How easy is it to replace one side of a zip?

[CalicoCathy]

I want to make an alternative front piece for my buggy footmuff, for the summer, as the current one is a bit thick for nice weather.

The current one zips on with three zips - I want to keep the warm front bit for cold weather so I can't just remove the zips from it and use them.

I know how long they are, but I can't find any brand names or anything written on - how can I find another zip that will match? Presumably zips aren't all a standard size or anything? If I count the number of teeth, compared to the length, will that mean any zip with the same number of teeth will match?

Zips also come in "gauge" too, so you ned to make sure you get the same gauge as the original zip, or the teeth won't marry up at all - for example standard clothing zips are no 3, heavier weight ones, usually O/E for outerwear, zip up fleeces etc are usually no 5s -

not sure about difference between brands, but expect its highly likely they will differ, so I would recommend you replace BOTH sides of the zip, by using 2 of the same type/brand of zip

Argh no! You need to replace the whole zip, by just replacing one half you will make yourself totally miserable and it will be much quicker in the long run to replace a whole zip, I promise :)

Bother! I thought that might be the answer. :(

Maybe I could just attach another zip next to the original one - not sure my skills are up to replacing one, as it looks like I would have to cut the whole thing open to get it out.

Give that a try CalicoCathy . Good idea and it may well look ok. Will save alot of unpicking. There may be enoug space to get a sewing foot onto it.
Do come back and let us know how you get on.

Actually I was planning on sewing it by hand .
Can you tell I am new to this making stuff lark?

Should I try and borrow a sewing machine to do it, or is it easy enough by hand?

yes, agree to replace whole zip.

You can sew them by hand, if you want, it's not that hard, but it would be time consuming.
just pin and baste (large stitches along where you need to put the zip) before you proper-stitch.
It's a good pan to baste the zip while it's closed, too.

Maybe you could leave the zip as it is, but attach some poppers or velcro to attach your new front piece?