Now a days we live in a throw away society in which faulty or damaged garments simply get thrown away rather than being revamped or repaired. Lets be honest, decent, good quality clothes are not cheap so why do we throw so many things out which can be fixed easily? You can Buy Zips, threads and many other mending items either in your local haberdashery shop or online. Here at Calico Laine we sell a multitude of items which are ideal for giving your old clothes a new lease of life. One of the most common reasons for throwing out perfectly good clothes is a broken zip, people seem to think that replacing a zip is more trouble than its worth, when in fact this is a very simple alteration which can be completed in half an hour or so. The first thing you need to do when replacing a zip is determining what kind of zip you need and how long it needs to be. If your mending a coat or jacket then you'll need to buy zips which are open ended. Its always as well to buy a good quality zip, here at Calico Laine we mainly sell YKK zips which are made in the UK and are an excellent standard. Open ended zips come in chunky plastic, metal or nylon, these all work in the same manner, they just differ slightly in appearance. If your altering a zip in a pair of trousers or a dress then you'll need to buy zips which have a closed end. This simply means that the zip does not open at the bottom, this would be is unnecessary for this kind of garment. Once you've decided which kind of zip you'll need, you then need to establish what size. When you buy zips its important to remember that its only the teeth of the zips that you measure. The edging on the zips make them appear longer than they actually are, so remember to just measure the working part. When doing a zip alteration the trickiest part is always removing the old broken one, having a quick un- pick or stick ripper is essential and will save you so much time. Having the right tools and the correct zip will always make the job a lot easier. If its your favourite jacket or your best fitting jeans then it really is worth making the effort to make do and mend, you can buy zips for next to nothing so why not have a go, its worth investing half an hour in our opinion.