The JamCat Fleece Project – Pit-Zips!!!

Hi Friends!

Are you still with me?  Or are you just skimming over these posts just to see if I’m going to finally be finished?

It’s getting there!  I finally put in the pit-zips in the sleeves and I will tell you that I have been laying awake at night trying to determine my best way to install these zippers!  Have you not wondered how that zipper gets put into that tiny opening in the sleeve? I have and I thought about it and thought about it and finally will share with you my technique! 

First things first.  Sew 1 side of the zipper face down along the seam line.  I have to admit that this 1/4” seam allowance drove me crazy.  It was just too small of a bite to try and get this zipper lined up. 

I probably used more like a 1/2”.  I first used my 1/4” foot, but that bite wasn’t big enough so I did end up using my zipper foot to sew closer to the coil.

I sewed the sleeve from the wrist up until the ends of the zipper tails.  If you want to know right now, the thing to do, which I had to fix, is flip back those tails at the metal zipper stop and sew the sleeve together up just to that zipper stop!  (I had not done that at first so ended up ripping out the stitching I did there…).

That’s a better picture above.  Then I sewed the other side of the zipper to the other side of the sleeve stopping and starting at each end of the zipper stop!  That is important!

See how those tails are flipped up back upon the zipper, not sewn down…

Then it was just a matter of sewing just a small section of the body together (not all the way), about 4 inches….

Just enough to encase the other end of the zipper in order to topstitch…

The zip tails are left loose and get sewn down with this topstitching.  Am I explaining that correctly?  It sounds complicated but it turned out not to be.  Then it was just a matter of finishing the rest of the side seam and Pit-Zips Accompli!!!

And here’s a quick look with one of the pit zips installed on the mannequin… Jim tried on the jacket at this point and we noticed that this jacket is BIG!  The sleeve length is way, way too long so we had to roll up the sleeves and they are really HUGE.  He’s just swimming in them.  No doubt I’ll probably have to trim those up, such a shame.  Sometimes I just wonder about these pattern companies.  Is the person this is made for 6 foot 5”?

He also said he thought the underarm had too much bulk.  Whaaaaat!!!! 

Too much bulk?  I said he’ll just have to wear this one bulky and mods can come in future editions.  I’m NOT re-doing the pit-zips!!!!

~Enjoy…

Till the next post….

~Cathy