The Bulging Zipper Issue

Material: Iron-on Repair Patch (2), $1.89 each

Time: 40 minutes

This little white summer jacket by Liz Claiborne was a hand-me down by my grandmother. My grandmother still dresses with such pizazz, even as she approaches her 90^th birthday! I’m proud that I can wear some of the items she has given me.

 

I use this little jacket quite a bit; Portland summers are mild so it is just perfect to keep in my purse and have it with me for an unexpected temperature drop. But it had one little problem: the zipper would bulge. This occurs whenever the zipper is too heavy weight for the fabric, or if the fabric shrinks after going through a wash and dry cycle. So I decided to fix the problem once and for all by strengthening the material with iron-on repair patches.

I cut the patch about an inch and a half width-wise and placed the strip as close to the zipper as I could get. The patch did not cover the full length of the zipper, so I made sure it was aligned with the bottom of the jacket, were the bulge was more severe. I turned the iron on high and ironed it flat. I added a second layer of patch material by repeating the same steps to really strengthen the fabric. The result: zipper bulge is gone!