How to replace broken zip on Converse All Star backpack

 

This Converse all star leopard print backpack is a treasure. It has been to a few countries with me and it is the perfect size. I actually had to fix the zip because I cannot find another backpack which is so perfect for me. If it is too big for a daypack, things will just get lost in it. It is just nice for an umbrella, a book, a cardigan, a small makeup kit, and the usual, wallet, keys etc. It is ideal for night or day. I use it for ballet. I use it for trips with the children or to the city or to the park. Needless to say, the leopard print makes it hard to lose or to steal. You will always notice it. No stealer will want to walk around with it unless they want to look like a cartoon character saying "look at me! I stole this!". Wherever it is in the house, you will find it. Sadly, the zip went and it was through frequent use, i.e. wear and tear.

Photo of the broken original zip and me taking a seam ripper to it.

TIP#1: Never take apart something unless you have examined it closely and taken photos to show how it was put together. No one can help you put together something in reverse order, you have to know this yourself as everything could possibly be put together differently even though it is a standard item like a zip. TIP#2: So for this task I measured the original zip required BEFORE taking it apart. Do not waste time unless you are sure you can get one. I had to buy it on Ebay. It was a 22" or 55 cm zip and because the old zip is a fashion lightweight kind I was not happy that it was not longlasting. I bought an industrial heavyweight big teeth red zip this time so that it can withstand wear and tear. It was very cheap, I think only £2.15 on Ebay.

Slice away one stitch at a time without touching original fabric or bias binding.

View of the defunct zip and original zip pull. See how small the teeth are? This is a lightweight zip.

Using a seam ripper, rip out a few seams at a point near the start. Once opened up, use the razor to slice away more of the stitching as shown. This is quite an agonizing task because you will have to grip with left hand if you are right handed, and with the right hand cut away the stitching very carefully (i.e. one stitch at a time) without cutting the original fabric or anything else - just the stitching. You cannot do this quickly - believe me I tried and I am real fast at ripping. You just can't because the fabric is waterproof and tough. This stage took 45 minutes.

Once you have done one side of the zip, do the other. A zip has two sides after all! Obvs.

Now using your record photos as a guide, remember how to sandwich the zip in place within the fabric and the seam bias binding. Hand pin the entire length of the new zip followed by hand tacking it in place.

Once you have done one side, unzip the zip and do the other side.

Once tacked by hand, zip up the whole zip and shut the backpack. You can see the black hand tacking in this pic.

Check balance. Lay flat. Make sure there is no pulling, wrinkling or puckering of the fabric, it should be totally smooth and like the original!

Now use the machine to stitch over the hand tacking. Use the record photos again to check - and it so happens I have yellow ochre thread to overstitch the outer or the right side of the fabric, with the under bobbin thread in black.

On the other side of the zip, it is black on the bottom and top side of the fabric. Use the machine to stitch this.

Finished!

No original pull but I will get a small piece of red or black webbing to sew a generic pull.

Checking to ensure that is it all neat, no gaps, puckering or pinching of the fabric. Fabric against zip must be perfectly smooth as the original.

Whole job took 2 hours and 45 minutes including the seamripping and broken zip removal. So proud of the Converse leopard print backpack. Now it will and should last another ten years.

Frugality is so tedious. It takes time because all things take time which are worth the time. Why not take a look at the book I wrote? It is a literary thriller and features themes of excess in the 1980s.