Invisible zippers are specially molded so that the zipper coils inward, pulling folds of fabric toward the coil as it closes. These fabric folds overlap the zipper, obscuring it and leaving it almost entirely hidden on the right side of the garment.

Below are images contrasting a standard zipper and an invisible one. Note how the standard zipper’s coil and tape lie flat, while the invisible zipper tape curves inward, hiding the coil.

Invisible zippers are ubiquitous in ready-to-wear tops, skirts, and dresses not only because invisible zippers are cheap and can be quickly installed by machine, saving manufacturing time and money, but also because invisible zippers break easily, ensuring a demand for new clothing.

When Should I Use an Invisible Zipper?

Technically? Never. An invisible zipper can almost always be replaced with a hand-picked standard zipper, which is more durable and longer-lasting. However, if you choose to use one, avoid these specific scenarios:

🚫Heavy Fabrics - the heavier the fabric, the harder it is for the zipper to pull that fold inward, leading to snags and breakage.

🚫Crossing seams - When a zipper crosses a bulky waist seam or neckline, it places immense strain on the coils. This is why you’ll often see broken zippers on sample dresses in bridal shops!

🚫Underlined garments - Fashion fabrics that have been underlined are generally too bulky for an invisible zipper. Even when they are light-weight – like a silk dupioni with silk organza underlining – the sewist needs to take special care that the two layers don’t shift during installation.

Invisible zippers perform best with thin fabrics and designs that do not cross seamlines, such as skirts or pants with faced waistlines and unlined princess-seamed dresses.

What Tools and Materials Do You Need to Install an Invisible Zipper?

✅ Invisible zipper - Choose one that coordinates with your fabric. If you need a reliable source, search my resource list for “zippers”.

✅Sewing machine - While it is possible to hand-pick an invisible zipper (see Threads Magazine, Issue 210, August/September 2020), the results are better with a sewing machine and invisible zipper foot OR a hand-picked standard zipper.

✅ Invisible zipper foot - This foot has angled grooves that simultaneously uncoil the zipper while stitching close to the teeth. A standard zipper foot cannot “unfold” the coil, often leaving the zipper visible.

✅ Thread - standard weight, high-quality, 100% cotton or 100% polyester sewing thread that matches your garment.

✅ Sewing machine needles - Match your needle to the fabric weight. Use Jersey/Ballpoint for knits and Microtex/Sharp for wovens.

👉 Pro tip: If you used a size 10 for the garment, bump up to a size 14 for the zipper area to accommodate the extra bulk.

✅ Lightweight fusible stabilizer - I recommend Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium or Perfect Fuse Light Interfacing for interfacing the zipper opening.

How Do I Prepare the Garment Before Sewing?

✅ Widen Your Seam Allowances: Cut your pieces with at least 1” (2.5 cm) from your seam line. You should make your seam allowances even wider if your fabric is bottom-weight. Standard ⅜” or ⅝” (1 or 2 cm) seam allowances are insufficient for clean installation, and they leave no room at all for fitting adjustments.

✅ Transfer markings: Use tracing paper and a wheel to mark seamlines and notches. Hand-baste over these lines so they are visible from the right side. Use uneven basting, which is easier to remove after the seamline has been fused. For a review of the uneven basting stitch, see the tutorial HERE.

✅ Stabilize your fabric. Apply a 1.5” to 2” strip of lightweight fusible interfacing down each seamline. This prevents the fabric from stretching or distorting. This is particularly crucial for side seam zippers, where the curve of the seamline can easily be distorted as the straight zipper tape is applied.

✅ Finish Edges: Finish your seam allowances after applying interfacing to “lock” the stabilizer into the edge treatment. This will extend your garment’s lifespan.

Step-by-Step: How to Sew an Invisible Zipper

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Lapped zippers play an important role in fashion construction. Zippers placed at the front or back of a garment are typically centered, with equal amounts of fabric either curling inward (invisible zippers) or lapping over (standard zippers) to conceal the zipper teeth. This is true whether the zipper is standard or invisible; the objective in both cases is to achieve a visually balanced look.

Sometimes a garment’s design lines won’t accommodate a front or back zipper. For those situations, we locate the zipper in a side seam or side back seam. Side-seam zippers are often lapped so the overlap conceals the zipper—much like a fly-front zipper.

In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to sew a lapped zipper, using skills you’ve built in the previous zipper tutorials on hand-picked and fly-front zippers. This hybrid method involves both machine and hand picking, offering the speed and convenience of machine sewing with the superior control and invisibility of hand picking.

What Is a Lapped Zipper?

A lapped zipper is a garment-closure method in which one side of the fabric seam overlaps the zipper teeth, concealing them from view. The zipper tape is first attached to the underlap, beyond one side of the seamline, with stitching placed close to the zipper teeth. The fabric on the other side of the seamline folds along the seamline, creating an overlap that conceals the underlap. The overlap is stitched to the other side of the zipper tape using handpicked or machine topstitching.

A well-sewn lapped zipper lies flat and conceals the entire underlap, both zipper and stitches. The overlap is smooth, with no drag lines or other signs of distortion.

Lapped zippers are commonly seen in the side seams of skirts and women’s pants. Less common are lapped zippers in the side seams of sleeveless dresses. In vintage clothing, one can see lapped zippers in the underarm and side seams of sleeved dresses and tops; this is a more vintage touch, as are lapped zippers hidden in back princess seams, so as not to disturb the appearance of the center back or center front princess panels.

When Should You Choose a Lapped Zipper?

• Fabric weight: Lapped zippers can be used with medium-weight woven or knit materials. If the fabric is too lightweight, a zipper might not be the best closure choice, as the zipper tape and stabilizer may show through a sheer, lightweight fabric. Heavyweight fabrics are too thick for small laps but are suitable for deep laps, such as those used for separating zippers in outerwear.

• Design considerations: Lapped zippers are typically placed in side seams or princess seams when a zipper cannot be centered at the front or back. Lapped side zippers may also be desirable to avoid interruptions in large prints or other design elements.

• Accessibility: When sewing for someone with limited mobility, lapped side zippers may be preferable to center-back zippers. Before committing to a particular location, check that the wearer can comfortably reach the zipper and exert the required force to open and close it.

• Fit implications: Side zippers can be tricky to place and use over curvy areas. This is especially true for dresses, where the flat, straight zipper must be molded over the curves of a full bust, narrow waist, and full hip.

Tools and Materials for Sewing a Lapped Zipper

• Zipper - Lapped zipper applications use a standard zipper. The length of the zipper will vary depending on your garment. Generally, your zipper should extend from a small circumference to a large one. For example, a side lapped zipper that extends from a dress’ underarm (bust) should continue to the fullest part of the hip, 18-22” (46-56 cm), where a side lapped zipper in a skirt will extend from the waist to the fullest part of the hip, 7-9” (18-23 cm).

• Thread - standard weight, high-quality, 100% cotton or 100% polyester sewing thread that matches your garment will work for both machine stitching and hand picking. 100% cotton basting thread will make basting removal much easier.

• Lightweight fusible stabilizer - I use Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium or Perfect Fuse Light Interfacing.

• Hand-sewing needles - I prefer John James size 9 sharps for hand picking and Roxanne basting needles for basting.

• Sewing machine needles - Choose needles based on your fabric type and weight. If you are sewing a knit, use “jersey”, “knit” or “ballpoint” needles; if you are sewing a woven fabric, use “Microtex” or “sharp” needles. Match the size of the needle to the weight of the fabric plus the zipper. For example, if you have sewn the rest of the garment with a size 10 needle, the extra bulk of the zipper will probably require a size 14 needle.

• Sewing machine feet - You will need either a standard machine zipper foot or a narrow edge foot.

Preparing the Garment for a Lapped Zipper

Preparation for zippers - lapped or otherwise - comes long before application.

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Fly-front zippers have a reputation for being difficult to install—and the concern is understandable. Because the fly sits at center front, even small errors are highly visible: crooked topstitching, exposed zipper tape, or stitching that looks straight but fails to catch the zipper securely underneath.

The good news? All of these problems are easily avoided when the construction is broken into clear, logical steps. The method outlined below is a reliable, repeatable approach that allows you to install a clean, professional fly-front zipper—every time.

Tools & Materials You’ll Need

• Zipper - I prefer standard zippers with plastic coils. Plastic zippers can be cut to any length and can be stitched through safely when applying topstitching. They are also gentler on other garments during washing and drying; metal zippers can abrade nearby fabrics and create holes over time.

• Thread - Use regular sewing thread for installation. If you want more prominent topstitching, try mounting two spools of thread on your machine and threading them through a single needle. You can also experiment with longer stitch lengths and—if your machine offers it—a triple stitch.

• Needles - Match your needle to both fabric type and weight. Fly-front zippers involve multiple layers of bottom-weight fabric, which often require size 14, 16, or 18 needles. Use sharp/Microtex needles for woven fabrics and stretch/jersey needles for knits. For stretch wovens, test both types; a stretch needle may produce better stitch formation than a Microtex.

• Machine feet: You will need a standard zipper foot. Most machines include one as part of the basic accessories. If yours is missing, replacement feet are available through sewing machine dealers or—especially for vintage machines—online sources such as eBay.

• Interfacing: I use Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium or Perfect Fuse Light Interfacing.

• Basting Thread and Needles - Basting is the most accurate way to mark seamlines and construction details. It works on nearly all fabrics (except leather or vinyl).

👉 Pro Tip: Practice your topstitching on layers of interfaced fabric that mimic your fly area. Test different thread, needle, and stitch combinations to find the best one for your garment.

Perfect Fly-Front Zippers, Step-by-Step

For this tutorial, I will assume that you have marked the seamlines onto all of your pattern pieces and fit your pattern to your body before cutting your garment pieces.

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A hand-picked zipper is one installed in the garment using the prick stitch, a variation of the backstitch that I covered in my post on hand stitches. Most hand-picked zipper applications utilize standard zippers.

While invisible zippers can technically be hand-picked, they are not as strong as standard zippers and are more prone to wear. If you are going to take the time to install a zipper by hand, it makes sense to choose a high-quality standard zipper that will last.

When standard zippers are hand-picked, they are nearly invisible from the outside, yet far stronger and more durable than invisible zippers—especially over bulky areas like waist seams and yokes. Hand-picked zippers also allow for precise matching of seamlines, prints, and design motifs. For all these reasons, they represent couture sewing at its best: fine workmanship for a beautiful, lasting result.

Why Hand-Pick a Zipper?

When I taught zipper classes at a local sewing shop, I always began with a hand-picked standard zipper. The students initially thought I was a little crazy—but after spending several hours struggling with machine-installed fly-front and invisible zippers, they all wanted to return to the hand-picked ones. The results were simply better.

Why? Hand-picking a zipper gives the sewist complete control over the process. This improves accuracy and consistency. For sewists installing a zipper for the first time, hand-picking often produces better results than machine sewing—especially when precision matters.

What You’ll Need (And Why Each Tool Matters)

You will require relatively few – and inexpensive! – tools to hand-pick a zipper. This is a situation when good results come from preparation, practice, and precision, not the cost or quantity of gadgets.

• Standard zipper - Almost always, a standard zipper is used when hand-picking a zipper. While it is possible to hand-pick an invisible zipper, it is usually not worth the effort as standard zippers are stronger and more reliable than invisible ones.

• Quality sewing thread - Use a high-quality sewing thread. I prefer Mettler or Gutermann 100% polyester thread, but 100% cotton thread is fine as well. Poor quality threads will curl, break, and frustrate your hand-sewing experience.

• Hand-sewing needles - For best results, use a relatively narrow, short needle that you can maneuver easily. I prefer size 9 or 10 sharps, but milliner’s needles also work well.

• Beeswax - When melted into your sewing thread, pure beeswax strengthens and conditions the thread in a way that commercial thread conditioners cannot.

• Measuring devices - To create even stitches, you will need a way to measure them. While a seam gauge will do, I really like Tiger Tape, which spaces both the distance from the fold as well as the distance between stitches.

Hand-picking a Zipper, Step-by-Step

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