Clothing fasteners: zippers and buttons

The zipper is a fastener composed of two rows of metal teeth or plastic teeth on each belt, which is used to connect the edge of the opening. A sliding piece can pull two rows of teeth into the interlocking position to close the opening. Zipper is a common fastener for jackets, dresses, skirts and trousers. Zippers can be made of different materials, providing different strength and flexibility, and their application range is also different. For example, "strong" zippers are usually used for jeans, while thinner zippers may be used for dresses. There are also different sub types, such as invisible zippers, in which elements are hidden behind fabrics or nylon straps, usually used for skirts. Waterproof zipper is mainly used to prevent rainwater from entering into fabric. Waterproof zipper is suitable for: down jacket, diving suit, tent, car and boat cover, raincoat and other items.

Button is the most common clothing fastener nowadays, which is often used in coat, shirt and pants. A button is a small, round thing, mainly made of plastic (including metal and other materials), sewn on fabric. There are small holes on the other side of the fabric, which can be inserted into the button to fix the two fabrics in place. A button usually has two or four holes. We can sew them and fix the button on a piece of fabric permanently.