So for placing a zip you need your sewing machine, pins, and your chosen zip. Oh and your project or sample fabric.

One thing to always check when you buy or acquire a sewing machine is that it has a zip foot. These can vary in their looks but they will all have one thing in common, they only have one toe. A standard foot has two toes to hold the fabric on both sides of the needle but the zip foot only wants to hold the fabric on one side. This will become clearer as we progress with our zips.

Check your machine manual if you have one to see which foot they recommend. You may have a foot that you move by unplugging it to change sides or it might slide on a back screw to be placed in the right spot. I’ll cover invisible zip feet in that lesson to avoid further confusion and because these are generally an optional extra.