Top tip – zip length
Ziip length
When you are buying a zip for a garment or maybe you have one in your haberdashery stash that you wish to use, knowing the length of the zip is critical. A zip length is determined by the length of the teeth of the zip NOT the length of the tape. To find out the length of a zip, measure from the runner to the stopper along the teeth. There is usually a 1.5 cm allowance of tape at the top of the zip which marries up with the standard seam allowance used in dressmaking so that you have enough tape to tuck away into a facing or waistband and therefore give you a tidy finish on your garment.