Help With Replacement Zips

[LadyLothian]

I have a beautiful long karrimor padded jacket that I love. My sister loves it too and I lent it to her and she inadvertently broke the zip. The zip cracked down the middle so is useless.

She offered to buy me a new one, but that seems wasteful. Has anyone had any luck finding and installing a new zip pull on the jacket? I can crochet but can't fix clothes!

Any advice? I won't be asking her to fix it because she's going through a rough time at the moment and she was probably more upset over it than it merited.

Thanks in advance!

[LadyLothian]

I've seen some zips on Amazon. Could that work? Or am I better bringing in to be professionally repaired?

[imjessie]

If you love the coat get it done professionally . It will cost about £20-50 depending on how much work is involved .

[LadyLothian]

Wow. I got the coat on sale so that's almost as much as the whole coat cost!

[imjessie]

It isn't cheap as tailors need to take alot of the coat apart . It depends on the tailor and how good they are and how much they value their time . They cAn probably do 10 Trousers zips in the time a coat takes etc .

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

I would get it done professionally. It's worth it if you like the coat.
Maybe ask around for different quotes?

[LadyLothian]

It's just the zip-pull itself though, not the teeth part. If the teeth/main part of the zip was broken I'd bring it to a tailor no wuestion. But as it's just the zip-pull that's gone is it possible to buy another and just put it on the teeth/tracks? Would that work?

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

No idea, sorry, I thought it was the whole thing.

[LadyLothian]

Thanks, I probably explained it badly.

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

No you didn't, I didn't RTFt properly.
It's still worth asking someone, or have you tried to google how to fix it?

[LadyLothian]

I've found some guidelines and it looks doable but I'm just worried I'll buy the wrong sizes of zips, spend a fortune and/or mangle the whole thing.

Still fortune favours the brave!

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

Can you take the coat with you to a place that sells zips so you can see and ask for advice?

[LadyLothian]

That's a good idea, I'll do that.

[imjessie]

I doubt a shop would know , they won't be trained seamstresses .. I would find a local tailor . In my town there is one you can just walk into . Or go to a dry cleaners as they have tailors and ask for advice .

[imjessie]

Can you not just use a safety pin or a letting to pull the zip up and down?

[Tamsworth17]

I´ve had zips replaced in the past - the cost varied depending on the damage. Sometimes they had to replace the whole zip, another time just the bit at the end (I think).
Could you take it somewhere and ask them to tell you how much it would cost?

[imjessie]

If it's the square bit that pulls the teeth together then some tailors can replace that bit and save a lot of money. I know mine can do this . Def find a tailor . I imagined the long bit had broken off hence my suggestion of a key ring .

[ThanksForAllTheFish]

Yes a tailor should be able to replace that part quite easily. Not sure of the cost though. If you have a fabric shop locally then you could take it in there and see what they suggest. Most fabric shops do have (some) staff members that are experienced with sewing so they might be able to help. Coat Zips aren't super cheap to buy though so you might need to pay £8 or so just to get the replacement part you need. It really depends on the zip size and type.