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exposed zippers on welt pockets
Welcome back, Deb! It's great to have you back on the blog. You’ve shared so many wonderful things with us before, whether it was your favorite pattern, your Flat S visit, or even hosting a day of the School Days Jacket sew-along. Today, you're here to share some tips on adding exposed zippers to welt pockets—something I think will be super helpful for anyone looking to spice up their Book Report Dress.
First off, I’d strongly recommend practicing this technique on some scrap fabric first. This way, you can experiment with the zipper placement and ensure the "peep hole" reveals just the right amount of zipper tape. Instead of using an actual zipper, you can use a piece of grosgrain ribbon or a scrap of contrasting fabric with zipper teeth drawn on it to mimic the real thing.
One quick note about measurements: Growing up, we learned Imperial units in school, but when our country switched to Metric, I had to relearn everything as an adult. So, while 1/2 inch equals 1.25 cm (exact conversion is 1.27 cm), the 5-inch zippers I buy are labeled as 12 cm but are actually 12.7 cm. Just thought I'd mention that.
The first time I attempted exposed zippers on this pattern, I made quite a few mistakes. One big error was constructing the dress front and shirt front as separate pieces instead of as one continuous piece. This added unnecessary seam allowances, caused fraying issues, and created bulk—especially problematic with thicker fabrics. My advice? Lay the traced front pattern pieces (#2 and #5) over each other along the seam allowances and trace them out as one complete dress front piece. Don’t forget to include any dots or other important markings from both pieces.
If you’re using a fabric-like tracing medium, you can stitch the two pieces together to create an accurate final piece.
Next, cut your dress fabric, unfold it, and draw a chalk or washable marker line where the two pieces would have met and where the seam would have been created. Let’s call this the "skirt line." Also, clip the side edges of the dress front near the "skirt line" because this will come in handy when attaching the front to the back later.
Now you’re ready to measure for your zipper placements. Using chalk or a washable marker, mark the dots from the traced piece onto the dress front. These will be your "inside" marks. Then, position your zippers below those "inside" marks, adjusting them until they’re evenly spaced on both sides. Mark new "outside" marks along the "skirt line" to indicate where the zipper stoppers begin and end. For my zippers, which are 5 inches (12 cm), I positioned the zipper stopper end 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) away from the "inside" mark and the pull tab end 1 inch (2.5 cm) away from the other "inside" mark. Feel free to adjust the spacing based on your preference—the "inside" marks are just a guide.
If your zippers have open ends, like the longer ones with silver teeth shown in the photo, hand-stitch the ends together. Having the tape ends close together makes it easier to align them later in the "peep hole."
With the zipper placement areas ready, cut two pieces of interfacing and iron them onto the wrong side of the fabric along the "skirt line" that’s marked on the other side.
Now, it’s time to cut the pocket bags. I usually cut two pieces of fabric measuring approximately 7 1/4 inches by 10 inches (18 cm by 25 cm). You can adjust the size later, but let’s work with these dimensions for now. Transfer the zipper placement area from the dress front to the wrong side of the pockets, staggering the pocket pieces over the "skirt line." Here's how I did it:
Cut two pocket pieces from your tracing medium. Lay the tracing pieces on the dress front, using the "skirt line" chalk line as a guide. Place the top end of the pocket roughly 6 inches (15 cm) above the "skirt line," and the lower end a bit below it. Trace the marks from the dress front onto the tracing medium.
Transfer the "outer" marks and the "skirt line" from the pocket tracing pieces to the pocket fabric pieces. Lay the pocket pieces (right sides together) on the dress front. Align the "skirt line" marks on both the dress front and the pocket pieces, then lift the sides of the pockets to check that the "outer" marks on the pockets are over the "outer" marks on the dress front. Pin the pocket pieces in place to keep them steady.
On the "outer" marks, draw four vertical 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) lines with washable marker. Draw a horizontal line between those marks, then a line 1/4 inch (6 mm) above and below the middle line. You'll end up with two long rectangular boxes with a line through the middle. At the ends of the middle line, draw a "V" shape.
Stitch around the outside of each rectangle box, counting the number of stitches and ensuring consistency across all boxes. I used contrasting thread to make the stitching lines more visible.
Carefully cut along the middle line, stopping at the "V" and clipping up to the corner without cutting through the stitches. Pull the pocket fabric through the hole, flatten it to the wrong side of the dress front, and press it.
Lift the corners of the pocket pieces and stitch the little triangles ("V") as close to the edge of the opening as possible, with the pocket side down on the sewing machine.
Press again to ensure everything is flat and the seams along the zipper "peep hole" edge are perfectly aligned. Now you're ready to insert the zippers.
I find it much easier to use fabric glue or sticky washable sewing tape (like Wonder Tape) to hold the zippers in place before stitching. It’s simpler to apply the tape or glue to the wrong side of the pocket opening rather than directly on the zipper tape itself since the fabric opening can be easily adjusted.
If you don't have washable tape, pins will work fine. With the dress right side facing you and the zippers placed behind, take your time adjusting the zippers so the zipper tape is exposed just the way you want it.
The photo below shows the wrong side of the dress. On the left, the zipper is stuck in place (face side down), and on the right, the glue tape is in place, ready for the next zipper. Since I find using pins tricky, I only have a photo showing washable tape. Some people use Scotch tape instead of pins—worth a try!
The zipper should now be securely in place and ready to be stitched around.
Stitch all around your zipper. I use two strands of thread through the needle.
Finally, turn the dress over to the wrong side. Fold the top of the pocket down to meet the bottom, ensuring everything lies flat. Trim any excess fabric if needed, press, and pin in place. If you want a smaller pocket, trim further. Once satisfied with the size, stitch around the three sides, avoiding the dress front.
And there you have it—you've successfully added exposed zippers to your Book Report Dress! Perfect for hiding your dino treasures and keeping them safe from your brother.
And the pockets are a great place to stash your dinosaur and zip it shut so your brother doesn’t get it.
That’s it! You’re exposed—and your dress is ready to rock.