I grew up under the notion of: 'If something is broken you fix it'. Only throw it away and replace something if it is beyond repair or at least after making a considerable effort to bring it back to a functional state. This is a very useful practice with clothing in particular. Part of my fashion hobby is buying inexpensive brand pieces that are damaged, broken, stained or in need of some form of rehabilitation. I like to find damaged pieces that I can bring back to life and make wearable again.
I documented the process of a recent zipper replacement I've done. It's actually not too difficult to do if you have a sewing machine and basic sewing skills. Now I'm by no means a professional and my sewing job isn't pristine, but I can certainly get the job done and repair my own personal pieces to wear.
The dress in disrepair is Baby's 2004 Hem Scallop JSK in black x white.
https://lolibrary.org/items/btssb-hem-scallop-jsk-128211
A lot of the time older pieces typically have some sort of damage. It really is unavoidable when purchasing something from 2004. I came across the listing for this beauty with a broken zipper and it was no surprise that it remained listed for quite some time even with the price being around $100. Which in lolita terms is actually a pretty decent price for a damaged piece from 2004. A lot of girls are really into old school style and older pieces can go for a hefty price in current times.
Since restoration of this piece will require 'alteration' from it's original state. This is a good opportunity to address the taboo subject of 'altering brand'. For some reason there is a lot of stigma that goes with altering brand. In regards to resale value altering pieces can definitely decrease the value of it. However, fixing a damaged piece that was purchased for cheap can most likely be sold at or above the original price you paid for it.
Lest we forget a piece that you purchase is yours and you can do what ever you want with it that includes altering it or even burning it in a fire if you really want. These pieces aren't 'community property'. They are yours, so do what you want with them. Though with the amount of the commie-identified girls in the fashion I can see why they think that you can't ruin something that belongs to you. Because in their minds it doesn't ACTUALY belong to you. Communists don't believe in personal property after all XD Anywho, what I'm getting at is if you want to alter brand, by all means. Especially if you intend to keep it then the resale value doesn't particularly matter anyway.
With all that being said... ON TO THE FIXING XD
Ah, such a beauty. A little piece of EGL history... Pay no attention to the cat hair. She really needs a good lint roll :')
As you can see the zipper has disconnected from being on 'both sides of the tracks'. And the paint is all chipped off. RIP zipper. You've had a good life. The first step would be to measure the length of the original zipper before purchasing a new replacement. Of course, I'm a careless imbecile and forgot to measure. So I went to the store and held up some zippers next to my torso and figured ah, this seems about right. I went with an 18 inch zipper. And to my delight it was an exact match. Lucky me. Though even if it had not been the correct size zipper I would have accommodated the dress to it. Either by extending or closing up the seam where the zipper goes. Eh, no big deal. I'm resourceful and know how to make things work.
Using a 'seam ripper' tool remove the old zipper. This is done by sticking the sharp pointy part of the tool under the thread in the seam and well, ripping it! This can be a bit tedious sometimes and each stitch has to be ripped individually depending on how tight the stitch is. Other times you can rip multiple stiches and once.
I tried to get some images of this step, but it's a little hard to see. Hopefully, my explanation makes sense. I just want to cut all of the threads holding the zipper to the garment.
Whoooo starting to detach! At the top of this particular dress where the zipper is attached, it is sewn between 2 pieces of fabric. While taking it apart I recommend making note of how the garment is constructed in regards to the zipper. Sometimes the entire length of the zipper is attached between the outer fabric of the dress and a lining. Or other various methods of zipper sewing techniques.
Oh hay she's been removed! Don't forget to pull out all of the pieces of threads you that you destroyed with the seam ripper. This part is kind of annoying too. But these bits will make a mess everywhere if you don't.
Pin the new zipper in place. This requires folding down the extra fabric at the top of the zipper. The part with the zig-zag cut. Be sure to put the pins on the outside of the dress!! That way you sew with this side facing up and you can watch your stitch in relation to the edge of the fabric and try to keep your stitch straight. You can see on the right image how the zipper goes between the two layers of fabric at the top of the dress. The rest of the length of the stitch it does not. Also make sure the fabric of the dress is folded over at the edge for the entire length of the zipper before pinning the zipper to it. Generally since this is a replacement the 'folded edge' is impressioned into the garment and naturally sits folded so the 'raw edge' of the fabric isn't seen from the outside. You probably won't have to worry about this too much from a garment that already had a zipper. But just be mindful incase the original fold... unfolds XD
Pin the entire length of the zipper with folded part of the dress fabric on the outside and the zipper in the inside.
You can see what I mean with the zipper edge being on the inside in the images above. And also how the pins are on the outside of the dress. It's always good to flip the garment inside out or outside in, or whatever is the opposite to how it was pinned. Just to make sure you didn't snag extra fabric from the garment that you don't intend to sew. But also make sure everything you do intend to sew is properly fastened down exactly in place. In the right image you can see the difference in how the zipper was sewn on each side at the top of the dress. The side with the tag the zipper is between 2 layers of fabric. On the other side that inner layer doesn't go all the way to the zipper. And it will require a stitch that runs parallel to the zipper stitch to fasten down.
aaaaaaaaannnnnd SEW!!! Hopefully, I don't have to explain this part to thoroughly. Sew with the outside of the dress facing up so you can watch where the stitch is being placed. Do it maybe about a millimeter-ish from the edge of the fold in the dress fabric that runs down the zipper.
Cut the excess thread ends from sewing and FINISHED! SHE LIVES AGAIN!
Not to difficult of a rehabilitation.
