bit wobbly. But you wouldn’t know unless I told you, and if it really bugs me after a few wears, I might go back and fix it. Or not. We’ll see. As with so many sewing snafus, so if the zipper works, maybe just take a breather before you consider taking out the seam ripper. And remember that sometimes a run through the laundry is the magical step that makes everything come together! And if you really want to go back and refine anything after that, you still can! It will be okay!

The most important thing to remember when inserting your zipper is patience. Go as slowly as you need, be kind to yourself, and take deep breaths. You can do this!

For tips about lengthening and shortening the Dungiven Dress, and how that interacts with the zipper, head to this blog post.