Help! My Luggage Zipper Is Broken!

Here's a quickie. I did it this afternoon.

I bought this Delsey 25" suitcase on ebay for under $20. It was originally $300! The buyer had returned it because the zipper pull broke off. It is super lightweight and packed with features (like an indicator to tell you if it's overweight), so I decided to buy it and then figure out the zipper problem later.

You can see here that there is no zipper pull on this front pocket. Everything else and all the other zippers were fine. There was no way I could fix this zipper by adding a new one because...it would have looked terrible if I could have even found a new zipper to put on it due to the fact that I'd have to hand sew it. Plus, there's no telling how much a luggage zipper would cost by itself. Probably as much as I paid for the luggage!

Something else had to be done.

I got out some trusty brown packing paper and started drafting a pattern to make a flap to cover the zipper.

Then, I used my pattern and traced onto some black leather.

I cut it out.

Then, I glued it in place. This was not the permanent fix because glue would have easily ripped off over time. The glue was just to hold the leather in place because you can't pin leather in place. (It makes holes when you do that.)

Enter the needle and thread. (Those are rubber finger tips for pulling needles through tough fabrics like leather. I couldn't find my thimble.)

I stitched the leather in place.

From the inside.

That took a little time, but when I was done, it looked pretty good!

Here is the flap up so I can get into the pocket.

At some point, I may put a button or magnetic closure on it, but for now, at least it doesn't look as bad! (I will be putting a luggage protector over it when I check it at airports, just in case you were wondering.)

Très luxe, no?

The End!

One Way to Fix a Broken Zipper

Sometimes, you find really great clothing items at the thrift store, and the reason they are there is because the zippers are broken. Here is one method of fixing that issue. 

So I found this black sleeveless skater dress, but the zipper had missing teeth at the very bottom. The dress was only a dollar, and I figured if nothing else, I could easily turn it into a skirt, or if I wanted to work a little harder, I could replace the zipper. 

I kinda didn't want to do either option. I kinda just wanted to fix the current zipper. Work smarter, not harder! I didn't know that I even could, but when I realized I could, I thought. . ."I bet other people might want to know this too."

So here's the deal. It wasn't easy. Actually, I wanted to give up after about ten minutes of constant failure. But finally, I persevered and overcame! What I did was to push the zipper tag down as far as it could go, and then I pushed the broken teeth side into the other side of the tag until it finally caught. 

There is no easy way to explain how to do this. You just have to keep trying. The only way to describe what you have to do is to pretend you are zipping up the front of a coat or jacket. If you aren't good with your hands, this may be height of frustration. . .so find someone who is! Maybe they can help you! It doesn't seem possible when you are in the midst of it, but. . .if the zipper ever aligned once, it can and will do it again! (I actually did it twice myself. Once as soon as I got the dress home. . .and then I realized that I needed to take a picture of the zipper broken, so I re-broke it--which is the picture you see above. That's how much I love you guys! I'm willing to go through frustration twice!) :)

Okay, so if this post seems like a cop-out so far (i.e. "The way to fix a broken zipper is to. . .uh. . .fix it!" Not helpful.), let me finish the post by telling you what to do once you re-align the zipper to assure that it doesn't break again. First of all, zip it up!

Next, thread a needle. The focus is really bad in this picture, but if you look just above the missing zipper teeth on the right side, you will see a needle poking through. Do this. (It's really important that your first stitch go above the missing teeth.)

Then, push the needle back through on the direct left side of the zipper. Continue those two steps until you have several stitches. Then, make a knot on the back side and cut your thread.

This is the back side of the zipper. See my several stitches?

From far away, you can hardly tell. . .and if someone CAN tell, then tell them to stop staring at your butt! How rude!

Fixed! The zipper won't go down any further than those stitches!

(Those other clothes are my "to do" list. . .a.k.a. "future blog posts.")

The End!

Fix Your Broken Makeup

I have this bold red blush. I love it, but one day, for no reason, it decided to break into about eight pieces. I posted a picture of it on facebook, and a very kind lady on there told me a way to fix it. It's really easy to fix, so before you throw your broken pressed powder, blush, or bronzer away: Read this.

1. Add several drops of rubbing alcohol into it--enough to saturate the broken powder without overflowing the container.

2. Stir it around just a little with your finger to make sure the mixture is homogenous.

3. Let it dry overnight. The alcohol will evaporate and your makeup will once again be in one piece. (It's not super pretty or anything, but at least it's not a broken mess anymore.)

The End!!!!