The variety of zippers is vast, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Let me show you how to identify zippers!
The anatomy of a zipper is pretty straight forward.
There’s the zipper tape, which is usually woven in a way that shows a stitching guide line. Zipper tape comes in a variety of colors for most types of zippers.
There’s some kind of top stop…
…and some kind of bottom stop.
There’s a slider or zipper head…
…and the zipper pull or tab.
Most zipper heads have a locking mechanism built in, where the pull has to disengage an internal stopper before it will unzip.
But if you’re ever offered the option of non-locking, it will unzip on its own under tension. You probably won’t want that.
The zipper teeth is where it get interesting!
There’s my personal favorite, coil, which is basically a flexible wire that’s sewn to the tape in a spiral, and the two sides bite into each other when it’s zipped.
Most coil zippers can be sewn through, cut with scissors, and they’re pretty sturdy. Also the coil is dyed the same color of the zipper tape, and it’s available in all the colors of the rainbow!
One type of coil zipper that stands out is the invisible zipper. It’s made in a way that when fabric is stitched close to the teeth, the fabric rolls back and you don’t see the zipper. It also has a very small pull to help it hide in the seam of the garment.
Another type of teeth is metal, like you see on jean flies and leather jackets. They’re also common on vintage dresses.
Metal zippers can come in different colors like nickel (some people have an allergy to nickel), aluminum, brass, antique brass, even black oxide, although that one is hard to find.
If you can’t find a metal zipper in the size you need, here’s a post about how to shorten metal zippers.
My least favorite type of teeth is molded plastic. These come in a variety of colors, and the teeth can be colored to resemble metal, like this, or they can be dyed the same color as the tape.
They’re good for certain things, like decorative zippers in sci fi costumes, but they’re not as easy to resize as the others, they’re bulkier, and they tend to split under stress more easily.
Zippers are manufactured to be one of two things: open or separating, and closed or non-separating. Invisible zippers are always closed, or non-separating. *I take that back – I recently learned that YKK is making invisible separating zippers. I have seen them with my own eyes! I just don’t know where to get them. There’s probably a minimum order quantity. But they DO exist! And some day we shall have them*
There are some companies who are offering “separating invisible zippers,” but they’re basically a regular coil with the zipper head turned around. It’s not possible to sew close enough to the coil to make it actually function the way an invisible zipper does, it’s just considered invisible because you don’t see teeth, you do see the back of the tape instead.
And finally, besides coming in different lengths and colors, zippers also come in different sizes, from 2 up to size 10, and now even comically large sizes. Usually the back of the zipper head will be engraved with the size and manufacturer.
YKK is the most common and trusted brand.
If you’re not sure what size to use for what, take a peek inside the garments in your closet, or the next time you’re clothes shopping. Look at the zipper heads to see what sizes they are, and you’ll be able to start identifying them pretty quickly.
You can shop a huge selection at Wawak – they have great prices too! For example, if you wanted a 24″ invisible zipper, it will cost $.91 (and you’ll have 62 colors to choose from!). Joann only has up to a 22″ invisible zipper, with only 42 colors to choose from, and it’s $3.99…See why I love Wawak???
