arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................majorly urgent dress panic...........psycho needs help!!!!

[psychomum5]

my girls are in a cabaret (sp??) on friday night.

there is not a dress-code as such, but many are dressing up, and as I am also part organiser I need a dressy dress......

I did well, and got one while on hols, in Monsoon reduced from £100 down to £25!!!

tried it on a short time ago to show DH......and the sodding zip is broken.

now what......I have £24 hours, and a teeny budget...............

help please.

Where abouts is the pull? Is it on one side? You can fix this quite easily if it is, undo the top of the side where the zip is off and thread the zip through IYSWIM, then sew back up.

you can do that???????????

you can really fix zips by re-threading???????

ooh, I may heave learnt something new and fabulous..............I always figured pulled apart zips are a lost cause!!!

the entire zip is pulled BTW.

tis just caught at the top with the puller and hook-and-eye, and at the bottom where it is sewn in...............

could I really re-thread it?

Is it all undone and the puller only on one side? As long as the teeth are not damaged or stretched you should be able to do this. It's worth a try, there should be a bit at the top where the zip has been folded and stitched or covered and sitiched, unstitch that bit. Then take off the zip end (sometimes metal tip or plastic tip at the snd of the part you have unpicked, then pull the zip to the top and thread through. It may not work, it depends on whether the teeth have been damaged. Post a picture and I'll have a look for you.

ok, bear with me with the posting of pics tho

bugger.......got ha;fway and the sodding site went down

am trying again

ok pics are finally up.

remind me never to do stuff while tired again tho....................took forever!!!

cali, I think I am either tkaing it in somewhere and begging, or am going to have to bankrupt myself instead and go buy the dress I am in love with!!!

When my zips go like that, I just ease it down to the bottom again and pull it straight so that the teeth align themselves again and pull up again. Unless the zip is completely knackered, it should work ok. You'd have to be really careful when re-doing it up whilst it's on your body though. Dry cleaners alterations/replacement zips usually take two weeks...

seconded - ease it down so that it is on the bottom on one side. Pull it through so that it lines up. Check for obvious damage. Then get DH / someone else to put a few stitches in the most vulnerable area(s) once you are in it...

Your children are sweet .

ok. Try solo's idea and see if that works. Hold it at the top and gently but firmly tease it down. If this doesn't work then I don't think that re threading it will either as it's practically the same thing.

You can unpick the stitching that is holding the zip in place, if you gently pull the sides it will tell you where the stitiching is. Then replace the zip. It shouldn't take too long. It's a shame you are not in Derby because I would have done it for you. Try solo's idea first though.

back very quickly as have finally sorted boys into bed again (they fell to sleep on the end of my end in the end), and am now about to bed down myself seeing as last night was hell (return from hols), and I need sleep painfully now.....................

you are all so kind trying to help, and avanap, thankyou for the offer.........I too now wish I was in derby.

zip won;t budge!! I tried when I was taking the pics, and it is firmly stuck in place. probably from where I had to wiggle out of the dress............meaning I am now wondering if I damaged the teeth in any way while I was wiggling - IYGWIM.

I am going to first see if the shop will take it back. if not, then I will need to go beg/steal/borrow dress making help, or go beg/steal/borrow a bit of cash until monday and buy a new dress.

damn sodding effing zips!!!!

thankyou all tho............at least I can offset my ranting into trying to sort it out.

night night

Night. I hope you manage to get it fixed.

ah no, avenalife....sorry......am so tired I misread your name.

night, will let you know in morning how I am doing, or scream in frustration with my dressmaking attemtps......

Night.

If (and only if) the shop won't take it back, try rubbing a candle gently over the inside of the zip and wiggling it to see if you can get it to move then. Even if you did damage teeth whilst wriggling out, that is the very top of the zip and can be secured by safety pin if need be..

If you take it back tell them that the stitching was too close to the zip, you had no choice but to pull it or you'd still be wearing it. It was obviously faulty because the sewing was substandard. I have a dress from boden and a kookai one that are the same. I can only wear the kookai one with a top to cover it (tits are too big and saggy anyway), I have to put the boden one over my head to get that on as I can't be bothered to fix it.