If you love using snaps on your sewing projects, then today's tutorial is a must-have for you! Kam snaps are my favorite and they come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. But what about when you want your snaps to have designs from your fabric?
You have probably seen fabric covered buttons (in fact we have a great tutorial for that). Well, today, we're going to show you how to make fabric covered SNAPS!
That's right! It is a pretty easy technique and they turn out sturdy and cute. Here's your chance to take your snapping projects up a notch! Let's get started:
You will need fabric, snaps, and a sewing machine for this project. It is also helpful to have a glue stick but it's not required. I use #20 snaps but other sizes should work too.
First of all, decide what design on your fabric you want to use for the snap. Remember it needs to be small!
Cut out a circle of fabric that is 1/2" wider than your snap. (For a size #20 snap, I cut the circle about 1" wide.) You want the fabric circle to extend about 1/4" past the snap on all sides.
After cutting, check to make sure the design you want is centered on the fabric circle.
Take the fabric circle to the sewing machine. With your settings on the longest stitch, sew around the circle about 1/8" from the edge. Do not backstitch at the beginning or end.
Tip: You will need to sew slowly and carefully! It helps to occasionally put down the needle, lift the presser foot to rotate the fabric, then put the foot down again and sew a stitch. Repeat after each stitch so you can get a neat circle. If you struggle with this, you can sew by hand with a needle and thread.
When you're done, you should have a gathering stitch sewn around the circle, with loose ends remaining, as shown above.
If you have glue stick available, put glue on the outer flat edge of your snap cap.
(If you do not have glue available, you can still cover your snaps. It's just a little more tricky to get the design centered.)
Set your snap onto the center back of your fabric circle, glue side down, as shown above. Let it dry fully for several minutes before going on! (If you are making more than one snap, it should have plenty of time to dry while you work on others.)
When the glue has dried, lift it up to make sure the design is centered and secure.
You are now ready to gather the edge of the circle using the threads. Find the top thread and hold it tightly while you pull the fabric around to bunch it up and gather the edges.
The fabric will naturally gather up around the prong. Pull it so the threads are snug, as shown above.
Take the two top threads and tie them in a double knot, as shown above. Then do the same with the two bottom threads. Be sure they are pulled tightly when you do so!
Trim the extra threads. Then push down on the gathered edges of the fabric so the prong is out all the way. Make sure your raw edges are all secured within the dome of the cap.
Now you're ready to apply your snap as you normally do! It should go on just as snugly as if the fabric weren't there. Check the back when you're done to make sure it is fully flattened and secure.
The edges of the fabric should all be neatly enclosed under the snap, as shown above.
Wasn't that fun and easy?! If it seems like a lot of steps for one tiny snap, I promise it isn't bad at all. Covering ten snaps seems to go just as fast as one, once you get the hang of it.
If you have any questions, please come post in our patterns group on Facebook. We would also LOVE to see your fabric covered snaps on your finished projects. Please come share a photo when you're done!
Let's Create! ~ Kristen
