I have this hoodie that I’m quite attached to. It’s nothing special, but I feel so nice and cosy inside it. The problem is, I don’t really wear it because it’s a bit tight around my hips. Well I solved that problem by cutting it up the middle and adding a zip! Now it’s a zip up hoodie that I can wear un-zipped or zipped up (the zip adds a tiny bit extra to the width of the hoodie)

This project only took about 1/2 hour and I’m really happy with the result. You could do this with any old top that you think you’d get more use of as a zip up.

Make any top a Zip Up

You’ll need:
A top
An open ended zip
Sewing supplies

Measure your top from the bottom up to the neck to get the size of zipper you will need. I bought a 51cm plastic open ended zip.

Take your top and mark out a line up the middle and then cut. Be brave! I unpicked the neck a little bit first because the hood overlapped and I didn’t want to cut the hood at all.

Place your zipper halves on each side of the top right way up.

Turn each piece over. Pin them down at each end if you like pinning. You’ll be stitching the zip halves on, then folding the seam under so the zipper is right way up.

Machine baste each half of the zipper to your top about 3mm from the edge. Zip it up and make sure it sits nicely and any pattern on your top matches up. You may need to unpick and re-baste if your pattern is a bit mismatched. I had to unpick once to get the stripes to match up nicely.

When you’re happy with it, overlock or zigzag along the edge, going over your basting. This is important if your top is made from a knit fabric, so that the fabric doesn’t unravel or fray.

Fold the zip right way out and press. Make sure if your zip is plastic that you don’t iron on the zip and melt it.

Top stitch about 5mm in from the seam to make the zip sit nice and flat.

Now get into your cosy top and sit on the couch with a cup of tea!