Zip it Up! Part 1: Invisible zippers made easy with Invisible-Zipper Foot #35

Tutorial: How to sew in an invisible zipper with the BERNINA Invisible-Zipper Foot #35

We have carefully collected exciting tips and tricks from various inspiration magazines and published them on the blog. This tip is taken from inspiration issue 1-20. If you want to read more helpful tutorials, you can find an overview here: “Tips and Tricks”. It’s worth checking back regularly or subscribing to the newsletter to make sure you can learn our experts’ tricks for your sewing work.

The advantages of Foot #35

Invisible-Zipper Foot #35 has two diagonal grooves on the underside of the foot which act as a guide for the zipper coils. These guides unfold the zipper, making it possible to sew close to the coils. After sewing, the zipper folds back again, creating a fantastic invisible zipper!

Invisible Zipper Foot #35

Sewing in invisible zippers of all sizes ✓ The zippers are virtually invisible ✓ For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓

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NOTES

The instructions in this post are different from the instructions in the video. You can experiment to see which method is better for you.
The Invisible-Zipper Foot #35 does not work with all zipper sizes. Please check if the zipper you intend to use fits the grooves and runs smoothly through them.

Measure the length of the zipper

First, measure the zipper from the top edge to about 2 cm above the slider. To do this, open it completely and place it onto the edge of the fabric where it will be sewn in afterwards. On the fabric, mark the point to sew up to for the seam below the zipper.

Here, the length of the zipper is 20 cm.

Basting

Now sew the entire seam using a straight stitch:

For the first 20 cm, use a long stitch length, as it will be unpicked again later
Secure the seam
Sew the remaining seam using a normal stitch length and secure the end again
Then iron the seam allowance open.

Pin onto the seam allowance

To measure the width of the zipper, measure from the folded-up coil to the edge. With a zipper tape width of 1.2 cm and a seam allowance of 2 cm, the outer edge of the zipper is pinned just under one centimeter away from the edge of the fabric. The basted seam sewn with a long stitch is still closed.

Sew onto the seam allowance

The zipper tape is sewn onto the edge of the seam allowance. Jeans Foot #8 is very useful for this. Sew as far as you can – as it’s not possible to sew past the slider. Secure the end of the seam and sew the other side in the same way.

Jeans Foot #8

For straight stitching over thick seams and on multilayer materials ✓ For denim, canvas, travel bags, etc. ✓ For optimal results, use the straight-stitch plate ✓ For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓

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Open the basting seam

Next, unpick the basting seam up to the bartack. Take care not to damage the fabric with the scissors. Depending on the fabric, needle holes can be closed by rubbing with a finger.

Invisible-Zipper Foot #35

After attaching Foot #35, place the right side of the zipper into the left groove of the zipper foot. The coil slots into the correct position as if by magic.

NOTE

The needle position doesn’t usually need adjusting. If the coil on a zipper does not fold up properly, you can change the position. This can happen with zippers from other manufacturers.

Correct the positioning

If the coil does not unfold by itself, you have to correct the positioning. Sew in the zipper from top to bottom as far as possible and secure the end when you reach the slider. Sew in the second side in the same way from top to bottom, except that the left side of the zipper goes into the right groove of the foot.

Now you just have to pull the slider up through the small opening and close the zipper. You can now marvel at your perfect invisible zipper, with no misalignment or bagging at the bottom.