In the world of sewing, a zip can be a tricky thing to learn how to fit properly if you have never attempted it before. Even when you do have a few successes with sewing a zip under your belt, it can still be a little difficult sometimes! I always find that following a tutorial can help make the whole process easier and refresh your memory if you are drawing a complete blank. In today's blog, we'll be talking you through how to fit a dress Zip in ten easy to follow steps. 1. To make the process of installing a Zip a whole lot easier, we always recommend switching to a zipper foot on your sewing machine instead of your regular sewing foot. Most machines are supplied with one, but if not, we do sell zipper foots in both of our stores as well as on our website online. 2. Take the two edges of fabric that you wish to sew the Zip to and sew them together to create a seam. Use a wide seam allowance (5/8" should be plenty) and a long stitch length, then with your fabric the wrong side up, iron the seam open flat. 3. Place your Dress Zip face down, lining up the teeth with the seam. Secure with either pins or sellotape (either works; it is just down to personal preference). Check that your Zip is completely lined up, then turn your fabric over. Mark the beginning and end of the zip with a pin - for the bottom of the zip, place a pin ABOVE the hard, metal/plastic piece at the end to avoid damaging your needle and sewing machine. 4. Slide your fabric, right side up, into your sewing machine to start sewing from the bottom end of your zip. Estimate the distance that you want to sew from your zip's teeth, then position your fabric correctly and begin sewing. Keep the distance consistent and stop sewing when you are about two inches or three inches from the end. 5. Keeping your needle down (this is very important!), lift your sewing machine's foot. Lift your fabric up and carefully unzip the zip past the needle. Line the teeth of your zip and the seam in the fabric up again, then put your sewing machine foot down again and sew to the end. Remove your fabric from the machine. 6. With right side up, turn your fabric by 90 degrees to sew across the teeth of the zipper above the hard metal/plastic piece at the bottom end of your zip. Use the pin you placed earlier as an indicator  Stitch back and forth a couple of times to secure. 7. Turn your fabric back 90 degrees to sew up the other side of the zip teeth, starting once again from the bottom end. Once you get within two or three inches of the zip pull again, stop. 8. With your needle and sewing machine foot both still down, take a stitch ripper (also known as a quick unpick or an unpicker) and undo the centre seam in your fabric. This will give you the room and access you need to once again slide the zip pull past your machine needle. Line your zip teeth up again and sew to the very end. 9. If you chose to use sellotape to secure your zip earlier, remove it now. If not, simply skip to the next step. 10. Turn your fabric right side up and lay flat. You will see that you now have neat lines of stitching down each side of your zip and across the bottom end. Take your stitch ripper and undo the centre seam, beginning from where you stitched across the bottom end of your zip all the way up to the top end.  Gently remove any loose threads and give your zip a test pull to ensure that it works. You have now fitted your Dress Zip correctly! This technique is one that I learned from the internet and it has made my sewing hobby a whole lot easier when it comes to adding a zip to any project I'm working on. If you have any of your own tips for how to fit a Dress Zip, leave a message on our Facebook page and get talking with some of our other customers!