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...)

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.)