4 Easy Steps to Sew an Invisible Zipper into a Pillow

Invisible-Zipper tutorial: these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. suzyquilts.com

Ah, the invisible zipper. At first glance, it looks intimidating and daunting. But we're here to bust that myth — not only are they NOT hard to install, you can easily sew an invisible zipper into a pillow in just 4 easy steps thanks to this tutorial!

The beauty of the invisible zipper is that you won't see it, if it's installed correctly. This makes it a common finish in pillows as well as garments. The teeth of the zipper are very fine, and the invisible zipper foot on your machine allows you to sew right up against them, hiding the zipper tape inside your pillow.

Invisible-Zipperthese 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. suzyquilts.com

Invisible Zipper Tutorial Supplies

Before we get started, I need to gush a little bit over the fabric I'm using. I am typically not a "groovy pastels" kind of girl, but let me tell you, this AGF collection, Flower Bloom completely won me over. That roller skates fabric literally brought me back to my childhood (mind you, I'm a 90's kid) and it was so fun to mix in a little flower power and rhythmic expression to coordinate.

I quilted my front and back panels using wavy horizontal and vertical lines — is anybody else getting lava lamp vibes?

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com
Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com
Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Step 1: Press the Invisible Zipper

First, unzip your invisible zipper. Lay it out on your ironing board or pressing mat with the zipper up. Use your iron (on a low heat setting) to press the teeth away from the zipper tape so that they lay flat instead of curling up.

Trending patterns!

Repeat for the other side of the zipper. This step may seem silly, but I promise it makes the installation process easier and gives it a better finish!

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Step 2: Attach the Zipper to the Front Panel

Next, lay your pillow's front panel right side up. Place your invisible zipper along the bottom edge right side down. The end of the zipper tape should be about 3" from the right edge of the panel.

Pin in place so that the edge of the zipper is aligned with the bottom edge of the panel. Make a mark on the zipper with an invisible marking tool 2" from the left edge. 

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

With your invisible zipper foot installed on your machine, slip the zipper teeth into the left groove of the invisible zipper foot. Begin sewing approximately 1" from the end of your zipper (it's really not possible to get right up to the stop since the zipper pull blocks it.)

Backstitch to secure, then sew along the edge of the zipper, stopping at the mark you made on the other end of the zipper. Backstitch to secure.

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Step 3: Attach the Zipper to the Back Panel

Next, place your back panel right sides together with your front panel, aligning the edges. Then, pin the other side of the invisible zipper to the edge of the back panel, as shown above.

Make a mark on your zipper where your seam started on the front panel. This mark is where you'll start sewing for the back panel. On the other end, make a mark on the other side of the zipper aligned with the original mark. This is where you'll stop sewing. Use your invisible zipper foot to attach the zipper to the back panel just like you attached it to the front panel in Step 2.

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com
Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Step 4: Sew The Pillow Closed

This is the last step in the invisible zipper tutorial! Whaaat? YES! You're nearly finished! 

First things first, let's deal with the excess zipper overhang. Zip your zipper halfway shut. Bend the extra zipper tape down at a 45° angle on both ends of the zipper, and stick a pin in it to hold it in place.

See where your seam from installing the zipper begins and ends? Those are the spots where we will begin and end sewing around the perimeter of the pillow. Starting on the lefthand side, backstitch several times to reinforce, then sew around the perimeter of the pillow using a 1/2" seam allowance.

When you get back to the other point on the other end of the zipper, backstitch in place a few times to reinforce. Be sure not to sew into the invisible zipper or the overhang.

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Trim the excess zipper tape about 1/4" from the marked line.

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com

Clip the corners to reduce bulk.

Invisible-Zipperthese 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. suzyquilts.com

Turn your pillow cover right side out, pop in the pillow insert, and zip that dazzling invisible zipper closed! See? That wasn't so hard! With this new skill in your toolbox, I'm sure you'll find many other projects to try it out on.

Invisible zippers don't need to be intimidating — these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. www.suzyquilts.com
Invisible-Zipper tutorial: these 4 easy steps will walk you through sewing an invisible zipper into a pillow. suzyquilts.com

7 thoughts on “4 Easy Steps to Sew an Invisible Zipper into a Pillow

  1. Clara Gonzalez says:

    I have never tried putting a zipper on my pillows, but your lesson seems simple and I plan to try putting the invisible zipper on my next one

  2. Anita says:

    Love your instructions, but wish that you would do tutorials on the projects. So much easier to follow from pictures, for those of us who are visual learners!

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