zipper without a zipper foot... yay or nay
 

yes, ladies and gents... i'm a newbie! ;)

i also have a vintage machine (8 of them, but who on earth is counting :D)
i would love to make a little purse/pouch while i contemplate my next quilted item. the pattern i'd like to make has a zipper. i do not have a zipper foot for my lovely older machine.

can i reasonably believe i can sew in a zipper without a zipper foot?
i googled my question, but didn't get a straight answer.

just in case the info is needed: 99% of my sewing is done on a 1951 Singer 301A

thanks for any info

I very rarely use a zipper foot when I sew on a zipper. On my machine, I can remove the foot completely and just use the little stub.

Why don't you make a practice run? Get a scrap of fabric, use a large stitch so it's easy to remove, and test it out. :)

The only issue I see, if you're not able to sew with no foot, is that your seam will be a tad further away from the teeth of the zipper than if you did use a zipper foot. Would the 'floppiness' of the teeth edge of the zipper effect the use of the zipper or the item you are planning to make? Those would be my only concerns.

deal!
i just wanted to make sure i wasn't going to break anything.

i'm game to giving it a try, even if it's ugly.
and the little project doesn't need a "perfectly" placed zipper... i just want to keep myself busy and trying new things while the next quilt slowly comes together!

Be careful sewing without a presser foot. It's easier to sew a finger, and there's nothing to keep the fabric from going up with the needle. If you try it out, go slowly!

You can also sew a zipper in by hand.

Guess I am just simple-minded, but if you have 8 machines, why don't you sew the zipper on with one of the other machines, and sew the rest of the project with the machine you prefer? That is what I do when my favorite machine does not do a task I need done.

Just go ahead and use the regular foot on your machine. When I made my first pouch, I watched a YouTube video and the gal very casually said she never changes to a zipper foot on the pouches, you can get as close as you need to with the regular presser foot. I followed her example and I make all my pouches this way. They look great.

I never change to a zipper foot...just use my straight stitch foot. Just made a bag this morning and put the zipper in.

Just use the narrowest foot you have to get as close as possible to the zipper feet. Hand baste your fabric to the zipper. You will just have slightly larger "flaps" over your zipper than you would using a zipper foot. I wouldn't sew without a foot for thread tension and safety issues.

I have a couple of zipper feet in my extra attachments box. I'll check tonight to see if either of them are slant shank, if so you can have it.

If you have issues with zippers, use a fusible to fuse it in place before you sew. Then use your regular presser foot, or use your 1/4inh foot using the fold of the fabric as your "edge" and move the needle to the position you want ( if your 1/4 inch foot will let you move)

that is so very sweet of you!
thank you so much for the offer.

thank you all for the replies.
i guess it can be done. everything i was finding on google was a bit confusing.

This was very informative! I don't have a zipper foot...just replaced a 28" jacket zipper. Used my regular foot and it was super easy. How does a zipper foot differ?

A zipper foot is narrower, allowing you to get closer to the zipper. I have sewn in zips just using a regular foot (I sew on vintage machines). It is do-able, but I did end up buying a generic zipper foot that fits my vintage machine. There is an Aussie girl on e-bay who has feet made up for vintage machines (they probably come from China) - Don't think she sells to overseas buyers, but in the USA you have more chance of finding an original for yours. So go ahead, but just keep it slow and steady as on small purses it's a bit fiddly.

Sorry, I had three, all low shank. But Sew-classic.com had them very reasonable:
http://shop.sew-classic.com/Slant-Shank-Feet_c10.htm

I took a class just yesterday where they showed how to sew in a zipper with just your "regular" foot. Very fast and easy!