How to Sew Zill Elastic

Materials
Zills
Thread
Elastic (I am using 1/2” knit elastic)
Pins
Needle
Scissors

Preparing Materials
Thread your needle and cut four pieces elastic down to about an inch longer then needed to wrap around your finger. Two of the elastic pieces are for your thumb zills so be sure to measure those by the circumference of your thumb and the other two by the circumference of your middle finger. If you want you can use different colored elastic or thread for the finger and thumb zills. This can help you tell which is which if you need to put on your zills quickly.

Next, put each of the pieces of elastic through a zill so the two ends of the elastic are on the top sides of the zills. If they are on the bottom side it will be harder to sew into the bell of the zill. Also, having the sewn part in the bell can affect the way they are played since the more elastic is on the underside the more likely you are to hit the elastic when playing the zills, thereby accidentally muting them on some hits.

Measure and Pin
Hold the zill and elastic around your finger and pin it to mark where it feels like a good fit. Take it off and overlap the elastic by 1/4-3/4” and cut off the excess as needed. This is how it will get sewn down so try it on again and do a little hand shimmy to check if it will be secure. You want them to be tight enough that they won't fall off (or go flying off as a zill rocket) but not so tight that they become uncomfortable.

Sewing
Your zills are now comfortably adjusted and pinned in place with the elastic overlapping. Sew the elastic around the perimeter of the overlap. Try them all on, if everything feels comfortable and secure then you are good to go. Now its time to practice your zill drills and dancing!

The zills seen in this post are by Saroyan Mastercrafts. You can get them here. The cute squirrel pouch is handmade by Marcia Furman.  You can get one here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CinamonSquirrel.

Zills are awesome!