_How to Sew Elastic in Your Zils
By Michelle
Good fitting zils are a must when practicing and absolutely
vital when performing (this comes from someone who has lost
a zil onstage-it invariably happens within the first thirty
seconds of your zil playing. Not, of course at the end after
you've wowed everyone with your stellar playing!)
To make sure your zils fit snugly and comfortably, try the
following technique for two-hole zils (one hole technique
further on). First, cut a length of elastic long enough to fit
snugly around your finger, plus ½" for seam allowance. When I say snug, I mean you probably
will have blue fingertips after playing the first few months. In addition to keeping the zils on your
fingers, snug elastic will also ensure that the don't rotate on your hands while playing-something
equally frustrating.
Use as wide elastic as you can fit through the slots. The really narrow elastic may be easy
to feed through the slots, but will allow your zils to wobble and rotate. I usually use 3/8" wide.
Slide the ends of the elastic through the each slit on the zil, from top to bottom (so that the ends
are on the inside of the cup). Holding the ends, slide the zil on your finger and snug it up. A
friend is invaluable in this step to mark with a pen on each end of elastic where to sew. After
many years of replacing elastic, I can measure where to sew and then eyeball it rather than
marking it-you'll be able to do the same. Remove your finger from the elastic and stitch the
elastic together on your marks. I use heavy duty thread and while my stitches could never be
called neat, there are a lot of them so I will never lose a zil from too few stitches!
Next is the housekeeping step. I trim the elastic ends fairly close to the stitches, then turn
the entire elastic loop inside out so the seam allowance is toward the zil. This is a little tricky,
especially with new elastic, but it looks much neater and will snug up the elastic when you put the
zil on.
I customize my zil elastic so I have slightly larger loops on my thumbs than on my
middle fingers. To keep the zils in order, I always take them off the same way: I fold my thumbs
into my palms, then fold my fingers over my thumbs. I pull my thumbs out of my zils, put them
on top of my fingers, then pull my fingers out of my zils. I stack one hand's zils on top of the
other. When I put them on, I put on finger, thumb, finger thumb. I keep my zils in a bag just large
enough to hold them, but not so large that they jumble around and get out of order. If they do get
mixed, it’s fairly easy to judge which elastic is larger, if not by sight then by feel when you put
them on. Some dancers mark the elastic so they know which are fingers and which are thumbs,
other dancers use white elastic for one, black for the other.
For one-holed zils, cut elastic as above, feed both ends through the hole, size the elastic
as above but instead of sewing, pin with a small safety pin. (This acts as a stopper to keep the
elastic from pulling through). Again, trim the excess elastic and turn the elastic loop inside out.
Now you're ready to zil!
By Michelle
Good fitting zils are a must when practicing and absolutely
vital when performing (this comes from someone who has lost
a zil onstage-it invariably happens within the first thirty
seconds of your zil playing. Not, of course at the end after
you've wowed everyone with your stellar playing!)
To make sure your zils fit snugly and comfortably, try the
following technique for two-hole zils (one hole technique
further on). First, cut a length of elastic long enough to fit
snugly around your finger, plus ½" for seam allowance. When I say snug, I mean you probably
will have blue fingertips after playing the first few months. In addition to keeping the zils on your
fingers, snug elastic will also ensure that the don't rotate on your hands while playing-something
equally frustrating.
Use as wide elastic as you can fit through the slots. The really narrow elastic may be easy
to feed through the slots, but will allow your zils to wobble and rotate. I usually use 3/8" wide.
Slide the ends of the elastic through the each slit on the zil, from top to bottom (so that the ends
are on the inside of the cup). Holding the ends, slide the zil on your finger and snug it up. A
friend is invaluable in this step to mark with a pen on each end of elastic where to sew. After
many years of replacing elastic, I can measure where to sew and then eyeball it rather than
marking it-you'll be able to do the same. Remove your finger from the elastic and stitch the
elastic together on your marks. I use heavy duty thread and while my stitches could never be
called neat, there are a lot of them so I will never lose a zil from too few stitches!
Next is the housekeeping step. I trim the elastic ends fairly close to the stitches, then turn
the entire elastic loop inside out so the seam allowance is toward the zil. This is a little tricky,
especially with new elastic, but it looks much neater and will snug up the elastic when you put the
zil on.
I customize my zil elastic so I have slightly larger loops on my thumbs than on my
middle fingers. To keep the zils in order, I always take them off the same way: I fold my thumbs
into my palms, then fold my fingers over my thumbs. I pull my thumbs out of my zils, put them
on top of my fingers, then pull my fingers out of my zils. I stack one hand's zils on top of the
other. When I put them on, I put on finger, thumb, finger thumb. I keep my zils in a bag just large
enough to hold them, but not so large that they jumble around and get out of order. If they do get
mixed, it’s fairly easy to judge which elastic is larger, if not by sight then by feel when you put
them on. Some dancers mark the elastic so they know which are fingers and which are thumbs,
other dancers use white elastic for one, black for the other.
For one-holed zils, cut elastic as above, feed both ends through the hole, size the elastic
as above but instead of sewing, pin with a small safety pin. (This acts as a stopper to keep the
elastic from pulling through). Again, trim the excess elastic and turn the elastic loop inside out.
Now you're ready to zil!
