This article was co-authored by Alterations Express and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Alterations Express is a salon-style alteration and tailoring house with walk-in service, spacious dressing rooms, fitting specialists, and an extraordinary team of tailors and seamstresses at 13 storefront locations. With over 70 years of experience, they specialize in guiding individuals through a professional fitting, evaluating an alteration project on the spot, express alterations, and immediately providing pricing for any alteration. Alterations Express has been featured on multiple websites such as TheKnot.com.
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Eyelet pliers are an easy way to put eyelets into materials. This article will show you how to use them.
Steps
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1Cut a hole in your material where you want the eyelet to go. This hole needs to be just big enough to push your eyelet through. If it is too big the eyelet will fall out.[1]
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2Use a pad under the cloth to make a clean cut. The pad may be: a piece of hard leather ( see next photo ), an acrylic block like the cutting boards used in kitchens, a plastic floor tile or even a sheet of paper folded many times. Make sure you keep everything in place while making the hole !Advertisement
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3To cut the hole always put the pad under the "bad side" of the cloth. Exert strong pressure with the pliers or use a hammer to drive a hole with the eyelet punch.
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4Push the eyelet through the hole you have made. Do this from the right side of your material so the flat part of the eyelet is on the good side.
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5Tuck any loose threads under the flat part of the eyelet so they are not visible.
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6
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7Squeeze the pliers together.[4]
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8Take the pliers away and check that the eyelet is set as you want it. If it can be rotated in the material you will need to repeat the previous step with a little more force until it holds the material tightly.
Community Q&A
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QuestionCan I use the eyelet pliers for grommets?
Community AnswerNo, grommets have a larger diameter than eyelets. You would need the correct size die to correspond with the size of the grommets that you are using. If you are using multiple sizes of grommets, you would need multiple sets of dies. -
QuestionIs it possible to make an eyelet hole in a canopy made from polyester fabric?
Community AnswerYes, but you would want to reinforce the polyester before making the hole so that the cut threads do not unravel. Since the project is a canopy, the "eyelet" would actually be a grommet. Essentially, a grommet is the larger cousin to the eyelet. They have similar appearances, but their functions are different. An eyelet is smaller, comes in a variety of decorative colors, and has little strength. Eyelets are used for ribbons, light cords, laces, or decoration. Grommets are used for structural reinforcement to protect the fabric from tearing when exposed to stress. Grommets are used on tarps, shower curtains, canvas bags, canopies, tents, boat covers, etc. -
QuestionWhat can I use if I don't have an eyelet pliers?
Community AnswerYou can use needle nose pliers to peel the edges down and then use a hammer on a hard surface to flatten it.
Things You'll Need
- Eyelet pliers
- Eyelets
- Material
- Scissors
References
About This Article
