How zippers are made

A zipper works because a Y-shaped channel in the slider forces two rows of teeth to mesh as it moves.

stations: 6
things upstream: 45
raw sources: 16
steps from the ground: 8

The short version

A zipper is a slider running along two rows of interlocking teeth, each row attached to a strip of fabric tape. Factories weave the tape, form the teeth from coiled plastic filament or molded metal or plastic, fasten them on, then add stops and the slider. Coil zippers form the bulk of sales worldwide.

Weave the tape

Narrow fabric tape is woven in long ribbons. The tape is what is sewn into the garment, so it needs to be sturdy and to take dye.

Goes in
Polyester
Form the teeth

For coil zippers, a nylon or polyester filament is wound into a spiral. For metal zippers, individual teeth are molded from brass, aluminium or nickel. Plastic-molded zippers use plastic teeth, most often polyacetal resin.

Goes in
Nylon Brass
Fix the teeth to the tape

Coils are stitched along the edge of the tape, and metal or plastic teeth are clamped on at regular spacing. Gideon Sundbäck's design from the early twentieth century packed in ten or eleven teeth per inch, compared with four before.

Goes in
Sewing thread
Dye the tape

Tape and coil are dyed to match the garment. Plastic teeth can be made in any color, and metal teeth can be painted.
Add the stops and slider

Stops are fitted at the top and bottom to keep the slider on the chain. The slider is threaded on, and its pull tab is attached.

Goes in
Aluminum
Cut to length and pack

Long chains are cut to the lengths ordered, and the zippers are counted and packed.

End of the lineZipper Next it goes into down jacket, raincoat, leather handbag and 3 more.

Worth repeating

Whitcomb L. Judson patented a Shoe-Fastening in 1893 and a clasp-locker design the same year, an early ancestor of the zipper.
The name zipper was first used by the B. F. Goodrich Company in 1923 for its rubber boots.
In 2025, the company YKK announced a tapeless zipper whose teeth attach directly to the garment fabric.