I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?


(Wife says "get a new winter jacket" -- but I *like* this
one, and besides Costco hasn't sold anything as good as it
for several years now. It's the best I've ever had -- best
made, etc.)


Ideas?


Thanks!

David

On 5 Dec 2008 22:43:07 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?


(Wife says "get a new winter jacket" -- but I *like* this
one, and besides Costco hasn't sold anything as good as it
for several years now. It's the best I've ever had -- best
made, etc.)


Ideas?


Thanks!

David

I had the same problem with my trusty winter jacket. Last year it
started half way through the winter and jusk kept getting worse.

After taking it off over my head I could usually wrestle it open - so
I took it to the local talor to see what it would cost for a new
Zipper. He said $49, "but you don't need a zipper"
He said the sliders - or the parts that run up and down and work the
zipper together and back apart were worn out - and a pair, installed,
would set me back $21.

I left him the jacket and picked it up next day - just like new.

David Combs wrote:
I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?


(Wife says "get a new winter jacket" -- but I *like* this
one, and besides Costco hasn't sold anything as good as it
for several years now. It's the best I've ever had -- best
made, etc.)


Ideas?

Force it unzipped with a pair of pliers, and start over? (after
tightening the slider thingy ever-so-gently with the same pliers, and
lubing the zipper teeth all the way up with a candle stub?)

BTDT, and I feel your pain. Realistically, your wife is right- the
cost-effective cure is replacement. I have had zippers replaced, but it
is absurdly expensive, so unless the coat has sentimental value or is a
specialty item, it really doesn't make sense. And unless you have an
industrial sewing machine at home, it isn't a DIY project unless you are
willing to spend hours hand-sewing with a sailmaker needle. I had my
last one done at a luggage repair shop, and I had to bring in the
zipper. They do sell zipper repair kits, but finding one with a slider
big enough for a coat is hard, and the imported coats tend to use weird
non-standard zippers.

Side rant- zippers without contrasting colors on the little tab at the
start, and fabric flaps the same color as the zipper, too close to the
moving parts. I'm well into middle age, with eyesight to match. It makes
me feel like a 5 year old again, fighting with a zipper to get it
started, only to have the fabric edge get caught 3 inches later and
jamming the thing.

--
aem sends...

"David Combs" wrote:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?

Zippers wear out, sometimes before the coat does.

You can buy a new zipper, and sew it onto the coat.

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:

"David Combs" wrote:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?


Zippers wear out, sometimes before the coat does.

You can buy a new zipper, and sew it onto the coat.

Jon




If you do that, make sure you purchase a man's zipper, not a woman's one.

I bought what was clearly described as a man's jacket online from Kohl's
last year and what came had a woman''s zipper on it.

It was so frustrating to have to fumble with the zipper whenever I
decided to wear that jacket that I returned it and got my money back.

Old habits are hard to break....

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Jon Danniken wrote:

"David Combs" wrote:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip
into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?


Zippers wear out, sometimes before the coat does.

You can buy a new zipper, and sew it onto the coat.

Jon


If you do that, make sure you purchase a man's zipper, not a woman's
one.

I bought what was clearly described as a man's jacket online from
Kohl's last year and what came had a woman''s zipper on it.

It was so frustrating to have to fumble with the zipper whenever I
decided to wear that jacket that I returned it and got my money
back.

Old habits are hard to break....

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

You should be able to walk it down by wiggling it back and forth. Very
tedious and time consuming, but you can do it. You push down on one
side while pulling up on the other and wiggling. (not you but the
zipper G)

(David Combs) writes:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

(Actually, it's been acting up a bit (getting old?) and
the "male" left side bottom-end doesn't so easily and surely slip into
the matching "female" right side.)

Anyway, it's zipped up a couple of inches, but off by 3 or so
"notches" (due to that male-female problem).

Any idea on how to get it unzipped?

Well, no one else seems to know how to deal with this...

Zippers do that when the zipper body opens up a bit.
If the zipper body firmly encloses the teeth, it won't go
off track.

First pry open the zipper body a bit with a screw driver
to get the zipper back on the teeth the right way.

Then use pliers to close the body back up so it grips
the teeth as it should.

On 5 Dec 2008 22:43:07 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:

I stupidly zipped up my coat when I hadn't perfectly
lined-up the bottom ends of the two sides.

...

(Wife says "get a new winter jacket" --

Add another vote for a new zipper. Once they've tasted freedom, they
can't ever be trusted. At least here (Syracuse NY), it's surprisingly
inexpensive to get a new one put in - to the point where it made sense
for a (good) sweatshirt.

G

How to get a zipper back on track when the track is about half way down the zipper. Thanks to my ten year old and his favorite jacket.

wrote

How to get a zipper back on track when the track is about half way
down the zipper. Thanks to my ten year old and his favorite jacket.

Not clear what you mean by back on track.

If you mean that there the two sides of the zip are
out by 3 links, with jackets that have a zip that can
be separated at one end, just run the loop down
to that end and separate the two sides, put the free
side back in the slider again and carry on regardless.

He likely just didnt put it in the slider properly the
last time he zipped it.

On 11/18/2018 05:04 PM, wrote:
How to get a zipper back on track when the track is about half way down the zipper. Thanks to my ten year old and his favorite jacket.

Brute force. First take a trip to a fabric store or something like that.
Usually it's the slider that is worn and causes the problem. Replacement
sliders are available for a lot of zipper types. For the big ones like
on a motorcycle jacket I order them from Amazon.

Typically a jacket zipper will have a brass stop at the end. pry that
off and replace the slider. Sometimes the sliders will be in a kit with
replacement stops too.

It really isn't as much work as it sounds and if the slider is worn
you'll be revisiting the problem forever.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 18 Nov 2018 16:04:04 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

How to get a zipper back on track when the track is about half way down the zipper. Thanks to my ten year old and his favorite jacket.

I too don't know what you mean. There is the slider and the two rows of
teeth. What Rod said, except to say it's problaby not the boy's
mistake. After the 2nd or 3rd time, no one pays close attention to how
the zip something. When this sort of thing happens, it's usuall a flaw
in the zipper, that for example doesn't require putting the end into the
bottom of the zipper. If it happens again, he may have to be more
careful than normally is required.

To get the slider down it might be required to pull up, even pretty
hard, on each side of the zipper, alternately. Then at the bottom it's
especialy hard. My favorite winter jacket, the one I'm about to put on,
has this problem.

On Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:51:11 +1100, cantankerous trolling geezer Rot Speed,
the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:



He likely just didn¢t put it in the slider properly the
last time he zipped it.

I trust that you got a lifelong experience of unzipping flies, cocksucking
senile Rot! BG

--
Norman Wells addressing senile Rot:
"Ah, the voice of scum speaks."
MID: