Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Eyelet Tutorial

It appears that our new Eyelet Pliers don't come with instructions, so here's a quick tutorial to show you JUST HOW EASY it is to set eyelets with them. 1. Mark the spot where you want to place the eyelet.
2. Punch or cut a small hole in the centre of the marking.

TIP 1: The easiest thing for the job is a SADDLER'S PUNCH, pictured above (we'll have them on the website within the next day or two. BTW- they're handy for making PURSE FEET holes, too!). Or you can try any other punching/cutting tool that you know will make a less-than-6mm hole in your fabric.

Tip 2: It's better to err on the side of the hole being too small, rather than too big. You don't want a wobbly eyelet that's going to fall out within a week or two!!! A 4mm hole will do the trick for a 6mm holed eyelet.
3. Push an eyelet through from the right side of fabric.

4. Place a washer over the back of the back of the fabric (where the cylindrical end of the eyelet is poking through). Make sure that the RAISED curve of the washer is facing up, and press it down over the fabric so that you can clearly see the end of the eyelet poking through the washer.
5. Line up the pliers with the flat side of the pliers on the FRONT of the eyelet (on the right side of fabric) and the side with the LUMP in the middle goes to the BACK (washer) side, as shown in the pic below. I know this LOOKS wrong, but it's not. Double-check that the eyelet and washer are still aligned and..... 6. SQUEEZE! Check that the centre of the eyelet has rolled sufficiently over the the washer to make the eyelet secure.
TIP 3: Eyelets prefer a bit of thickness in the fabric. The thinner your fabric the more the eyelet will crack as it rolls over the washer. The more it rolls and cracks the rougher the back of the eyelet will be. This isn't necessarily a problem - just something to be aware of if the back of eyelets are placed where they could rub on skin or delicate fabric.
Left: This is the back of the eyelet on a strap with interfacing in it
Right: This is the back of an eyelet in a thin fabric strap (same fabric but no interfacing)
And this is the FRONT of the eyelet.... swish, huh?
I don't know about you, but I LOVE a bit of metal on a bag....

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nikki,
you make it look very easy...will have to check it out when I come visit
Sharon

Ayama-chan said...

Hi, breezed in through Google after wanting to know how to use eyelet pliers (no instructions). Love how there were pictures for an eedjit like me. Thanks a bunch. :D

Anonymous said...

This is cool. I thought I need to have a metal piece to do this. The "scissor" like equipment is easier to keep and manage!!!! One problem I cant troublesghoot is using of riverts. I always damage the nice rounded tops when I fit them. I have 1 type of rivert that does not (they are thicker) but I cant get then anymore. I have used the metal piece that match the rivert to hit it but still it leave marks.
Fauzi
baggiebunny.blogspot.com

frutejuce said...

Yep! I agree you can't beat a bit of metal on a bag!

Shannon said...

Hi, I am trying to put eyelets in the top of a shower curtain and set of curtains, and even had my husband hammering- and the eyelet isn't bending over the back! Any ideas? thanks!

Carrie and Spencer said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial. It was my first time putting an eyelet on a project and I was more than lost. Your directions were so simple and easy to understand. Thank you!!

Susie said...

Thank you! This was really helpful, the instructions on these things are never very helpful. :)

Unknown said...

thank you, i can't wait to do this. Can I use scrapbooking eyelets on fabric? I saw a lot of colorful eyelets on ebay for cheap.