Making a Purse Zipper - Tutorial

Are you frustrated because you can only find purse zippers in the most basic of colours?
Fret no longer. You can make your own, in whatever colour you choose!













1. Buy two zippers: one in the length you want for your project, and one to cannibalize.












2. Make sure that the numbers/letters on the back of each zipper pull match each other. This is VERY IMPORTANT! If they're different, it means that the pulls are different sizes, and the new one will not slide smoothly on the zipper.













3. Cut off the ends of the shorter (unwanted) zipper...










...and remove the pull. Throw away the rest of the zipper.



















4. Cut off the ends of the longer zipper. Note that I have cut them at different lengths. This makes it easier to thread the ends through the new pull.














5. Put the extra zipper pull onto the longer side of the zipper, and pull it down til it's flush with the bottom of the pull.














6. Put the shorter side of the zipper tape into the other side of the new pull. Pull both sides of the tape through the pull. This is where it gets fiddly, and an extra hand would come in ... handy, so to speak.












As you can see, the ends of the tape are all frayed now because of the effort it takes to get the zipper moving.
















7. Quickly, before anything bad happens, sew across the end of the zipper to stop it from coming apart.









And you're done! Cool, hey?

Now go make a purse or something :)