Eyelet Reinforcements

The theater company had ten vests which laced up the front.  They were made with 1/4 inch eyelets. Over time and use, the eyelets became loose and began to fall out.  The costumer asked me if there was a way to repair the vests.

Then I had an idea. Remember when your 3 ring school notebook paper tore out?   You got these little sticky ring reinforcements to fix the hole.

So, I got some denim fabric patches. They come in different sizes, but I found 5×5 inch patches which matched the color of the vests. I opened Silhouette Studio and designed my own reinforcement rings.   The center hole had to be 1/4 inch. The outer diameter of the eyelet was just over 1/2 inch. I made the outer diameter of the patchlets 0.7 inches, to give about 1/8 inch extra all around.

The patch felt thicker than cotton cloth, but not as thick as heavy canvas or denim.  I used a setting of 4 for the blade, Speed 5 and Pressure 33.   I put the 5×5 patches on the cutting mat, and sent it to the Cameo to cut.  It worked perfect with a new fabric blade.

Then I weeded the rings, and ironed them onto the fabric where the previous eyelets had torn out.  I installed new eyelets.  The fit was tight and the hold was strong.

I was very pleased with the results, and we didn’t have to sew 10 new vests.

Cheers