OMG, guys, I did it -- today I successfully inserted jeans rivets!
To give credit where credit is due, I used Taylor Tailor's excellent rivet tutorial. If I'm not mistaken, I believe my rivets came from Taylor too. He sells them from his online supply shop.
I had three types: shiny silver, black, and antique nickel finish. I opted for the antique nickel.
My first attempt was a total fail, but it was also my only fail.
I immediately realized that, given the length of the rivet (the sharp pointed part), I was going to need some spacers. I tested using a few additional layers of denim and it worked. The layers also helped hold the rivet straight so that it entered the cap at the correct angle. It seems to work better to err on the side of more layers (as opposed to less) as the denim can always be squished down to expose enough of the point to fasten to the cap.
Once I had a successful test, I started inserting the rivets on my jeans, at the corners of the two front pockets and on the single coin pocket.
I poked through the layers of denim with a sharp nail just a bit wider than the rivet point.
I poked the rivet point through my spacers:
Then I pushed the point, spacers attached, through the pants themselves.
I placed the point down on the cap, which sat on the cement floor of my balcony. I hammered a few times on the back of the rivet, just to make sure the rivet was going in straight. When I was sure the angle was right, I gave it a few more heavy blows -- no more than six to eight. The rivet cap should feel secure and tight on the denim.
I chose not to trim my spacers as neatly as Taylor does, but I did trim them some. Nobody will see them inside my pants.
Once my rivets were attached, I added my jeans button, buttonhole, and belt loops.
Ta da!
I need to machine wash and dry these once more before hemming, but I'm very happy with the result. Stay tuned for a formal jeans reveal later this month.
Afraid of inserting rivets? If I can do it, so can you.
Have a great day, everybody!
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