would you recommend using a basting stitch for an invisible zipper on a mockup of a dress so that i can easily rip it out and reuse it when i make the actual dress? for context i'm making CUT/SEW 015 (the jsk) for a lolita-inspired witchy ren faire outfit. i'm only making a mockup of the skirt thus far but the one thing holding me back is that the instructions have you finish the skirt, zipper and all, before attaching the ruffles at the bottom, and i didn't want to buy two zippers when I could just reuse one. thank you <3
If you've had problems sewing in invisible zippers before, and you want some practice, then I'd put one in your mockup. I'll probably make stitch length about 3.5 (assuming 2.5 is normal and 5 is max) so that it's sturdy, but easy to remove.
When I'm doing mockups that really need a closure for me to be able to tell the fit, I use snap tape:
It's easy to sew into the space where the zipper would go. It's easy to remove and use again.
Most of the time, though, I just safety-pin the closure shut when I'm doing the fitting.
Fun fact, if you're sewing pants for someone else, sew the front of the crotch shut, and leave the back open. This is good for two things: 1) the back of the trousers usually needs more adjusting than the front, so it's faster, and 2) then you don't need to stick safety pins in anyone's crotch. Just a quick tip if you do this: tell your model that the pants WILL open up in the front, or else they spend the whole time worrying about ass-zippers.
I wish you the best of luck with cut/sew, and may your dress turn out better than mine.
