How to Use Longer Zippers in Pouches and Bags

I have made two pouches for a little girl.

Naturally, I made them small, and the zippers I had on hand were too long. If this happens to you, too, it’s not necessary to go shopping for new zippers, because shortening a zipper is an easy task!

Zippers can be shortened in different ways, depending on the technique used for inserting them.

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One of the easiest ways to insert the zipper is to place it into this opening. This technique is commonly used for zippered pockets on bags, and I applied the same method in many of my pouch patterns. It’s my favorite—simple, quick, and it doesn’t require tabs.

So I want to show you how I manage this long zipper, and I will tell you what’s the cool part!

So, I place the zipper under the opening, ensuring the bottom stop is at the corner, as shown below. The teeth must be centered in the window.

You can hold the zipper in place with a bit of glue, double-sided adhesive tape (best option), or by basting with thread (oops—I’m good at theory, but I didn’t use any of those for these zippers!).
I start sewing at 1/2” from the corner, see the yellow dot- important.

I continue sewing until I reach the corner, then sew along the short side (step 3). I reinforce that seam by stitching forward, backward, and forward again. This strong stitching ensures an easy zipper opening.

In the same way, I sew along the other long side(step 4), short side (step 5)…

…then I finish the stitching, making sure it meets (and overlaps) the starting seam (step 6), then I sew a few backstitches.

What’s the cool part?

You only stitch once over the teeth! Step 5 (above) is done on the zipper tape—much easier to sew.
You could position the top zipper stop at the corner and still only sew once over the teeth. I do this sometimes, but I find it makes the zipper harder to open compared to the technique described above.

The last step – trim off the excess.

This is the easiest way to insert a zipper—no matter the size!

I fused the last scrap of Thermolam Plus to the fabric; at first, I thought it was too heavy for the small size of the pouches, but now I like the padded look a lot!

I hope zippers don’t scare you anymore!

Do you want to sew bags that turn heads?
Stylish, comfortable, and practical?
Bags that will make you proud?
Check out my bag and pouch patterns here.