Monday, June 9, 2008

How to Install a Magnetic Snap

I am by no means a veteran at sewing, in fact I'm kind of a novice/amateur...but I had to learn how to install a magnetic snap, and here is how I did it. PLEASE read the entire post there are some notes I made at the end that are helpful :)
* Make sure you install a magnetic snap BEFORE sewing the lining into the outer fabric!








1. So to begin, make sure you have the male part, the female part, and the two "plates", as seen in the above picture.






2. Mark on the fabric where you want the snaps to go, but make sure it is the same on both sides of the lining of the purse so when it is all finished, the snaps will match up and close correctly. Now make small slits where the marks are, and you can use a no-sew glue or fray-check on the slits after you cut them to make sure they don't fray or rip.






3. Now poke the prong side through the slits, you want the prongs on the Wrong side of the fabric, and the smooth snap side on the Right side of the fabric, see my seams....:)






4. I cut out 2 small pieces of heavyweight interfacing, cut the same size slits in it, then placed it on top of the prongs on the Wrong side of the fabric. I also use a little fabric glue to hold the interfacing down.




5. Now you can put the 'plate' part over the prongs. In this picture I bent the prongs outward, away from each other. I actually NOW recommend bending them INWARD, facing each other. This is because after I finished this purse I could feel the prongs and am wondering if they will rip the lining fabric....so, Note To Self: Bend inwards. You can also see my fabric glue on the plate, this is just so the interfacing won't rip...not a necessity.




6. So here is one side of a finished magnetic snap....

7. Here is me testing out my magnetic snap for a lining of a purse...

So here are a few things I learned along the way...

* Heavy interfacing was NOT enough, I actually went back and re-did the lining and ADDED a small piece of regular fleece ontop of each prong piece. This added extra security for me, knowing that every time I opened, and closed, and pulled apart the snaps I wasn't going to worry about the lining tearing or ripping...

* Bend the prongs INWARD, as to try to prevent them 'sticking' out if you bend outwards and to not rip the fabric.

* Fabric glue gets everywhere and if it gets on fabric it is very visible. So... use caution!

I hope this helps someone out there :) Feel free to add any of your tips also!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Market's opening day...


I had my booth up at the opening day of the Mukilteo Farmer's Market yesterday! I think it went pretty good, for being my first ever market/fair/show.


Here are a few pics of my table....

Monday, June 2, 2008

Website up & running!

LoveMeKnot Creations very own website is now up and running everybody!
I will still blog on here, but I now have a calendar on my own website under About Me section, and on the main page you can subscribe to my newsletters that will be full of great info (like discounts....)

And the Farmer's Market starts in TWO DAYS! whoo hoo!