I just finished the bodice for my first garb (will post pic in the next day or so) and it required 28 grommets. LOL not H/A, but I liked the pattern. (And I hate to admit it, but the look of all those nice shiney grommets in neat little rows really appeals to me).
But anyway, it took me FOREVER to put in all those grommets, and I had to marvel at how much longer it would have taken me to actually sew them in by hand. My hat goes off to all of you that strive for accuracy, and have the patience to do this. I could never do it.
I'm sure the grommet company will never go out of business, as long as I'm around!
Personally, I hand sew eyelets because me and grommets have issues with each other... I'll be the first to admit to not caring about h/a ( I prefer my faerie garb). My newer faerie bodice is one with the 2 separate front panels and it was 30ish eyelets to sew. I worked on it at lunch and in the evenings for a few weeks!
Can't wait to see your pics!
With practice it gets to the point when you can stitch an eyelet nearly as quickly as setting a grommet. Another plus...I can put in my eyelets at midnight, without waking up my roommate or neighbors with pounding.
My effigy bodies have 52 eyelets ( laced up front and back) and took me about 3.5 hours to finish the lacing holes.
Congrats on finishing your garb though...its a nice feeling of accomplishment.
Quotebut the look of all those nice shiney grommets in neat little rows really appeals to me
Me, too! I *love* my fairwear bodices b/c of this! They're like ring belts, boots, and skirt hikes--part of the Fair look, having nothing at all to do with H/A.
This is why I went to lacing rings. It's easier then eyelets and it doesn't tear the fabric up like grommets. It's the best of all worlds! ::)
I love the look of grommets honestly, but for some reason i found that stitching eyelets makes me happy... good for the soul (which is my favorite phrase right now) so if it's bought goods i would get grommets (as long as it's fairewear, if i'm striving for any kind of h/a-ness i'll stitch em myself if need be.... ) if it's something i made i have grommet issues so I will be happy to stitch them
Quote from: Lady Caroline on July 23, 2008, 04:11:56 PM
I just finished the bodice for my first garb (will post pic in the next day or so) and it required 28 grommets. LOL not H/A, but I liked the pattern. (And I hate to admit it, but the look of all those nice shiney grommets in neat little rows really appeals to me).
But anyway, it took me FOREVER to put in all those grommets, and I had to marvel at how much longer it would have taken me to actually sew them in by hand. My hat goes off to all of you that strive for accuracy, and have the patience to do this. I could never do it.
I'm sure the grommet company will never go out of business, as long as I'm around!
Oh, Lady Caroline, I am so right there with you!!
I don't have the patience for hand sewing to begin with and the daunting task of sewing eyelets just gives me the shudders. Also, I guess I don't trust my own hand sewing and the bound eyelets holding up.
Definately - kudos to all of you who can do it.
I have done both in the past, sew in eyelets by hand as well as pound in grommets.
I take the easy way out and take everything that needs grommeting to the Shoe Repair. Covering grommets is a lot easier now with a sharp needle and some good Crewle thread.
Hi, I am new (to forums, faire, and sewing garb) I had my 1st experience with grommets last week while working on dd garb. The grommetter and I have not gotten along very well and I had to go back to the store for more grommets. However I am not skilled enough to sew eyelets by hand so I better improve my grommeting.
For those of you who think you don't have the skill for handsewing eyelets, trust me, it doesn't take much to essentially go around in circles. I avoid handsewing as much as possible but find eyelets pretty simple. I even explained it to my 13 yo neice when she wanted to fix her bodice (grommets pulled out). she figured it out in about 20 minutes and has never sewn in her life.
Yeah...I've done both too, but for me, pounding grommets is so much more fun! It's cheap therapy! :D
Quote from: Lady Annue Brandywine on July 24, 2008, 10:20:11 AM
. The grommetter and I have not gotten along very well and I had to go back to the store for more grommets.
Same here! Except I just gave back the horrible grommeter, got my money refunded, and bought the ones that come with the little metal hammer piece. So much easier! One or two whacks, and voila!
I love the *whack*!! :D
yeah - the pliers looking Dritz eyelet/grommet thing is for the birds. So bad for so many reasons....
Lady Annue Brandywine...
Hello and welcome to the forums!
A note about the grommets from the store. Please use care. If you are buying the ones from JoAnn's they just aren't sturdy enough to hold up to faireware. There are folks here that make them work and have had great luck, but me, every time I'd set one it would split and then cut up my fabric. Quite possibly (or should I say probably), operator error on my part. lol
Now, the ONLY kind I use are from www.grannd.com (http://www.grannd.com) Grannd has the grommets (size 00) and a good setting kit. I can pound out a whole bodice in less than 30 minutes. A perfect set every time with no pulling out or split rings.
Oh my! Look at all of those grommets! Glorious, glorious grommets! I clicked on that link, and it was like christmas :) So many colours to choose from..........
I hand bound my eyelets because I had such a horrible time with the Dritz grommets in the past. Besides I already had the embroidery floss on hand so it didn't cost any extra and I quite enjoyed doing them. I find it peaceful.
I'm surprised noone has commented about my favorite tool - the "Crop-a-dile"! It's sold as a tool for setting eyelets for scrapbooking, but it sets standard eyelets PERFECTLY EVERY TIME! I bought mine for $20 (regular 40 but had a coupon), and it works wonderfully. No more banging outside my apartment front door, no cursing when i miss and wreck one, and no uber-flattened eyelets cause I hit them too much! It's awesome! It even comes with several size "blocks" to allow you to set larger grommets and smaller baby eyelets too.
Only problem is that the regular version wouldnt let you set eyelets very far in....but I just googled it and they have a new version! I want it now!
http://www.craftsetc.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=79039&dep=51&cat=18&subcat=1&Search=Y
Link to the crop-a-dile
http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-Crop-a-dile-Hole-punch-eyelet-snap-8-tools-in-one_W0QQitemZ110281218848QQihZ001QQcategoryZ75573QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have never heard of that tool! But then again, the U.S has so much more choice when it comes to craft retailers and such.
As I was driving through NY a couple weeks ago, on my way to GLMF, I quickly popped into a JoAnnes Etc store that I passed. My jaw literally dropped open! So many isles of wonderful fabric and craft stuff! (and I only had about 15 minutes to spare) I spent those 15 minutes just looking at the pattern books, and choosing a bunch of those, since patterns were on sale for .99cents! We NEVER have those kind of pattern sales up here (not that I know of, anyway).
Quote from: Naween on August 20, 2008, 10:20:14 PM
I'm surprised noone has commented about my favorite tool - the "Crop-a-dile"! It's sold as a tool for setting eyelets for scrapbooking, but it sets standard eyelets PERFECTLY EVERY TIME! I bought mine for $20 (regular 40 but had a coupon), and it works wonderfully. No more banging outside my apartment front door, no cursing when i miss and wreck one, and no uber-flattened eyelets cause I hit them too much! It's awesome! It even comes with several size "blocks" to allow you to set larger grommets and smaller baby eyelets too.
Only problem is that the regular version wouldnt let you set eyelets very far in....but I just googled it and they have a new version! I want it now!
http://www.craftsetc.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=79039&dep=51&cat=18&subcat=1&Search=Y
Link to the crop-a-dile
http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-Crop-a-dile-Hole-punch-eyelet-snap-8-tools-in-one_W0QQitemZ110281218848QQihZ001QQcategoryZ75573QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have both Crop-a-diles (I've been a scrapbooker/cardmaker much longer than I have been sewing) but it never occured to me to use them on garb. LOL Then again I prefer to hand sew my lacing eyelets. I actually find it easier than setting grommets and almost as fast.
I use the pounding method to put in grommets because usually I am pounding them in about an hr before I'm supposed to be leaving and don't have time to sew!! But, I thought I saw on here that some people take them to local shoe repair places and have them put them in professionally...does anyone do that? I'm thinking about it because my grommets seem to come off the fabric rather easy.
If I HAVE to use grommets, I like to pound them with a hammer... Partly the anger of having to use them, and it's a great way to make a horrible noise! ::) ::)
For anything that needs to be reasonably HA but hand stitching really won't make THAT much difference, I do this: (http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Corset_works/1stpass.jpg)
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Corset_works/completehole.JPG)
Kate, that looks very nice! Can you explain what exactly it is? Is it a special foot for your sewing machine? And what is that thing sticking up through the fabric?
Not a special foot. You just take the foot off, leaving the plastic ankle to 'lean' on the sticky-up post of the eyelet plate:
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Corset_works/eyeletplate.JPG)
You have to remember to put the 'foot' down even without a foot on the machine, in order to get tension on your thread.
Satin eyelets:
(http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Costuming/Dickens/stormflap3.JPG)
At the moment, the only folk doing eyelet plates and/or kits for their machines are Husqvarna (like mine), Pfaff:
(http://www.elginsewcentre.co.uk/contents/media/eyeletplate4.5.jpg)
And Bernina:
(https://secure.sarrix.net/www.howdenssewingmachines.co.uk/acatalog/EyeletComp.jpg)
oh good, I have a Bernina, I will have to look for that. TY.
So can you do that type of stitch on a Singer sewing machine if I purchase that special eyelet plate? What stitch type do you use? I haven't fully explored all my stitches yet. I'm assuming you put the plate on, put the eyelet over it then use a specific stitch and just turn it as you go?
Quote from: Lady L on August 23, 2008, 12:19:37 AM
oh good, I have a Bernina, I will have to look for that. TY.
The Bernina kit is comprehensive, but comes at about £69 in the UK. I have a Bernina 1005, and have this on my Christmas Wish List. :)
Quote from: broadwaygal24601 on August 23, 2008, 01:04:44 AM
So can you do that type of stitch on a Singer sewing machine if I purchase that special eyelet plate? What stitch type do you use? I haven't fully explored all my stitches yet. I'm assuming you put the plate on, put the eyelet over it then use a specific stitch and just turn it as you go?
Yes. The stitch is just satin stitch: you drop the feed dogs and set the stitch length to zero, and the stitch width to the best for the fabric you are using. The important bit is the eyelet plate... And the real trick is learning to turn the fabricevenly!
As far as I can find out (after several months of intensive googling!), the eyelet plates and kits are CURRENTLY being made only for Husqvarna, Pfaff, and Bernina machines. If you have an older all metal Swiss made Elna, you might be able to pick up a vintage one for that machine, but they make hen's teeth look common as dirt! Folk that have them tend to hang on to them...
Singer may have made them for some of their older all metal cam driven and early built-in zigzag machines, but I've never seen a kit, so...
Quote from: Marietta Graziella on July 25, 2008, 07:39:01 AM
A note about the grommets from the store. Please use care. If you are buying the ones from JoAnn's they just aren't sturdy enough to hold up to faireware. There are folks here that make them work and have had great luck, but me, every time I'd set one it would split and then cut up my fabric. Quite possibly (or should I say probably), operator error on my part. lol
I've never had issues with the grommets from JoAnn's, but then again, I don't use the setter that they sell, and I've never used one of those plier looking things either. I find that my leather tools work great for setting them, I'll cut a perfectly round hole using a leather hole punce, then set the grommet with tools made for leatherworkers.
what really helps is not using the genaric anvil (or setting plate) that has a really wide plate, the grommits slide all over the place in those, I have a setting plate that has sections set into it fore a few diffrent sizes, the grommets don't move, so they compress evenly.
Good suggestions everyone! Where do you guys tend to get good grommets that won't break the bank? I just have been getting wal-mart ones, but they always seem to come out over the course of the day and end up just hanging on the lacing...
Quote from: Kate XXXXXX on August 23, 2008, 04:08:49 AM
Singer may have made them for some of their older all metal cam driven and early built-in zigzag machines, but I've never seen a kit, so...
They did. I have a 1950s/60s green all-metal singer. It has a seperate cam-driven buttonhole attachment. Just by dumb luck I found an eyelet cam for it laying in the bottom of a box at a thrift store.
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/8/0/7/9/3/9/webimg/164334340_tp.jpg)
(http://i2.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/02/ca/cca5_1.JPG)
I've never used it to make lacing eyelets. I prefer to use cheap metal eyelets (the small ones you can use an awl to poke a hole for) and then go over them with thread to keep them from coming apart and make them look nicer.
The singer eyelets don't look all that nice, IMO, and they probably look worse when you open them up. Husqvarna's look way, WAY better.
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.
try punching a smaller hole then needed and strech the fabric gently around the grommet.
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?
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?
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.
Quote from: LadyElizabeth on October 10, 2008, 12:16:30 PM
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.
Quote from: LadyElizabeth on October 10, 2008, 12:16:30 PM
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.
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.
QuoteHats 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.
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 (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)
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.
(http://i40.tinypic.com/2hhdv8j.jpg) (http://i44.tinypic.com/258qnbp.jpg)
Quote from: Manwariel on December 29, 2008, 01:00:18 PM
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 (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 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 >.<
Quote from: Lorraine on December 29, 2008, 02:35:42 PM
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.
Quote from: Artemisia on December 29, 2008, 02:34:40 PM
Quote from: Manwariel on December 29, 2008, 01:00:18 PM
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 (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.
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 :)