Replacing a coat zipper

Why replace a zipper instead of just buying a new coat?

Before                                                                                           After

Before                                                                                         After

Its cheaper, you have sentimental attachment to the coat, or you cant find another coat like it.

Step#1

Seam rip the old zipper out. To do this carefully pull on both sides of the fabric around the zipper so that the seams are clearly visible. Now carefully slide the tip of the seam ripper underneath the seam and rock it up and break the thread. Repeat this step until all the thread attaching the zipper to the coat is removed. Then remove the loose threads to clean it up.

I have noticed that on the coats I replaced the zippers on there was not just one seam to remove to take the zipper out, there were three seams. Take special care when removing the seams so that you don't accidentally rip a hole in the coat. You could rip the zipper out in under five minutes but it is not worth ruining the coat to remove the zipper quickly. So please take your time and remove the zipper carefully, you will be glad you did.

Step#2

Take the new zipper and unzip it all the way so that there are two separate pieces. Place the zipper in between the pieces of fabric then pin it in place.

Take note of the extra blank space at the top of the zipper. This extra blank part of the zipper is intended to make it easier to finish off the zipper inside of the coat smoothly rather than leaving a square edge that would easily snag on things like your skin or clothes.

 I would also recommend making sure that the bottom edges of the coat lines up evenly so that you are not warping the drape and shape of the coat. Just because the zipper lines up doesn't mean the coat lines up properly. I learned this the hard way and thankfully had not sew the new zipper in yet. In hind site I would have added a pin at the top and bottom where the original zipper was on both sides of the coat so I could get the placement perfect the first time.

Step#3

Lower your presser foot and hand crank in your first stitch. Stitch in 4-5 stitches and then back stitch. Sew slowly making sure to put your stitches where they were in the original zipper, as long as there was no damage to the fabric that would prevent it from being secured firmly to the zipper. Be sure to Back-stitch along the bottom as well, that part of the coat will have a lot of tugging and yanking so it will need to be reinforced well.

Do you have to use a zipper foot. My answer is NO, you don't to. I have tried it and it can be done without one if you don't have one but I will say when I tried it I had to go even slower to make sure I didn't break my machine needle.That said, it is a lot easier with a zipper foot so if you have one I would use it. Regardless of whether you use a zipper foot or not take your time and sew slowly through all the layers.

Make sure to use the previous places where the zipper was sewn in,  you should see the previous seam lines on the fabric. To get in the right mind set, think "stitch in the ditch" technique.

Also keep in mind you may need more than one seam to secure it like it was previously.  For one of the coat zippers I replaced I had to sew in 3 different seams to re-assemble it . Try your best to replicate what the original seamstress did and don't forget those back-stitches.



It took me about 30 minutes to do the whole thing: remove the old zipper, pull out the loose threads and put in the new one. For me replacing the zipper made so much more financial sense then buying a new coat and when it was done I felt good that I could preserve the coats my kids love and still fit for them to wear a little longer.

Alternative Free Bean Bag Stuffing

When your child has sensory needs trying to figure out what chair will help them be comfortable enough to sit can be a challenge. We've tried a number of types of chairs trying to figure out what works for our kids. We tried camp chairs, mushroom chairs, bungee chairs, stools, plastic lawn chairs, wooden benches, plastic benches, computer chairs, wood ladder back chairs, leather couches, antique couches, micro fiber couches, metal folding chairs, exercise balls, and bean bags.

After a lot of experimenting for our kids the chair with the best results was the bean bag chair.Bean bags are very comfortable to sit in, wonderful for kids with sensory needs and just fun to sit in. They do, however, come with some downsides. They deflate fairly quickly when you have kids who like to run and jump into them.

We have in the past bought refills for the bean bags. However, when you refill the bags the beads go everywhere and it takes forever to get it cleaned up. In addition, it costs almost as much to buy the refills as it does to buy a new bag. It's frustrating to have to choose between buying a new bag every year or dealing with the mess of refilling the bag. We could just not have the bean bags and just avoid the issue all together. However, the way a bean bag gives sensory input is great for our kids needs ... especially when they are overloaded.

bead mess

So what do you do when your kids have loved another chair till it was like a flat pancake and you don't have the money for a new bag or for the refill??? You look for another way to refill the bean bag. I read other blogs and watched YouTube videos and couldn't find any solutions that didn't cost money.

Finally, one day I was watching a video on alternative pillow stuffing and I saw someone stuff a pillow with plastic sacks. I thought, well I have plenty of those but will it be comfortable and will it make a noise that bothers their senses? So one day I added some plastic bags to her chair and had her sit on them and there were no sensory problems. 

I spent six months filling that bean bag with plastic sacks after shopping and she loved that she could keep using her bean bag. In the mean time, I was thinking about how badly the bag needed to be washed. In the past this was not an option because who wants to dump out all those beads to clean something that will probably need washed again the next day because she does almost everything in that chair. Then it occurred to me that most of the chair was plastic sacks not beads. So I emptied what was left of the beads and bags out, mess and all and washed her bean bag.  It took 8 hours to get all the beads off the plastic sacks I had stuffed in her chair and now I feel good that I will never have to mess with the beads again because I threw the beads away. I can just keep stuffing her chair with bags and when I need to wash her chair it will take no time at all to empty out the sacks, wash it and re-stuff it. All for free. So if you have the patience to wait and stuff in your left over grocery sacks you can re-stuff your bean bag for free. The only thing I would have done differently was to have emptied out the beads at the beginning instead of having to get the beads off the plastic sacks later.

   

BEFORE                                                                                           AFTER

Where have I been for the last 2+ years??

Where have I been for the last 2+ years??

In a word - REMODELING

In a sentence - Moving twice and fixing up 2 houses for sale.

How do I summarize almost 3 years worth of experiences? With a somewhat large blog post. (to follow)

So much has happened to my family and I'm not sure how to share everything that I've learned and how my family and I have changed in that time.

When we bought our first house, we fixed things up how we wanted it to be for our family. We had no intention of selling it or moving. We weren't interested in what some of my friends called a starter home. It didn’t have to be perfect, it just needed to be a safe place where could raise our kids. We could make it into what we wanted over time. We just wanted our kids to have roots. Both my Sweetie and I had moved around a lot since we were military brats, and now we just wanted to stay put.

Then came the itch. That itch that just happens, in the middle of your back, right between your shoulder blades and you can’t reach it to scratch it. It drives you crazy and just won’t go away. Both of us just felt the itch to move. If you are a military brat you know what I am talking about, the urge to pick up and go. New location, culture, people and food; all waiting to be explored and discovered.

This was hard for our children. We had successfully stayed put long enough that our kids had only ever known one home and one general set of people. Now we have taken our kids on road trips but its not the same a moving. At the end of the trips we always came back home, to the same street, same house and their same beds. I don’t think some of them really understood that we really were moving until we were loading the moving truck. Then some of them had to scramble to put their things in boxes and onto the truck.

My Sweetie and I shook our heads in disbelief, “we said we were moving and that they needed to pack.” We gave our kids plenty of notice unlike the three or less months we were usually given as kids. In hindsight, I think that was the problem. It took too long to happen, so it wasn't real. They had no memories of ever moving and some of our kids had never moved before. They didn’t move every 2-3 years like their parents had as children. So when we told them, “we are moving” we could have said “the moon is made out of cheese” and it would have seemed just as real to them as “we are moving”. Our experiences effect our perspective and our children had no experience with moving.

Except this was not just one move. I have a sister I will call “The Icebox" and they needed some help fixing up their home so they could sell it.  So my Sweetie and I spent the next two years using the skills we had learned fixing up our old house and learned even more skills to fix up their home. Building and repairing kitchen cabinets. Scraping off popcorn ceilings then skimming ceilings and walls, cutting and polishing granite counter-tops, installing overhead lighting, new tile and flooring; the list could go on.

At the end of those two years we were tired and definitely ready to move again. Except this time our kids were ready to move as well. They had made new friends, discovered a new city and music and had some very neat experiences and some bad experiences as well. All the good and bad that comes from living life and discovering a new place.

Now we are in our new to us home. Starting all over again in a new city, culture, music, people and food.  We moved from the Rockies all the way to the Music City. Our kids are learning new things about the culture of the area we live in; some good, some bad just like everywhere else. It's the beginning of another adventure.

The following pictures are taken before any restoration work has taken place.

Wonderful wallpaper and years worth of grease drippings. Turned into the following when all was said and done.

  

While remodeling your home can have definite benefits, namely it's done how you want it, it takes time. We were blessed by my sister and her husband's willingness to share their house until this (hopefully) final move (maybe not). In return we were able to help them update their place and we learned more skills in the process.

The reader assumes all risk in attempting any DIY projects inspired by this post. Old Timers Habits isn't liable in any way for learning, calluses, sore muscles, dropped hammers (regardless of where they land), spilled paint, or spilled milk.

Printable Messenger Bag Pattern

Messenger Bag –Harry Potter Style


If you just need the pattern and not the instructions than click here

messenger bag printable pattern

To say our"Soccer Boy" is a Harry Potter fan is like saying cool temperatures are ideal to play soccer in.. He read his original paper back copies so often that we had to get him hard back versions of the book, not because he mistreated his copies but he wore out the spines turning the pages. I have lost track of how many times he has read the series.

When he needed a new backpack because his was wearing out beyond repair a Harry Potter Themed bag seemed an obvious choice. My daughter"Little Fish" wanted to hep she was so excited about the idea for her brother. This result below is two months worth our work for him.

I did not include the patches patterns because I was not sure if it would be ok with copy right laws.

If you are using brand new fabric then only follow the number labeled steps.

If re-purposing clothes for fabric please follow the letter steps and the number steps in the order laid out.

Step A
Front

   

 

Back 

Bottom

 

   

Top

 

 

Flap 

 

  

Sides 

 

   

I have assembled all the patches. Now I pin the pattern pieces on top of the panels of patches I have created. Cut. Stitch 1/8” seam around the edge of the panels. This step is necessary because I put interfacing behind each patch to strengthen them. I wanted the edges that were cut resealed to the patches so it’s a solid panel again. If you did patches be sure to place the pattern paper so you don’t lose anything you stitched. Do this for all outer pattern pieces of the bag: Front, Bottom, Back,Top, Flap, and Sides. 

Step#1
Front

Bottom

Back 

Top

Flap 

Sides

Pin and cut all pattern pieces for the outer bag: Front, Bottom, Back, Top, Flap, and Sides.

Step#2

Front & Back

 

Bottom,Top and Flap

 

Sides

   

Shoulder Strap

 

Shoulder Strap Tabs

 

Pencil-headphones-glasses-phone holder

 

Pin and cut all pattern pieces for the lining and strap: Front, Bottom, Back, Top,Flap, Sides, Shoulder Strap, Shoulder Strap Tabs, Pencil-headphones-glasses-phone holder.

Step B

 

 

 

I am using a large flat sheet I got from our local thrift store The Arc for my lining fabric. I am seam ripping open the seams. I find this gives me at minimum an extra 1 ¼” of fabric on the thin edges and about 71/2” on the top part of the sheet. For me this is worth it because I have been a tiny fraction of fabric short often enough that I almost always seam rip. The exception is denim; I don’t seam rip denim anymore because it’s too hard on my hands. After seam ripping open pull all the stray threads and Iron fabric flat.

Step#3

Front & Back

 

Bottom,Top and Flap

 

Sides

 

 

Shoulder Strap

 

Shoulder Strap Tabs

 

Pencil-headphones-glasses-phone holder

  

Pin pattern pieces that require interfacing, It will say interfacing on it. Please note that on the shoulder strap and shoulder strap tabs the interfacing pieces will not be the same as the lining pieces.

Step C

 

 

 

 

I don’t have any pieces of interfacing for this that I think is thick enough so I am going to use denim from jeans. I am going to cut only along the in-seams to give myself large amounts of fabric. Please note that I don’t have a long enough pant leg for the bag strap. So I cut out as much as I could from one section of leg then pin and cut more than was needed to finish off the bag strap interfacing. I placed the small second part of the denim on top of the longer length. Pin the tow edges. Sew together. Iron the seam open and flat then re-pin the pattern piece on top of the now joined fabric and cut off the excess fabric.

Step#4
Front & Back

 

  

Bottom,Top and Flap

  

Sides

  

 

Pencil-headphones-glasses-phone holder

 

Now take the lining fabric and place the interfacing on top of the lining pieces. Pin around the edges. Sew together with a 1/8” seam. Please note this step is optional. I just don’t like dealing with shifting interfacing so I find it worth it for me. DO NOT DO THIS STEP FOR ANY PART OF THE STRAP.

Step D

Lay out all the pattern pieces for the outside of the bag so the words can be read or the pictures are in the correct direction.

Step#5

Lay out all the pattern pieces for the outside of the bag in the following order when you look at them:

 Front

Bottom

Back

Top

Flap

Step#6

 

 

Lay the Bottom piece on top of the Front piece. Pin. Sew along the bottom of the front piece. Press the seam with an iron.

Step#7

  

  

Now lay the Back piece on top of the Bottom of the bag piece. Pin. Sew along the Bottom of the back piece. Press seam with an iron.

Step#8

 

 

Now lay the Top of the bag piece on top of the Back of the bag piece. Pin along the top edge of the Back of the bag piece. Sew seam. Press with an iron.

Step#9

 

 

Now lay Flap piece on top of the bag piece, right sides together. Pin. Sew. Iron flat.

Step#10

Lay the bottoms of the sides so they touch the bottom of the bag part.

Step E

Make sure that you like how the panels look and that they are turned the correct direction for the patches you have made.

Step#11

 

 

Now turn one of the Sides of the bag and match its side with the side of the Front part of the bag. Pin sides together. Be sure to back-stitch and sew up to the edge of the bottom seam. Iron flat.

Step#12

  

Rotate the just stitched side part so that the bottom of the side matches the side of the bottom part of the bag. Pin. Sew.

Step#13

 

Rotate the side part again so that the long side of the side part matches up with the long side of the back part of the bag. Pin sides together. Sew.

Step#14

  

  

  

Repeat steps 11-13 on the other side for the outer bag, turn right side out then set aside.

Step#15

  

 

Place the lining pieces for the inside pockets right sides together. Pin along the top of the pieces. Sew. Turn right sides out and press the seam flat with an iron.

Step#16

Place the pocket piece on top of the lining piece for the Front of the bag. Take fabric chalk and mark where the dividers need to be sew. Sew dividers and be sure to back-stitch edges.

Step F

 

 

 

 I don’t have fabric chalk so here is an alternative method for this step. Pin the places where the pockets will be divided. Sew where the pins create dividers and be sure to back-stitch.Then pin outer edges of pockets to the Front part of the lining and sew 1/8" seam.

Step#17

  

 

 

  

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Now repeat steps 5-14 for the inside lining of the bag.

Step#18

  

  

Insert the lining bag inside of the outer bag. Pin the edges together. Sew 1/8” seam around the edges of the opening for the top of the bag, and flap parts.

Step#19

 

 

 

  

  

 

Take blanket binding and place one fold even with the edge of the bag. Pin in place. Sew edge. Cut corner flap corners. Flip binding. Pin it down. Sew.

Step G

I found it easier to turn the bag wrong side out for this step but that is my opinion.

Step#20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pick up shoulder strap tabs fabric. Fold in three as shown in picture below. Iron flat. Fold in half again and iron again. Open it up and reverse the center fold and iron again. Pin the ends. Sew the ends and cut the corners. Turn right side out and iron flat. Now take the shoulder strap tab interfacing and slide it into the tab opening. Pin the edge closed. Sew along both long sides.

Step#21

 

  

 

 

 

 

Repeat Step#20 for the long part of the shoulder strap.

Step#22

 

 

 

Pick up the Shoulder Strap Tabs and slide threw the D rings. Pin along the bottom. Sew along Bottom then side near the ring then down the other side till you close the square shape you are sewing onto the tabs. Be sure to back-stitch. Set the Shoulder Strap Tabs aside.

Step H

I don’t have D rings so I am using large Jump rings.

Step#23

 

 

 

Slide long part of Shoulder Strap threw the slider and back around. Pin then sew.Sew along Bottom then side near the slider then down the other side till you close the square shape you are sewing onto the strap. 

Step#24

 

 

 

Slide the D ring threw the strap and then put the strap back through the slider. Now slip the strap through the other D ring and pin. Sew seam.

Step#25

  

  

Place messenger bag strap onto the sides  of the bag. Pin. Sew along the Shoulder Strap Tabs where the  seams are already done. Be sure to back-stitch.

Step I

  

Normally I would put the tabs on the outside of a bag on the sides . However, since that would cover the side patches in a bad way I am installing the Shoulder Strap Tabs on the inside so the stitching affects the patches in a minimal way.

 

  

Tools	Price if new	Price we paid	Time to get new spent	Time to get we spent
Sewing machine	129.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Sewing pins	4.10	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Iron	4.36	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Scissors	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Ironing board	13.88	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Ruler	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Tape	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Hand needle	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Seam ripper	1.49	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Printer	89.99	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Printer paper	.01 per page 18 pages	.18	45 minutes	0 already had
Parts
Blanket binding	1.85	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Outer fabric 1 ½ yard on 60” bolt	2.985	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had from scraps
Lining 1 ½ yard on 60” bolt	2.985	2.50 @ the Arc thrift store	45 minutes	0 already had
Interfacing 1 ½ yard on 60” bolt~3 ½ if you do patches	1.485 if only the inside~2.69 if you do patches and add interfacing to them	0 used scraps and denim	45 minutes	0 already had or substituted
Black button	1.19	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Blue button	1.19	0 already had	45  minutes	0 already had
White sequins	.64	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Brown felt	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Cream felt	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
White felt	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Blue	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Black felt	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Yellow felt	.87	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Slider	.25	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Jump rings	2.97	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Keys	6.99	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Green ribbon	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Brown ribbon	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Orange ribbon	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Stripped ribbon	1.00	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Orange thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Black thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes had	0 already had
Red thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Blue thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Purple thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Yellow thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
White thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Light blue thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Dark green thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Brown thread	1.50	0 already had	45 minutes	0 already had
Time to Procure
	I couldn’t find a HP messenger patched bag anywhere on-line at any price. Inspired by a small purse teeshamoore an artist created years ago but does not have any for sale in her shop. Although a purse wouldn’t work for our son so I am unsure how to calculate this one.	2.50 for lining fabric	1 hour 2 @ the Arc thrift store	2 months’ worth of sewing in every spare moment I could get on my own and teaching “Little Fish” some sewing techniques the patches offered.
Price	???????? If brand new. If you needed all the tools and part=282.41 . If you just need parts then it would cost=48.26	2.50	0 since it can’t be bought	2 months