Front Fly Zippers

Front fly zippers in boys pants. Something that I still need practice with. From Walmart's 75% off fabric sale (when the fabric department went out), I bought about 20 yards of thick sturdy duck cloth for about $7. What a bargain! Now I was left with the problem of what to make with it. It is too coarse for formal dress coats, and too stiff for ladies' skirts or pants. It is a very good thing that I have 6 brothers, because all that duck cloth is being sewed into formal black dress pants for them. Hopefully, all the pants will be completed by Easter Sunday. Last Tuesday I cut out Elijah's pants. I did not have a regular pants pattern, so I used an elastic waist simple standard boys' pattern. Miss Heide showed me how to cut out a fly front, by drafting the length of the mock fly front of the pants. We cut on 4 inches to the waistline in order to put pleats in the front, and two darts in the back. The back of the pants has two welted pockets (that is a whole other post!), and the front, has double pleats and regular pockets. This Tuesday, Miss Heide showed me how to put a fly zipper in. It is not that difficult once you have done one. First of all, mens' and boys' clothes close left over right. Womens garments close right over left. This is an important sewing/fashion rule for all seamstresses. On the right hand side of the fly, the zipper is attached to the right front with a fly backing. I left a 1/8 inch margin for the zipper sled to slide down without catching the edge of the fabric. The left side of the pants is turned under to created a nice even fold. This fold is pinned in place over the zipper and is sewn on to the opposite side of the zipper upside down. I top stitched the fly next, being sure to pull the backing away from underneath. This is VERY important, because if you don't pull the fly backing away when you topstitch, you will sew the zipper closure shut! I then locked the fly down by backstitching 3 stitches up and down right at the end of the opening. (you can see this backstitch lock on any pair of regular jeans, right at the end of the zipper opening, there is usually some kind of sewing tack to strengthen the opening, since it is such a stress point. I know I have been promising pictures, and it just hasn't happened. Thanks for your patience! They will eventually appear.