One of the later projects in my sewing book is a little coin pouch with an eyelet/grommet (which is the same thing from what I understand; eyelets are typically smaller/lighter duty, and grommets are larger/heavier duty).
Well, the materials list a 1″ grommet. “Buy a kit so you get a setting tool to go with it!” the instructions say. With absolutely no helpful recommendations on where to find these things. And absolutely no
warning that when you start googling grommets and snaps and setting tools, you get sucked into a whole new dimension that raises about 436 extra questions.
Let me answer some of those things:
Yes, you will need a different tool for each different size grommet/snap/thing you’re setting. The tool size needs to match the thing you’re setting.
Yes, sets with various tools of different sizes are out there, but not in any convenient locations I’ve discovered (think eBay shops that ship from China.)
No, setting tools and punch tools are not the same thing.
Right then. A 1″ grommet. The search begins.
Except when you go above 1/2″, such a thing becomes notoriously difficult to find. Nevermind that when you finally DO find it, it comes with a video sporting a gigantic metal cylinder that looks nothing like the book.
So the book, I’ve concluded, is telling me to get the wrong thing. What I SHOULD get is a 1/2″ grommet. Methinks the author was using the outside measurement rather than the measurement of the hole, which all the grommets you’ll find in your neighborhood fabric store are marked with the measurement of the hole. See Exhibit A.
[eyeroll]It’s stuff like this that drives me up the wall. Especially when this book is supposed to be for “first-time sewers.” The more I go through it, the more I’m realizing it’s kind of terrible for first-time sewers. There’s good information in it, but the guides through the projects are just full of holes and confusing stuff like I just described above. You should inundate first-time sewers with visuals so they can make sure they’re following each step correctly. Condensing 5 things into about 3 sentences with 1 picture is an awful idea.
And seriously, recommend places to find materials. A first-time sewer has no idea.
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