As my broken wrist slowly mends… disaster strikes! My faithful me-made jeans… my absolute favourites… the ones with the scissors on the back pocket…
… well, the zipper’s broken… pulled straight off…!
They were a pretty early make, considering, and I’d obviously trimmed the zip too far back. I kind-of knew I’d done it at the time, but it’s held well for over a year. Only now (that I am incapacitated) does it finally give up the ghost. Literally adding insult to injury… Dammit!
So the first thing I need to do once these bones of mine are healed is to replace the zip. Funnily enough I had to do this a while ago on my Sail-Away-Shorts, not long after I’d made them; I’d used a cheap zip which astonishingly got mangled up in the washing machine and the zip pull got all twisted. It came off once, somehow I managed to wrangle it back on only for it to come off again. There was nothing left to do but replace the zip.
I studied it for hours, thinking there must be a way to get the old zip out and the new one in causing minimal disturbance to the existing fly. Well to the best of my (limited) knowledge I can report that there is no such magic… Everything needs unpicking – the zip (obviously), the fly shield, topstitching, even a good couple of inches of the waistband; sewing line, ditch-stitching, topstitching, the lot! You’ve really got to pick that fly wide open.
I’m never much of a fan of unpicking, seeing it as a necessary evil when I’m mid-project. However, when a project starts with unpicking, it doesn’t seem to bother me so much. In fact, I kind-of love it. It’s satisfying like the demolition bit at the beginning of a diy project, clear the slate, fresh page and all that. Hopefully I’ll have some strength back in my left hand soon and I’d welcome the chance to do some unpicking!
So I prepared my new zip, shortening and re-capping like I did in this post. It can be one of the most frustrating things to do. There seems to be no real knack to getting the teeth out first time, patience and perseverance will win over power or practise as far as I can tell.
With the zip prepared I just had to follow all the usual steps for sewing a fly… pretty much all the steps – no shortcuts.
- Sew the zip to the right front.
- Close the zip and pin and sew to the left facing.
- Topstitch the left facing to the front of the trousers.
- Sew the fly shield to the seam on the right.
- Bar-tack the fly, facing and shield from the front.
- Close up the waistband.
Refinishing the waistband was easier than I thought it would be. Some of the allowances were pretty ragged, but the stitching line was still clearly visible, even after pressing, so I could see my way.
Now, it’s not the stealthiest of repairs and doesn’t really stand up to close scrutiny; but it all gets hidden behind my belt… And the most important thing of all… my fly is no longer gaping open.
This photo was taken the day I actually repaired them. It was during Wimbledon season and when I saw the tennis balls decorating a local hotel, I couldn’t resist the chance for a (then) topical photo!
On writing this I’ve just finished week 2 of broken-arm. The x-rays say it’s all lined up properly and will now just take time. Four weeks to be precise. I’ve got my modern, slimline and lightweight cast on, and even go back to work next week. I won’t be hairdressing, obviously, but I’m going to assist in training sessions and help on the phones and in the office. As much as I’ve enjoyed watching Kath & Kim (back to back) with Drag Race re runs I’ll be glad to actually do something, it’s just really frustrating not to be sewing. As I’m sure you can imagine (as well as needing to repair my jeans) I’ve also designed a really useful shoulder bag… and a ‘utility-sling’ but by the time I get to make them I won’t need them anymore. There’s irony.
Until next time, Happy Sewing!
Notes to self:
- It’s funny the amount of people who think a broken bone doesn’t hurt. It amazes me when they ask ‘Does it hurt though?’ – I answer, ‘Yes, it’s broken.’
- I have a limited amount of tops that fit over my cast. I’m beginning to regret learning this lesson so long ago!
- The sewing list is piling up, I’d better get organised: I’ll try to get some projects lined up… you know, with the right zips etc…!
This is why I’ve never felt tempted to replace a zipper: it’s so much work! I’ve got a RTW pair of jeans from H&M and some lunatic decided to put a CORAL zipper in black jeans! Of course the fly somewhat covers it but like, not all the time when I move and there’s this peekaboo situation going on in my crotch. It’s terrible!
Also, I also find mending very rewarding. It’s usually only a few things you need to do and then your garment goes from unwearable to wearable.
Colour that zip in with a permanent marker! It’s the best way! 😅👍🙏
Thanks! That’s a brilliant idea! So much faster than replacing it!
I think that zip fixing is a chore everyone has to do sooner or later. Maybe our excellent sewing is outlasting those cheap zippers? 🤔 get well soon! 👍
On its own it’s not so bad, but I guess I’d be pleased to do any sewing right now 😅
Thank you 🙏 👍😊
Fours weeks will FLY by ;D … sorry couldn’t resist! It always amazes me when people think you can change a zip in a few minutes … they just don’t get how much careful deconstruction has to be done first
At least you will be back at work and not so bored so hopefully the time really will fly by and the work will hopefully distract you from the pain too 🙂
Lainey x
😂 fly by 🤣 let’s hope so! 😅😉👍🙏🤞
I’m self-taught on flies and I’m pretty sure there’s a better way. Would be nice to try making a button-fly some time. The only button-fly I ever owned was in my scout shorts many moons ago. It was well old-fashioned even then.
I only ever broke one bone – in my right ankle. It HURT!
I think every time I sew a fly it’s different from the last! I’ve tried a couple of button flies (ages ago- there’s even a blog post about it!) but not for a while. I really liked doing it so not sure why I haven’t done it again…
I’m sorry to hear your ankle hurt, but I’m reassured too! Thank you 😅👍🙏
Good news about the ankle is that it mended completely and has never given me any trouble over the following 50 years. Odd thing come to think about it …. it’s one of my very few pain-free joints.
I missed any previous post about a broken arm and am sorry to hear it. Best wishes for a quick and speedy recovery. It reminds me of when I got my first tattoo, in the UK, and the tattoo artist wore a black teeshirt with all kinds of skulls and snakes and demon faces and it said OF COURSE IT HURTS.
Haha! If I didn’t have a broken arm, I’d make a sling that says that! 😂👍🙏
I’ve broken a few small bones in the wrist at times at martial arts, and they seldom HURT hurt, just stuck out at bad angles and hurt when in motion. They never bothered with a cast since it was minor in its way. This sounds more serious. Have you at least decorated your cast with something fun?
I somehow managed to snap the end of my radius clean off! Just by falling over…! I’ve broken toes, ribs and fingers before, but this seems more ‘full-on’! I don’t think the heat helps, but it can throb & twinge all by itself! – I thought I’d be able to hold stuff by now, but I guess those fingers got fallen on hard enough to break the bone behind them, that’ll take a while too I expect.
It’s a weird cast nowadays, it’s a regular looking bandage (the colour of your choice!) that goes hard once it’s opened & applied. Harder to draw on by the looks of it but very clever. It was killing me to not give ‘aesthetic notes’!! 😂🤕🙏
Glitter can be applied everywhere, and there are many photos to prove it…wink wink
😂👍🙏
Exactly. I wound up with a few specks of it on my forehead somehow the other day, and noticed it in the mirror, and had memories of good times past…
Ah, nooooo! The worst timing 😖😖
I sort-of feel your pain… I’ve been getting back into running the last few months (LOVE it) and now I’m injured. Two weeks in… I tried running after 1 week, nope. So I gave it another week and ran just one mile this morning… still nope. I guess I need to be as good as you with my recovery and just REST. So I’m with you in spirit 😊 I’m not sure I could face repairing a zip, seems like an awful lot of hard work 😳 you did a fab job though!
And glad to hear you’re going back to work, even in a reduced capacity… at least it will give you something to focus on and take your mind off sewing!
Wishing you a speedy recovery 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Thank you 🙏 same to you, speedy recovery 🤞. To be honest I haven’t had much choice but to rest, even then it sometimes still hurts!
Anyway, I have to go to work; I’ve totally rinsed out Netflix!
😂👍🙏