I've tried this pretty normal way of putting in a zipper. I'm not sure if this is a *exact* tutorial that I used, but this is how I put the zipper in a few pouches.
I don't like how the ends are all squished looking... but I also don't really know how to fix it.
Next I tried a method that used tabs on the ends of the zippers before sewing it in. Again, kind of like this, but I'm sure this isn't the same tutorial I used.
Same problem on this one. There's even more bulk at the ends even though the pictures don't look like it.
Anyway, so I decided to sign up for a zipper pouch class at The Sewcial Lounge in Madison. I was super excited because the class was taught by Jeni B!
It was very small. Four students total. We started by ironing and cutting our fabric for 2 pouches... and it was just like first method I posted :-( Darn it, but I thought since I'm here I can pick Jeni's brain about zippers. So I told her how I don't like how the ends look. The secret? Straightening it as much as possible and then pounding it with a hammer... huh. I'll try that on one of the new pouches I made in class.
Ok, but I like the look of tabbed zippers better. The secret to that? DON'T SEW THROUGH THE TAB! Just get as close to it as possible without sewing it.
Now I need to make more bags...
