Would a hook and eye at the top of the zipper, to hold the top of the fabric together and take the pressure off the zipper, work for you? I've had great success with it for zippers that like to be more burlesque than I'm ready for.
Probably not, in this case. It's the fly in a pair of pants and there's already a bar hook and a button in the waistband. I have the exact same style in another color and don't have this problem with the zipper in those, so this particular zipper seems to be cranky.
The only thing short of replacing it in my experience is to pin the zipper closed with a safety pin and then just figure in extra time when you go to the bathroom to unpin yourself ;)
I recommend that you get the cheapest dress form you can find in ANY SIZE and then you modify it by padding it with "whatever" and covering it with duct tape. This allows you to: A. Be thrifty (I use one I got for FREE) B. Adjust the form to PRECISELY your size (they don't come in my size unless I'm willing to pay a ridiiiiiculous price)
Zipper: if the hardware is the problem, unfortunately, it needs to be replaced. The only thing you can do is put a large safety pin under the toggle of the zipper pull when it's in the "full upright position" and then take that pin in/out every time you need to pull the zipper down. It ain't pretty or convenient, but then neither is replacing the zipper in a pair of jeans.
Just get the cheapest dress form that's in the right general size, ideally a little smaller. As noted, you can pad it up pretty easily -- get an old T-shirt & a bag of batting (very cheap @ Jo-Ann's), stuff to your measurements & secure w/duct tape.
Even easier is to make a duct-tape dummy (I suspect that's been linked here; if not, search on that phrase & you'll find tons of instructions). 3 rolls of duct tape, an old T-shirt, you in your best-fitting bra, & a friend to tape you up. Then a bunch of batting afterwards. I've done that successfully too. If you want to use it for hemming tho, you'll need to rig up a stand from hardware store bits.
The non-squishy dress forms can be s'times be found at Jo-Ann's for around $100 -- if you're on on the mailing list, get on it for the 40% off coupon. Also check Craigslist, ya never know.
See, you all have a different definition of "easy" than I do--"easy" is "I give somebody money and get what I need." :) I've known about the duct-tape version for *years*, but frankly, it doesn't look easy to me at all (especially since it requires measuring, which is 70% of the reason I don't construct in the first place, my numbers abilities are truly dismal).
I'm definitely going to look for a used one, but they don't seem to turn up in the right sizes when I actually have money to buy them.
There's no measuring in a duct-tape dress dummy -- just have someone else wrap you up in duct tape (once you're in a T-shirt). No measuring of anything; at most, estimating how many rolls of duct tape to buy :-) 3 worked for me.
If you want to get fancy, they can draw lines from top to bottom & side to side to make the final form squared up, but since you're only using this for alterations, not for exact measurements & fit, that's not important.
I am on the prowl for one as well. All I have heard is that the adjustable ones from JoAnns will pretty reliably break, so you might want to stay way from those.
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~Aramada
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Also? Lovely pictures!
~Aramada
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Yeah, I know it's not an awesome suggestion
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A. Be thrifty (I use one I got for FREE)
B. Adjust the form to PRECISELY your size (they don't come in my size unless I'm willing to pay a ridiiiiiculous price)
Zipper: if the hardware is the problem, unfortunately, it needs to be replaced. The only thing you can do is put a large safety pin under the toggle of the zipper pull when it's in the "full upright position" and then take that pin in/out every time you need to pull the zipper down. It ain't pretty or convenient, but then neither is replacing the zipper in a pair of jeans.
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It looks like the adjustible kind (not my favorite) run around $100-150, and the industry-standard kind is about $400 and up
I think Dress Rite's base model is probably the most affordable I've seen so far http://www.dressriteforms.com/files/Base_Form_-_Female.pdf
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Even easier is to make a duct-tape dummy (I suspect that's been linked here; if not, search on that phrase & you'll find tons of instructions). 3 rolls of duct tape, an old T-shirt, you in your best-fitting bra, & a friend to tape you up. Then a bunch of batting afterwards. I've done that successfully too. If you want to use it for hemming tho, you'll need to rig up a stand from hardware store bits.
The non-squishy dress forms can be s'times be found at Jo-Ann's for around $100 -- if you're on on the mailing list, get on it for the 40% off coupon. Also check Craigslist, ya never know.
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I'm definitely going to look for a used one, but they don't seem to turn up in the right sizes when I actually have money to buy them.
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If you want to get fancy, they can draw lines from top to bottom & side to side to make the final form squared up, but since you're only using this for alterations, not for exact measurements & fit, that's not important.
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