After 8 failed zipper installs I finally tried the basting tape trick

I was about to throw my sewing machine out the window last week after ruining yet another jacket zipper - the fabric kept shifting and the teeth ended up crooked every single time. A lady at Joann's told me to use water-soluble basting tape to hold the zipper in place before stitching, and honestly I thought it was just a gimmick. I picked up a roll for $4.50 and tried it on an old hoodie first, and the zipper went in straight on my first attempt. Has anyone else had better luck with basting tape over pins for tricky zipper installations?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_schmidt15d ago

Did you have to cut the tape with scissors or can you rip it like I inevitably will?

ivangrant15d ago

Honestly, the basting tape is a game changer but it also got me into a weird situation last week. I had some leftover tape from a different project and I tried to use it to hold down a patch on my denim jacket while I stitched it on. The patch went on perfect but then I realized I forgot to remove the paper backing from half the tape and it was stuck to my ironing board for three days. Now I have to check every single time before I press anything down.