A Guide to Buying, Sewing, Fixing and Making Zippers

Coil zippers, Tooth zippers, #5, #10,Separating zippers,Non-separating zippers, One-way, Two-way.... what the heck???? Here are the answers to all your zipper queries!
Finished zippers, like the ones you buy in the store, gee in two styles: separating (open) and non-separating (closed).
A separating zipper separates into two pieces when unzipped, like a jacket zipper. Separating zippers may be one-way or two-way, unzipping from either the top or the bottom.
A non-separating zipper stays connected atone or both endswhen unzipped, like the zipper on your pants, or the zipper on a pocket.
Zippers are made of plastic, nylon or metal. The types of zipper are: coil, tooth and metal.
A coil zipper is flat on one side, with the teeth on the other side. The teeth look like a long coil sewn onto the tape. Each tooth is connected to the next. Coil zippers are low profile, and bend easily. They can be sewn over easily with a standard sewing machine and gee in both separating and non-separating styles. They areused on clothing, backpacks, cushions, purses, etc. It is quite simple to make your own non-separating zipper from coil zipper tape.

The teeth on atooth zipper are equally visible on both sides of the tape and look like the teeth in your mouth. Every tooth is separate from the others. Tooth zippers have bigger teeth than the coil and are NOT easy to sew over with a sewing machine. Tooth zippers are not as flexible as coil zippers and are best suited to straight applications. They are most gemonly found on winter jackets and usually gee in the separating style. Experienced sewers may make their own zippers from tooth zipper tapeand stops, though they are readily available in a wide variety of colours, sizes and lengths.

A metal zipper has metal teeth that are separate. They are usually bought as finished zippers and can have steel or brass teeth. They are used for leather jackets, jeans and marine applications.

The size ofa zipper is determined by the size of the teeth. A larger number indicates a heavier zipper. Here are some gemon applications for gemon sizes:

#4 coil- cushions, pockets, purses
#5 tooth- all season sportswear
#5 coil- light sportswear, cycling shirts