Hack: Basting A Zipper With Masking Tape {My Favourite New Technique}

I am not normally into the ‘hack’ hype but this really is a sewing hack that works and is really accessible. I just had to share! I am a creature of habit and tend to sew things pretty much the same way every time I make a new skirt. For a long time, I’ve basted the seam closed with a basting stitch, pressed it open, just like in this skirt tutorial. But instead of basting the zip in with stitches (as I do in that tutorial) I use wash away wonder tape to secure the zip in place. You can see how the wonder tape works in this video. Then I go on to topstitch around the zipper from the right side and remove the basting stitches, as per the rest of the tutorial. It’s a nice easy method and it’s been my go to for a while. Until this week when I went to grab the wash away wonder tape and couldn’t find it anywhere.

I had my skirt on the ironing board (I’d just pressed the basted seam open) and was about to grab some pins to pin in the zip and I spied a large roll of masking tape on Mr Asks desk. I thought I could use the tape to keep the zip in position while I pinned from the right side but then I thought; maybe I could just sew it like this. I was thinking, masking tape is relatively low tack, so I didn’t think it would gum my needle and I thought that it would tear away from the stitches cleanly because it’s paper. I wasn’t sure this was going to work, so I hastily slapped some torn off bits of tape on there and took a quick photo to show my family (in case this turned into a failure and we all would laugh about it later). Had I known how good this would be, I would have stopped for some quality pics!

I whizzed over to the sewing machine and topstitched around the zipper as usual. Everything went perfectly! I actually found it a bit easier because where the washaway wonder tape holds the zipper to the seam allowance only, the masking tape extends to the main skirt. There was less shifting and that made it easier to make my stitches neat. I think it might just be my neatest zipper insertion ever! As predicted, the tape peeled away very easily, tearing away cleanly from the stitches. I didn’t need to pick anything out with tweezers at all! What I think worked well for me was having the tape extend to the main skirt, not just over the seam allowance. I had enough tape to stop shifting, including a piece below where my stitches would end.

So there you have it, you can baste a zipper with masking tape! I used totally normal masking tape, although mine was pretty wide. We always have heaps of making tape around because Mr Ask sometimes uses it to line the bed of his 3D printer. I love that this technique uses such a commonly available and cheap item! Not everyone has access to things like wash away wonder tape and it’s nice to have alternatives. I’m sure I’m not the only person to have used this method but I don’t remember seeing it anywhere. If you use this method or you give it a try, let me know!