Because you can never have too many posts about grommets!

[Kate XXXXXX]

That doesn't form eyelets in quite the same way...  The gadget works by grabbing the fabric and worrying it back and forth, like a terrier with a rat!  All the stitches are zigzaged in the same right-left manner, with no turning of the cloth, and the eyelet is basically a round buttonhole.  With the eyelet plate for the Husqvarna, Bernina, and Pfaff machines, you cut the hole, place it over the post up the middle, and zigzag over the edge, pivoting the fabric round the post and covering the cut edge as you turn.  It makes a much more durable eyelet, much closer to the hand stitched sort.

I know some folk swear by those old buttonholers, but I've found that, while they are great fun and very Heath Robibsonesque (and, with care, much easier on the hands than 43 hand worked ones!), the quality of buttonhole is nothing like as good as that from a good swing needle mechanical machine, nor from a properly adjusted and maintained electronic machine, and not what I'd dare sell to my customers.

[jcbanner]

try punching a smaller hole then needed and strech the fabric gently around the grommet.

[UrsulaChandler]

I always cut the initial hole for grommets with my leather punch using a relatively small size and work the grommet into the hole before hammering it together with tool that was included with the grommets. This way a minimal amount of the threads are cut.

I've used Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby various brands and sizes and I've never had a grommet fall out.  But I've laced many people up and seen the grommets coming loose.

I've thought about it and realized what is going on. I dress peasant and most of the people I help are dressing noble. I don't wear a corset and put all of my support into the fabric of my bodice. Which includes fashion fabric on the outside, plain broadcloth lining on the inside and a heavy duck cloth in the middle. So my grommets have a lot of fabric to grip.

My noble friends use corsets so the bodices of their gowns are the minimal amount of fabric, usually just the fashion fabric and a thin lining. The grommets just don't have enough to hold on to. I've even seen a corset lose grommets because it was just two layers of thin fabric stitched around the boning.

I recommend adding a panel or two of a heavy fabric to the part of the garb that you mean to put grommets in to give them support and enough material to hold.

Now about that rusting issue... maybe I should be a little more selective about the kinds of grommets. Anyone have any advice?

[LadyElizabeth]

See now, I don't get how people wearing noble can not re-inforce their outer layers... maybe its just me and my giant tata's, but seriously.  I have to have 2 corsets to truly get the completely flat look of the Elizabethan era!

Hats off to you hand sewn holes ladies, but I'm not a person with lots of spare time on her hands and I just don't have the patients.  I'd MUCH rather had tons of beautiful beads all over my dresses than spend my time sewing holes.  I'm hoping to get a serger one of these days that would have the ability to do these holes for me... I've heard there are machines out there that do that.  Total side note here, but does anyone know of a good brand?

[Kate XXXXXX]

A serger will not sew eyelets.  You need an 'ordinary' sewing machine that will take an eyelet plate.  If you look up the thread aways, there are pix of my machine's eyelet plate in use, plus some others.

[UrsulaChandler]

See now, I don't get how people wearing noble can not re-inforce their outer layers... maybe its just me and my giant tata's, but seriously.  I have to have 2 corsets to truly get the completely flat look of the Elizabethan era!

Now that you mention it I realize that the ladies I had trouble lacing were in their first gowns. They really were depending on that corset to hold everything together. 

[DonaCatalina]

See now, I don't get how people wearing noble can not re-inforce their outer layers... maybe its just me and my giant tata's, but seriously.  I have to have 2 corsets to truly get the completely flat look of the Elizabethan era!

Hats off to you hand sewn holes ladies, but I'm not a person with lots of spare time on her hands and I just don't have the patience.  I'd MUCH rather had tons of beautiful beads all over my dresses than spend my time sewing holes.  I'm hoping to get a serger one of these days that would have the ability to do these holes for me... I've heard there are machines out there that do that.  Total side note here, but does anyone know of a good brand?

I don't bone my gowns but that doesn't mean they are not reinforced. I have steel boning in my corsets and a 1/4" thick wooden busk in the front. This means I have plenty of support from the corset. My bodices are lined with heavy army tent weight canvas. The fabric is ~1/8" thick. This is why I don't have to put metal grommets in my dresses. I just use round button holes.

[Miranda]

Most of my support is in my corset as well.  However I still put a bit of boning into my bodices, to keep them smooth.
Its like 4 or 5 bones.  And all bodices are interlined with two layers of pre-washed cotton drill.
The reason grommets are prone to working out is that they are in their very nature a separate piece added to the fabric, where as a stitched eyelet or buttonhole becomes essentially part of the garment.

That being said the more durable the fabric the less likely grommets are to pull out. 

Hats off to you hand sewn holes ladies, but I'm not a person with lots of spare time on her hands and I just don't have the patients.  I'd MUCH rather had tons of beautiful beads all over my dresses than spend my time sewing holes.  I'm hoping to get a serger one of these days that would have the ability to do these holes for me... I've heard there are machines out there that do that.  Total side note here, but does anyone know of a good brand?

That's where I disagree.  You can still have you beads and your eyelets too.  And if you have the patience to bead, eyelets are a walk in the park.  With practice you can stitch an eyelet nearly as quickly as setting a grommet.
It's really a matter of what's important to you, and what your priorities are.  As I sincerely believe eyelets are better for the long term use and wear of my costumes, are less jarring to the eye, and more period I will stick to those.  If these details, coupled with my anal retentiveness to have everything as close to perfect as possible, mean that I only produce a handful of pieces per year, I don't mind, because I know they will be pieces that I will be wearing years from now.

[Manwariel]

This doesn't need a whole topic so I thought I'd post it here: Yesterday I found a plier kit at Wal-Mart for inserting eyelets and snaps. It's this one: http://www.nextag.com/DRITZ-Prym-Gripper-Pliers-540442116/prices-html?nxtg=c00e0a1c0531-B9A84FB2469EC059

It's only $8 at Wal-Mart. I tried it out today and it works beautifully. You can punch a hole in the fabric with it and then put the eyelet in. When I use a hammer, the eyelets get rather squashed and they usually don't split evenly, but this puts them in perfectly. (The fabric scrap I used to test it was pretty thin; I don't know if fabric thickness makes a difference)

[Artemisia]

Dritz grommets are cheap and I could never use the whack-a-grommet tool correctly.

I own a HomePro LR Tool.

The best tool in the world to set grommets. It also crimps your spiral boning, rivets, sets eyelets and more. I got mine on Ebay from this store: http://stores.ebay.com/FAIRE-LADY-DESIGNS
She sells the tool with different grommet and die combinations. She also sells grommets by the gross.

I use an awl to separate the threads to insert the bottom grommet. Then into the tool it goes. Smooth action. Simple as pie. Mmmmm....pie....

I can sew eyelets by hand but it takes time and patience. It's hard for me to get the tension right. My next grand idea is to sew embroidery floss around the grommet to disguise it as an eyelet.

[Artemisia]

This doesn't need a whole topic so I thought I'd post it here: Yesterday I found a plier kit at Wal-Mart for inserting eyelets and snaps. It's this one: http://www.nextag.com/DRITZ-Prym-Gripper-Pliers-540442116/prices-html?nxtg=c00e0a1c0531-B9A84FB2469EC059

It's only $8 at Wal-Mart. I tried it out today and it works beautifully. You can punch a hole in the fabric with it and then put the eyelet in. When I use a hammer, the eyelets get rather squashed and they usually don't split evenly, but this puts them in perfectly. (The fabric scrap I used to test it was pretty thin; I don't know if fabric thickness makes a difference)

Fabric thickness will make a difference. I have that same tool and it sits in the drawer. It never worked for me with canvas fabric. I can see where it would work great with thin fabric. Word to the wise: do not punch a hole in the fabric, which causes the fabric to weaken. Separate the threads with an awl and insert the eyelet.

[Lorraine]

I have that grommet press too, but somehow the little black metal piece that holds down the spring broke off. The spring never worked correctly anyway, but now it doesn't function at all, I have to manually pull the rod up to put the fabric in and then lift it again after I've used the press. Rather frustrating to spend $80 on something that breaks after a few months >.<

[Artemisia]

I have that grommet press too, but somehow the little black metal piece that holds down the spring broke off. The spring never worked correctly anyway, but now it doesn't function at all, I have to manually pull the rod up to put the fabric in and then lift it again after I've used the press. Rather frustrating to spend $80 on something that breaks after a few months >.<

Did you set the screw under the handle at the right height? I know that can cause the tool to break if you set it too low, which would cause unnecessary pressure on the die and spring.

Oo! I found the manufacturer website: http://americantag.nu-designs.us
Maybe you can call them and get a new metal piece and spring.

[Manwariel]

This doesn't need a whole topic so I thought I'd post it here: Yesterday I found a plier kit at Wal-Mart for inserting eyelets and snaps. It's this one: http://www.nextag.com/DRITZ-Prym-Gripper-Pliers-540442116/prices-html?nxtg=c00e0a1c0531-B9A84FB2469EC059

It's only $8 at Wal-Mart. I tried it out today and it works beautifully. You can punch a hole in the fabric with it and then put the eyelet in. When I use a hammer, the eyelets get rather squashed and they usually don't split evenly, but this puts them in perfectly. (The fabric scrap I used to test it was pretty thin; I don't know if fabric thickness makes a difference)

Fabric thickness will make a difference. I have that same tool and it sits in the drawer. It never worked for me with canvas fabric. I can see where it would work great with thin fabric. Word to the wise: do not punch a hole in the fabric, which causes the fabric to weaken. Separate the threads with an awl and insert the eyelet.

I tried it on four layers of a somewhat thicker fabric and it punched through them all, but if using an awl is better for the fabric, I'll see if we have one around here somewhere. I don't use canvas fabric, anyway, so that's not a problem right now.

[Lorraine]

I set the spring before I started using it, mainly it would get stuck in the fabric and not spring back up, so I would have to pry the spring back up. Thanks for the website, I'll be sure to check for parts