A leather zipper pull is the perfect finishing touch to any bag project, and it takes exactly one rivet to set. Two ways to do it: double-cap, or tubular.
Our brass YKK zippers have a large hole in the slider meant specifically to accommodate a leather pull! The pulls come pre-punched with rivet holes, so all you’re really doing is lining up two holes and setting one rivet. Ellie demonstrates both ways below, with a double-cap rivet and with a tubular.
What You’ll Need
- A leather zipper pull. Ours come in packs of 20 in assorted colors and weights, 4½" x ⅜", about 2" long once installed, and pre-punched with rivet holes. Seconds leather zipper pulls: some of them are a little squiggly, but you’ll hardly notice once they’re installed.
- A zipper with a large hole in the slider.
- One rivet, double-cap or tubular.
- A mallet and a hard surface. For a double-cap, a granite slab does the job. For a tubular you’ll also want a tubular rivet peening tool.
Setting a Zipper Pull With a Double-Cap Rivet
- Thread the leather zipper pull through the slider.
- Put a small rivet in. Push the stem through the two holes in the leather zipper pull, then put a cap on it.
- Take it to the stone and the hammer and set it. You just really want to make sure that you can get your slider to lay flat on the stone as you’re setting it, so you don’t get a crooked rivet.
- Start light, then a little bit heavier as it starts to set.
And there you have it! Your finished leather zipper pull.
Setting a Zipper Pull With a Tubular Rivet
- Thread the leather pull into the slider, and align the two holes in the pull.
- Grab a tubular rivet and put it through the two holes in the leather zipper pull.
- Make sure the top of the tubular rivet is on top when the zipper slider is faced down. Sometimes folks accidentally put it in the other way round, and then the back of the tubular rivet shows up on the front of the zipper.
- Go to your hard surface and grab your tubular rivet peening tool and your mallet. Hang the zipper off the side of the hard surface. You really want to make sure the tubular rivet is laying flat.
- Hold the peening tool on top of the rivet and set it with your mallet.
Ellie reaches for a small rivet here. ▶️ Bag Making Rivets 101 covers how to size one to your material, and which type to use where.
Hands down, our favorite zippers for bag making. They even have a large hole in the slider for a leather zipper pull.
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