Zipperless Skirt

Every so often while thrift shopping, I’ll find a skirt that has no zipper. The first time I noticed it, I thought it was a mistake or that someone had taken out the zipper, but on closer examination I realized that it was supposed to be that way. This initially perplexed me because I’m so used to seeing zippers used as closures on my garments, and not having one seemed odd.

But of course garments were made without zippers before zippers were invented. [Pause.] Obviously. For centuries people constructed clothing with closures other than zippers. Buttons are an obvious choice (and great if you want a decorative detail), but eyes and hooks work as well (and they’re cheaper).

I’ve made a number of skirts before, but all of them had zippers. Not this one that I made from a pattern from 1980. I decided to try this pattern that just uses eyes and hooks for the closure; the pocket creates enough of an overlap with the skirt that you don’t flash anyone. The skirt is a circle skirt with a bit of gathering, and isn’t much different than skirts I’ve made in the past. The part that was new to me was sewing the pockets to the skirt (and then to the waistband) in the correct way. It wasn’t hard, but it did make me pause to make sure I was doing it right.

Overall I’m happy with this cotton skirt. It’s simple and comfortable (and I always love navy). And I think I’ll get some good use out of it in the warmer months to come.