The Yellow Rose of Texas Dress (B5748) - Part 1 (Hand-Picked Zipper Attempt)

I finally finished a project but spoiler alert: this post is only about the zipper installation.  

 

 This retro 60s Butterick pattern (5748) has an inset side zipper that calls for a center lapped installation. I don't like lapped-style but since it was a retro pattern I decided to give hand-picking  a whirl to keep in the spirit of the vintage style. It's actually a really easy and quick process that makes it possible to adjust as you go. When it was all stitched up it looked like the first picture on the inside and like the second picture on the outside. If you look really closely on the second picture you can see the little "nips" where the thread came through (it's supposed to look like that). 

 

 On the hanger the zipper looked perfect but gaped at the waist seam when it was actually on (one reason why I never used lapped). I ripped out the stitches and tried again to tweak it but had the same issue the second time. I didn't feel like giving it a third go and instead just installed my good 'ol usual invisible zip.

 

 All of this to say that, while hand-picking didn't work for this particular project, it was a good new process to learn (I found this tutorial from Sewaholic extremely helpful). A stiffer fabric would've worked really well and in the future I would definitely try this again. I LOVE vintage styles and am always looking to learn new ways to add "authentic" vintage-type details to the things I make. This style of zipper is definitely a way to do that and helps me get over my exclusiveness with invisible installation!