Grommets vs Bound Eyelets

[Kate XXXXXX]

I still love my machine stitched eyelets...

I would machine stitch them in a heartbeat.   How do you do it?

Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEHnz2qS_Dc

[Butch]

I spray paint mine in a close color before I put them onto the garments.  It works quite well.  I have a 1x2 board that I've driven about 30 finishing nails into.  I place the eyelets individually (smooth side up) onto the individual nails.  I usually add about 5 or so extra to prepare for foul ups.  Anyway, I spray about 3-4 coats of paint on.  They always turn out great!

[Lady Rosalind]

I still love my machine stitched eyelets...

Every time I make a new bodice/gown/corset I wish I HAD your machine stitched eyelets!!!! 

My last bodice, I was really crunched for time, so I bit the bullet and used grommets in my silk bodice. I covered them with matching embroidery floss. After two seasons of hard wearing, high stress use, they seem to be holding up okay. The bodice is two layers of cotton drill, a layer of quilters cotton, and a layer of silk, so lots of solid material to hold onto. I used a Dritz eyelet pliers.

I still would rather have hand bound eyelets (my corset has them, and they are still PERFECT after 4 seasons)..

[Kate XXXXXX]

We have a bench mounted grommeter for when we MUST use metal grommets.  Works a treat on Victorian corsets.  We keep the eyelets/grommets as small as we can.

[Rowan MacD]

  After doing 20 of these last night, I can say that while they are certainly smaller and  much less noticeable than grommets, maintaining the integrity of the hole was a minor pain,  I had to use the awl more than once to open a hole back up when it got too small while whip stitching.
    I ran across an article last night that mentions using a metal reinforcing ring around the fabric hole; then stitching it in place.  I think that might be a good idea...The result would be a bit neater than the results I have.  Fortunately, I am using black embroidery silk on black and gold fabric.  You can hardly see the holes as it is.   

[operafantomet]

  After doing 20 of these last night, I can say that while they are certainly smaller and  much less noticeable than grommets, maintaining the integrity of the hole was a minor pain,  I had to use the awl more than once to open a hole back up when it got too small while whip stitching.
    I ran across an article last night that mentions using a metal reinforcing ring around the fabric hole; then stitching it in place.  I think that might be a good idea...   

THAT is definitely period. It's how the lacing holes of Eleonora di Toledo's funeral dress was made. I think there's a picture of it in the book "Moda alla corte dei Medici".