How to Sew a Curved Zipper With a Screen

X-HT-300532

You love spending time on your boat. The sun, waves and breeze are all relaxing, fun and much-loved parts of the boating experience. But what's not so well loved? Bugs! Bugs flying into your boat enclosure and buzzing annoyingly can ruin an otherwise great outing. But not anymore! In today's how-to video, we'll show you how to sew a curved zipper in your window with a permanent screen. Keep bugs out when your enclosure windows are rolled up with this useful DIY tutorial.

Video Chapters:

Marking Clear Vinyl Window Material — 0:48 min.
Basting First Bias Binding Strip — 2:05 min.
Testing Thread Tension — 5:33 min.
Sewing Inside Edge of First Binding Strip — 7:04 min.
Marking & Pre-Shrinking Zipper — 9:11 min.
Basting & Sewing First Half of Zipper — 12:08 min.
Basting Mesh Fabric & Second Binding Strip — 17:20 min.
Sewing Mesh Fabric & Binding — 21:21 min.
Basting & Sewing Second Half of Zipper — 23:44 min.
Slitting Clear Vinyl — 33:09 min.
How to Remove Seamstick Residue — 36:39 min.
Materials & Tools List — 37:47 min.

Materials List:

Clear Vinyl Window Material from Sailrite (we used Strataglass™ 30 Gauge) #791
Seamstick 1/4" Basting Tape for Canvas & Upholstery (36 yds.) #122065
Seamstick 3/8" Basting Tape for Canvas (36 yds.) #122064
Bias Binding Tape 3/4" from Sailrite (we used Sunbrella^® Acrylic Bias Binding Tape Black) #29138
Tex 90 Polyester or Lifetime Thread from Sailrite
YKK^® Continuous Zipper Chain #10 Black (Coil Chain) #102215
YKK^® Zipper Slider #10 Black Metal Single Non‑Locking Pull (Coil Chain) #102216
Fiberglass Mesh Charcoal 60" Fabric #103122 or Phifertex^® Standard Vinyl Mesh Fabric

Tools List:

Clear Acrylic Ruler 6" x 24" #102400
Scribe‑All^® Black Marking Pencil for Vinyl #121977
Gingher^® 8" Scissors Right Handed #19104
Sailrite^® Ultrafeed^® LSZ Walking Foot Sewing Machine #311602
Sailrite^® Ultrafeed^® Industrial Sewing Table #120934
Chalk Pencil Cartridge Set #121669
Scratch Awl Yellow #2354
Seam Ripper Deluxe #18104
3M™ Specialty Adhesive Remover 32 oz. (Quart) #108984

Even if you're a beginner sewer, you'll be able to tackle this project. Our tutorial walks you through each part of the patterning, basting and sewing process in clear detail without skipping any steps. We chose a fiberglass mesh fabric for our window screen. This tightly woven fiberglass screen is designed to keep out mosquitos and even small insects like no-see-ums or midges.

Another choice for your window screen is Phifertex^® Standard Vinyl Mesh. Phifertex is a highly UV-resistant mesh fabric that will last longer in the sun than the fiberglass mesh fabric we chose. While Phifertex is great for keeping out mosquitos, it won't keep out the smaller insects like midges and no-see-ums. It's up to you which mesh fabric you choose for your window screen — whether you value UV resistance and screen longevity over keeping out small bugs. You can order a small sample of our mesh fabrics if you'd like to see the fabric in person before making a decision. Just click "Order Sample" on the fabric product page to add a sample to your shopping cart.

Watch the video to learn how to sew a curved zipper in a vinyl window with a screen.

We also have a video on installing a curved zipper in window material without a screen. If you'd like to watch that video, search for "How to Install a No-Leak Curved Zipper in a Vinyl Window" (#300531XHT) on the Sailrite website.

Thanks for watching! We hope this video solved the pesky bug problem in your boat enclosure. What did you think of this DIY? Share your thoughts in the comments below!