Snaps are not a snap

I have my own unspoken rule (until now) not to use snaps. Snaps annoy me and hand stitched snaps annoy me even more. I always feel like they are going to come off. I haven't had one come off on me yet - except off of a store bought item, but they just feel like they aren't very durable.

So, I don't use snaps to secure my items. I prefer velcro, buttons, and any other creative way I can imagine to secure and item before I will resort to snaps.

But a few weeks ago, I happened across a package of No-Sew (yeah), Magnetic (even better) snaps. I thought I'd give them a whirl. Of course, I wasn't confident enough in them to use them for my kids items... so I put them aside for that random project that I so often come up with.

Tonight was the night! I decided to finally turn that sweater I found at the goodwill, into a bag. This is another one of my new favorite pastimes... finding discarded items and giving them a new life. Fun!

I cut up the sweater, sewed it all together - even knit handles for it and realized after I was done, that it really needed a closure of some sort. See, the sweater is a bit heavy and I made it a nice roomy bag, so the sides flop open. My first instinct was to do a button/loop closure that I'm so fond of - easy to open and fun to sew. Then I remembered my new snaps and decided tonight was the night!

I'd like to mention here that I dislike sewing notions that do not come with instructions. Of course, being the person I am, I told myself I didn't need them. They were just snaps and snaps should be a snap to put in. Right? Wrong. I'm sure it was a mixture of the late hour, my lack of knowledge and a teensy bit of stupidity.

I put the snaps in as I thought and was very disappointed. They didn't come apart easily and was very worried that they would tear the fabric. I was so disappointed. I figured it was another one of those prototypes that would never leave this house. I'm glad I didn't give into my disappointment. Instead, I went upstairs and googled No Sew Magnetic Snaps. I didn't find instructions, because all it took me was this little picture for me to realize my mistake. That little disc pictured... stuck to the packaging and I thought it was just something they used to keep the snap, I don't know, clean??? Plus, they painted it white (it matched the cardboard backing) and the snaps themselves are silver.

So, long story short... the snaps weren't a snap... but I finally figured it out and I love them! Now that I know how to install them, I'll be using them more often. Not for kids items yet though. They need to be tested for a long time before I make that leap. They would be great closures for costumes though... hmmmm.

So, I'll be posting the bag in my On A Whimm site soon. Oh - and I love the internet and the wealth of information we have at our fingertips!