Marcy J.

How do you prepare the zipper for zipper tab pouches? I have made several pouches, but still not comfortable with determining the length and where to cut zipper at either end.

Onebyone

I sew the zipper in then cut to fit. I don't know what type of tab pouches you make. Mine the zipper is laying flat on both sides when sewing then cut off each end. I don't keep the stops on the zipper if the ends are in the seams.

GingerK

I prefer to have a tab on the ends of the zipper. I will sew a tab at least 1 inch long, on to one end (usually the one where the pull will be when the zip is closed because that is the hardest one to get nice and tight) Then I lay the zip on the fabric for the pouch and determine where the other end of the zip should end. I sew a similar length tab on that end before cutting the zip. ( the longer the tab, the more wiggle room you have. A 1 inch tab will yield about 1/3 to 1/2 inch visible tab after being sewn to the zipper and into a seam. )