Zipper Accessories Tutorial

I did this tutorial as a guest post for Dorian over at that's SEW me a little while ago, and thought I would post it here in case you missed it the first time.

I have been loving the zipper accessories trend. It's so unique and simple to make. I have seen them in stores as pins, earrings, necklaces, and even hair clips. In my tutorial today I'm going to show you how to make a pin, which is a great way to dress up a scarf, and a simple hair accessory.

Supplies:

Zippers (I used 7" with metal teeth)

Pin Backs 1 1/2"

Bobby Pin

Coordinating Thread

Needle (I found it best to use a thicker/longer needle)

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

Your first step will be to unzip the zipper and make it two separate pieces. I found it easier to cut a small circle out of felt to have a base for my flower. When you are done with that you sew one end of the zipper to the middle of your felt piece, as shown above.

Next you will loop your zipper around, making your first petal, and sew that to the felt. You will continue to make three more loops, putting a few stitches in after each loop.

After making your fourth loop, and sewing it to the felt, you should start to see your flower form.

When you are finished with your loops, you will have some excess zipper. This is what you will roll to form the center of your flower. You will make a couple of rolls and the sew a few stitches, to hold it in place. Repeat this process until the excess is completely rolled. To finish your flower you will sew the excess bud to the center of the flower. I simply put a few stitches down the middle of the bud, and it held it in place.

This next step in optional, but I had two extra zippers, so I decided to make little buds. I made this repeating the process from above, rolling the zipper, stitching every few rolls.

To make my flower and buds one piece, I cut a strip of felt. I hot glued the buds to the felt, and glued the pin back to the felt.

Now you have a great way to dress up a scarf or a jacket.

To make my hair accessory, I made my zipper flower like the above tutorial. I then hot glued it to a bobby pin. I put the bobby pin on a piece of card stock, and if your quick about it, it may not stick. you may have something better than this, but it was all I had at the time.

I was not having the best hair day, but you get the idea.

You can go here to see where I'm linking up.