I’m back in the sewing room again for part 2 and it’s time to break out the Eyelet Plier!
Tell me the truth. Do these things scare the bejeezuz out of you? The thought of putting in an eyelet or grommet into my garments always hits me with a pang of anxiety!
BUT, with practice and a little bit of know how, I have discovered that it isn’t so bad….
So here we are at a really interesting spot in the making of this fleece jacket, the bottom band and the insertion of the elastic cord and that bungee cord keeper thingy! Actually, I think it’s called a Cord Lock but the jury is still out depending on the manufacturer. I know, I promised to call it the correct term…I digress. Anyway! Let’s get started!
I gather my supplies. I need 4 eyelet sets, 2 Bungee Cord Locks, the Bungee Cord Elastic (the length of the bottom band) and two Beads/or Pulls for pulling the elastic through the Cord Locks when cinching up the jacket! I also need a length of ribbon or cord, to also go through the hole in the Cord Lock that will get attached to the jacket to keep the Cord Lock from dangling down (another brilliant idea!) but I’ll need to look around the house or go shopping for that.
The first thing I need to do is put 4 holes in my band. What? Holes? Yes holes!!!! I deliberately put holes in my masterpiece! This is the scary part. I mark the location points where the eyelets will be installed and use an Exacto Knife to puncture a wound. 
I twirl the knife around to make the opening a little wider and use a scissors to snip out any little bits of fibers in order to place the ‘Push-Through’ side of the eyelet through the hole. 
This piece is the one with the longer shank and the small center diameter. In the photo below it is the one on the right. 
Using your fingers push the Longer shank piece through the hole, making sure to seat the fabric around the shank.
Then on the underside, take the shorter shank piece and carefully place it over the longer shank.
The two should fit together smoothly. If they don’t then something is out of line. Sometimes an edge gets nicked and will hang up the connection. I can use pliers to bend the metal if needed. In this case the two slide perfectly together. With the pliers I now can squeeze the two together which will crimp the edges of the long shank into the the shorter shank, securing the two together! That’s it!!!
Now just thread the elastic cord through the eyelets, through the Cord Lock, through the Button/Pull hardware, back through the Cord Lock and then back through the other eyelet. Repeat through the second set and pin the ends to the front edges.
So that’s it for now. I need to go shopping to find some very thin ribbon or cord which will get threaded through the Cord Lock and attach to the jacket.
~Stay tuned!
~Cathy
Sewing.for.Life! 