I am the proud custodian of an eclectic collection of old zips. Old as in bought and never used or cut out of clothes and saved by my mum, an avid sewer. There are two with the price stamped on the packaging in old money which dates them to pre-decimalisation (1971).

The collection gets rummaged through every so often when a zip is required for some project or other. Occasionally I take them out of their drawer just to look at them and seek inspiration. They mostly have metal teeth and cotton tape. I love the sturdy feel of them, although they are more prone to loosing teeth than their plastic counterparts. The puller designs are pretty nifty too. The main brands as far as I can make out are lightning and YKK.

A lovely metal toothed zip with brown tape was perfect for the checked wool coat I made for my daughter last spring. A long green zip was the inspiration for this felt kindle case; a Valentine’s present for my better half.