Using end stop crimps to shorten a zipper

tutorial by Saeru

Shortening a #30 zipper is easy and straightforward to do.

For materials, I recommend:

- a strong pair of sharp scissors (We use Cutco brand shears, but a much more affordable alternative is Erdi snips)
- a bottle of fray check (you can purchase this anywhere that sells craft supplies, even wal-mart. However, white glue will do in a pinch)
- 2 end crimps
- a pair of needle-nose pliers


To start with, always shorten a zipper from the top. This will allow you to keep the bottom stop or insert intact. Know exactly how long you want the zipper to be before you place it in your garment or project, and then measure up from the bottom of the zipper. Make a mark on both sides of the zipper tape at this point, then make certain the zipper slider and pull that you intend to use is on the zipper below where you intend to shorten

Cut a straight, even line across the zipper tape, aiming between two zipper teeth. Repeat this process on the other side where you have made your mark. Before doing anything else at this point, moisten the end of the freshly cut zipper tape with fray check on both sides, then leave it to dry until it is hard and invisible. Trim any stray fibres for a clean edge.

In the top-most gap of the zipper-teeth, place the end crimp and crimp it in place with the pair of pliers. Be certain to do this from both sides to ensure the crimp is secure. Repeat this process on the other side of the zipper teeth.

Now your zipper is ready to go into a garment!

*Please be careful when using end crimps, as they will only keep the slider from coming off the end of your zipper provided that it is not being yanked. If the slider is yanked too hard, it will slide through the crimps and off the end of the zipper. If this occurs, it can still be placed back onto the zipper manually.

(Photos to be added later...)

new giant zips available (yellow for Taokaka from BlazBlue)

With our most current batch of giant zippers, we've included some yellow zips this time around, too - due to the *very* highly requested color of yellow, for those constructing their own Taokaka cosplays.

The yellow zippers will, by default, include a matching yellow slider...but we also offer the option to swap it out for a light-orange goldenrod slider instead to best match her character design.



These zips are full-separating, in a jacket-style. And, just like our other over-sized #30 gauge zippers, feature zipped teeth at a full 1" wide.



These guys are now available here in our specialty zipper shop here.

giant zipper unzipping

prototype GIANT zipper rezipped

working with the giant zippers

In particular, when making an Organization coat, we actually sew a "decorative" top stitch in the garment vinyl down the front opening before placing the zipper in. We then pin the zip in place (with as many pins as possible...the more pins, the less possibility for wobbly stitch lines), pushing pins horizontally only along the pre-stitched line, so as to avoid extra holes in the vinyl.

Alternatively to pining, the entire zipper -can- be Liquid-Stitched bit by bit to each edge, WITH PRESSURE then applied to the top (a book placed overnight is more than sufficient - but Liquid Stitch needs to be pressed flat as it dries.) This is to keep the zipper even on both sides as the fabric adhesive sets. The bond, once set properly, is permanent but still flexible - however, to be extra safe, stitching once more over the previously only-decorative stitch is advisable - and because the zipper has already been securely flatly with the glue, the garment vinyl doesn't become puckered or wobbly. That last sewing stage is good security so the zipper can be yanked opened and closed often.

When working with a zipper that has been hand-fused: remember that the spliced zipper should not be unnecessarily zipped before or after being secured to the garment, and high-stress bending should be avoided. Spliced zips are for occasional costume use only, and we recommend only attaching to fabric that is at least medium thick and with a slight give (such as with SYFabric's garment vinyl or real leather.) Anything that is too tight or does not stretch enough perpendicularly to the zip may cause the teeth to split on the splice. In addition, be wary when making tight-fitting coats, and be various honest with your measurements, taking also into consideration of how you bend when sitting. Also, if you choose to machine-sew in a combined zipper, do not sew where the small triply-thick spliced area is (which would break a needle.)

If the zipper tape (a.k.a. the strip of polyester fabric that the teeth are mounted on) needs to be cut down vertically slimmer to fit better in a seam -or- cut horizontally to take off some unneeded teeth, the raw edges always need to be Fray Checked or Fray Blocked (or zig-zag stitched / serged) to avoid quick unraveling of the fibers.

For any zipper used only as a decorative trim in areas that won't ever be zipped, Liquid Stitch applied inside the hem seam is more than adequate, and top-stitching is not necessary.

(And if you need to attach your zipper to something non-fabric, like rigid plastic, see the Anti-Sora shoes in the post below.)

giant zipper splicing

Note = we no longer do this tech ourselves, but for anyone wanting to do this stage on their own, there are few ways to go about this, but the following procedure has given the most durable results. (Please keep in mind this is for the occasional costume use - this is not recommended for a lot of constant zipping activity.)

First, we cut off the bottoms of the zips, right in between the last tooth and the end stop. We usually use a tool called Erdi Snips, but Cutco Shears also work great. Even regular scissors work as well (though with a little bit of gnawing.)

Fray Block is then applied to seal the raw edges; Fray-Check is also fine to use instead. This is a very important step, to make sure the threads don't unravel. (The below photo shows the right side segment in two pieces - please disregard...at this stage, both sides to be connected should remain in the zipped position.)

Then, instead of just throwing away the ends, they actually will factor back into the connecting process. Since the thick polyester zipper tape has a thick grain to it, that means it has a great grip - especially if being stuck to itself. After cutting the bottoms of the now-useless endstop (which -does- get tossed), they are cut into the following funny tab-shape.

Fray Block / Check is also applied to the edges of the "join strips" so they don't unravel either.

The unusual shape of the join strips is important because the little tab must fit in between two teeth perfectly to join the zippers - rather like floss on real teeth. The last teeth from both cut-up zips can be fed right into each other, with the join strip to be placed on top of them.

We -used- to use Weld-it on the tabs here, but after doing this for a while, we have found that The Amazing Goop, though thicker, is much more effective and will have the splices be much more durable - though you'll need a small stick to get it in between the teeth of the zipper. After coating both the entire tab and the zipper tape where the tab will be placed (and letting them dry for five minutes) the pieces are then stuck together firmly. Forceps can hold the tabs down in between the teeth as it sets up overnight, though this isn't that necessary with Goop as it had been with Weld-it. This is repeated on the reverse side, directly underneath, making a little sandwich of zipper tape over the cut line.

As you can see, it's hard to tell where the tabs are glued in, even when looking at the light grey zips for better contrast here. (This is, of course, ideal, though annoying for illustrative purposes.)

Kingdom Hearts : Organization XIII cosplay tutorials

Saeru has begun compiling every useful bit of research, patterning & supply locations for the construction of accurate Organization XIII costumes - including weapon, wigs and coat tutorials here.
(And, if you need help with the Organization coat, chains/beads, wigs or props (or the whole cosplay) we do accept commission requests now.)

Anti - Form Sora Shoes (by Saeru)

Sora's shoes started out as a dream I thought would never happen. In my little world of cosplay, shoes were ALWAYS bought, and then modified. Shoes were not something that one constructed...

Unfortunately, Sora's shoes do not exist. This is probably a good thing, because there would be many more cases of people injuring themselves after tripping over their own huge feet.
Personally, I didn't want to end up in the hospital.

Ever gone scuba diving? Snorkeling? Maybe just played in the backyard pool as a kid?
How about those fins.
You know, the kind that make your feet look like funny frog legs. As soon as you get out of water, you're stuck with these huge pieces of plastic and no hope of walking around without them curling up and trying to make you fall flat on your face.
This became the first Sora dilemma.

Remember how I said that purchasing that action figure was one of the best moves I could have made? Here is reason number 2: Valor's feet have this awesome little pivot built into them. It allows you to stand him, easily, on pretty much any angled surface. They're also extremely pleasant to just play with.
This concept ended up saving my Sora shoes, as I decided that I, too, would build them with a pivot. In this manner I was able to walk, run, crouch, squat, and slink about without having to worry about my thin plastic clown shoes busting or the zipper seams popping out.

So here is what I did!

I bought a pair of clown shoes. Thankfully this was easy at the time that I began, because it was Halloween. I walked into a costume store, and picked up a pair for 2 dollars. Thinking this was swell, I grabbed another pair for later use. >.> Upon getting home I realized that a pair of clown shoes were, as I suspected, extremely difficult to walk in, so I cut off the back half, leaving just the front 'hump' of the shoe. However, the front hump was too WIDE to fit snuggly over my foot, so I cut it in half again, across the center. Sora's zipper was going to need to go there, anyhow. Thus, in the end, I had two bisected pieces of clown shoe to make the front.

Initial Shoe Test

It was time to move onward! The base shoes that I chose were a pair of No Boundaries Converses, available at Wal-Mart for about 10 dollars. The clown hump fit over the front of them nicely, and they were a good shape. Plus they were comfortable! Which makes them one of the few pairs of cosplay shoes I actually don't mind wearing. ^.^ To attach the clowns onto the converses, I drilled a hole through the sides just big enough to fit a Chicago screw.

Lemme talk for a moment about Chicago screws. They're not called Chicago screws here, because I'm in Chicago. Here, I believe they call them screw posts.
Screw Posts
These are the most wonderful little screws known to man. They've ended up having uses in almost every costume I've ever made, even when I didn't expect to be using them at all. They come in a variety of sizes, and, unlike the normal nut/bolt combination, you get a flat head on both sides of whatever you're screwing together(which is great for comfort purposes, especially on the inside of a shoe). These can be purchased easily at any hardware store.

Screw posts were used as my pivot, and held my shoes together.

Screwed Shoes

Having now the basic elements of my shoe, it was time to make its covering. Sora's shoes have an unusual shape to them, being something like high-tops but looking more like cloth. The color irritated me, however, since it was the same shimmery purple that was present in all the edging on my outfit: the stuff that I had used stretch velvet on. Purple stretch velvet was NOT going to make a nice, smooth shoe cover, so I tried a little something new. I liquid-stitched the velvet onto black 3mm foamies, and then trimmed it down to the exact shape it was supposed to be in.

Sewn Foamies and Liquid-stitched velvet...

Liquid stitch is a fabric glue that comes HIGHLY recommended by me.
Liquid Stitch!
You can buy it at wal-mart, or at a local craft store. As I found out, it is also very good for attatching fabric onto foamies. Be careful, as if you apply it too thickly behind a thin fabric, it WILL seep through. But if you spread a thin layer, then it adheres just lovely.
For best results with liquid-stitch, allow it to dry overnight.

So now I had a basic shoe pattern and back, but I wanted to do something a little more--adding treads.

Backpattern and Treads

This ended up being a rather complicated process overall, as I cut the treads out of 6mm foam(foamies could be used, although we had a different kind lying around), and still needed to apply some sort of coating to alleviate the 'foam' look. What I ended up doing was coating the treads in about 5 layers of 'Plasticoat,' which is a spray rubber available at Lowes. Its the same sort of stuff that people use to rubberize their truck beds, and it helped seal and protect my shoe treads. Following this, I sprayed them with my purples to give them a gradient.

I used gradients as much as possible on Sora, since he's got such a shifty color scheme. It ended up giving a lot of depth to otherwise flat places, especially on the shoe zipper. Here are my shoes at this stage, with the back cover attached and the clown part in place:

Shoe Progress...

The zipper is not yet attached to the shoe, making that the next step in my process.

These zippers were wonderful things in making Sora. Originally I had intended to use a #10 black plastic biker's zipper, but when I tested the shoe with that, the zipper completely disappeared when one stepped a foot or two away. I needed something larger, so I took one of the #30 zippers we had lying around, cut it in half, sprayed it in a gradient, and saw that it worked AMAZINGLY better. Even nicer was that the cloth tape didn't take the spray-paint, but the plastic zipper did, so the tape remained black on my now purple zipper. ^.^ These can be purchased from the following site, and, as far as I can tell, can only be purchased from here(unless you wanna spend 600 dollars on #30 zipper chain):
Giant #30 Kingdom Hearts Zippers!

But how to attach the zippers to the clown shoe? I was not about to trust ANY sort of glue to adhere a heavy zipper tape onto a plastic, spray-painted clown shoe. I considered stapling, but found it impossible to get at the right angle to do so. Thus a crazy idea was born: I would hand sew the zippers to the shoe.

Holes

96 tiny holes later, I began the process.


Getting close...

With the zipper on and the clown shoe attached, my shoe was starting to look good! I made a tongue out of more black foamies, and then retrieved my treads for the long gluing process.

I examined several pairs of shoes that were lying around, and noticed that there was a nice bead seam between the treads and the shoes. To duplicate this seam, I grabbed up some piping, painted it black, and attached it to the treads.

Gluing

The glue I used at this point was called Contact Cement, supposedly a good glue for adhering cloth to plastic/rubber. This glue was functional, although it did start to come off after several hours of wearing my Sora shoes around. I would suggest something stronger, and I will probably be using a 2-ton epoxy when I re-do my shoes. One thing to note is that powerful glues tend to dissolve spraypaint, so be cautious when gluing that you don't drip it ANYWHERE.
Contact cement, also, adheres on contact(hence the name), so I had to be EXTREMELY careful when I attached the soles to get the placement right on the first go. This took a few 'placement' runs, before I actually put the glue on. But it seemed to go well!

Shoe Tread

The only thing I had left to do was attach Sora's straps onto the bottoms of his shoes. The initial step for this had to be done BEFORE I put on the treads, since his straps disappear beneath them. In the beginning, I had wanted to use the same black material for straps that I had used in the rest of the outfit, but I realized that would require me attatching velcro to the straps so I could get my feet in and out of the shoes. It would also require extremely exact placement of his shoe-buckles, which un-nerved me quite a bit. To alleviate this problem, I went with a nice stretchy elastic strap on his shoes, which allowed me to put my feet in without ever even removing the straps.

Almost There!

At this point, the shoe is pretty much done. The only additional step that I did was to add a nib in the front, and put some trim on the edge of the zipper to cover up the thread from where I sewed it on. Voila! A Sora shoe. ^.^