An ideal element, bearing a decorative and functional purpose, is a grommet. It is equipped with hats of different sizes, has many color and thematic solutions.
A grommet is a plastic or metal cylinder with a removable cap. Sometimes a washer or pressure ring is added to the kit. They are installed almost everywhere - on clothes, curtains, shoes, etc. How to install grommets without tools on various types of matter? This question worries a lot of people.
Eyelets: what are they for?
As a rule, the purpose of these elements is decorative - with their help, you can give a neat appearance to the hole. The grommet will not allow the edges of the material to stretch or crumble. That is why such a fastener is considered the best for paper, and for fabrics or leather. They look very nice on the curtains, creating neat folds. Eyelets are also used in scrapbooking when it is necessary to fasten sheets of paper. They decorate clothes, shoes.
Not everyone knows how to use the grommets, believing that installation can only be done with special tools or with the installation wizard. The cost of such a service is quite high, so let's take a look at how to install grommets without tools.
This is a fairly simple process, any person will cope with it.
Varieties of eyelets
The materials from which this type of fasteners are made are diverse - from metal to plastic of various shapes and colors.
Installation methods also directly depend on this. A grommet made of plastic is installed much easier, but a large load on it is unacceptable! If you wish, you can remove it and apply it again, but there will be very poor fixation of the edges of the fabric - they will crumble and deform, and the product looks messy.
Colored metal eyelets are much more reliable than plastic ones - they hold fabric perfectly, preventing it from tearing.
The most reliable for fixing fabrics, leather parts, cardboard are steel fasteners. But before you install grommets without tools on clothes or shoes, you will need to practice on unnecessary pieces of material. This is necessary in order to understand how the work is going and not to spoil the thing.
The most popular direction of using eyelets is to mount them on curtains. For this, a grommet tape, which is sold in specialized stores, is additionally required. She glue the edge of the fabric, creating rigidity.
The mount itself can have a completely different shape - from circles to animals. The color palette is also huge.
Curtain grommets will help to create smooth, interesting and neat folds. In order to move such a curtain on the ledge, no effort is needed. The fabric does not wear on the cornice, and, accordingly, longer its service life.
Mount Selection
If you decide to purchase eyelets, do not forget to pay attention to the size of the rings. The marking uses the letters D and L, where D is the diameter of the bushings and rings, and L is the length of the leg. Along the length, focus on the thickness of the required number of layers of matter, the bonding of which you plan to produce, plus 1.5 mm. Do not forget that the height of the ring is also taken into account.
In general, the smaller the grommet is, the easier it is to install it.
When choosing fixtures for curtains, stop at plastic, of course, if the fabric allows. For heavy panels, take metal ones - they will hold the fabric more reliably.
Plastic is remarkable because special devices are not needed for its installation, the curtains move perfectly along the cornice and string.
The use of metal eyelets is more widespread in clothes, shoes, for belts, bags, etc. Their presence does not necessarily carry any functionality, they can also be used for decoration.
Of course, there are a lot of devices for installing eyelets, but usually they are bought only by professionals, who often have to do this. And for the house they are absolutely not needed.
So how to install grommets without tools at home? Everything is possible, just tune in to a serious accurate work. When installing the mount for the first time, be sure to make a trial version on an unnecessary piece of cloth.
How to install grommets without tools on fabric
First, glue the grommet tape over the upper edge of the cloth. The width of this tape is calculated based on the size of the rings and is equal to the diameter of the ring plus 3 cm.
Next, the fabric is bent and ironed. If both sides of the tape are sticky, then the protective mesh is first removed from one side, ironed, and then removed from the second. The iron should not be heated too much - with excessive heating, the adhesive layer can protrude through the fabric, thereby damaging the curtain. In order to avoid sticking of the sole of the iron, all manipulations are carried out through clean paper.
If it seems to you that the tape is not glued securely enough, lay the stitch on the sewing machine, additionally fixing it.
Before you start installing the eyelets, it is very important to make a markup. They need to be fixed at intervals, which subsequently exclude the ugly sagging matter.
Now attach the grommet to the desired location and outline its inner diameter. So do with all the tags.
Having finished this work, get into the holes. With a small diameter, everything is pierced with an awl, for holes wider use a hole punch, a punch. It is more convenient to do this on a rubber lining or on thick linoleum. But if there are absolutely no such devices, then use nail scissors. When cutting a hole, remember that it should be several millimeters smaller than the diameter of the sleeve - it will sit very firmly, but without tearing the fabric.
When using a metal mount, the sleeve from the outside towards the inside is inserted into the hole, and then the product is turned inside out. The whole structure is placed on a metal stand and a clamping ring is put on top.
Take a conical pin with a diameter slightly smaller than the sleeve. They put it on the edge, press it with some kind of press, and weakly start hammering at the edges of the sleeve with a hammer. Flaring the edges to half, the hammer is sent already in the center of the sleeve. Clamping the eyelet with this method, you will not only secure the ring with the sleeve, but they will press the edges of the material.
With neatly performed work, the grommets you installed will be difficult to distinguish from the factory!
How to install grommets without tools in scrapbooking?
Creativity, in which the main working materials are various types of paper and cardboard, is called scrapbooking.
Often when making gift wrapping (boxes or bags), it becomes necessary to add holes to the product. This is necessary for pulling satin ribbons, cords.
This is exactly where the grommets are needed! They are ideal for paper products. Everyone involved in this type of creativity will sooner or later have a question how to install grommets without a tool.
For quick and, most importantly, high-quality fastening, observe the following procedure:
- Mark out all the places for the grommets.
- Now cut holes a little smaller than the diameter of the ring.
- After inserting the grommets, it is very necessary to flatten the legs, fixing them on paper.
Useful tips from experienced craftsmen
So, to the questions posed, how to install grommets without tools on leather, paper, fabric, we answered.
Nevertheless, there are useful tips to familiarize yourself with which it will not hurt you:
- Always remember that it is much easier to install fasteners of small height.
- Non-ferrous metal products are best suited.
- Steel eyelets - the most wonderful option, but quite difficult to install. When sufficient impact force is applied to it, the ring can be deformed. Therefore, leave steel for specialists in workshops.
- Do not install eyelets on soft rubber - if you miss, you risk breaking them.
Today, cringles are used almost everywhere. They decorate clothes and shoes, they play an important role in the practical side of use, they attach curtains. Even male drivers are aware of how to install grommets without tools on a car tent. There are a lot of options, and all of them play a crucial role in our everyday life.