Clasps, Closures and Fasteners
You might remember my post a few weeks ago about sorting and using felt scraps, and the notebook cover I made with offcuts. Well, as much as I liked the button closure, I wanted something a little more secure. I had a hunt through my craft drawers and found a bag clip I’d salvaged from something I threw away (I recently discovered these are called Delrin Clips) and using some more felt offcuts, attached this instead of the button.
One of my WIPs at the moment is a small shoulder bag, just big enough for a camera and purse. The closure I’ve used on this is a metal magnetic bag clasp. They’re quite easy to use: each half comes in two parts, you need to make a small cut in the fabric, push the metal ‘prongs’ through, then add the little washer and fold the prongs in. I haven’t decided yet whether to cover the top with more felt or maybe a large fimo button.
This got me thinking about all the different kinds of claps, closures and fasteners I have. I have the usual buttons, zips, poppers/snap fasteners, hooks and eyes etc, but I also like to salvage and collect any I find cheap. Not so long ago, I saw cheap packs of dog and cat collars and leads in Poundland (like a dollar store) and couldn’t resist buying a pack, which gave me a few Delrin clips and Trigger Hooks.
These Delrin clips were either bought or salvaged from old bags. The small ones are slightly different, they take a cord type of attachment rather than a flat webbing or ribbon type of fixture.
Most of the Delrin clips I have do take a flatter attachment though, so I just had to buy some nice braid for attaching them 🙂
I’ve managed to add to my collection of fasteners while I’ve been doing a lot of clearing out and tidying up lately. I salvaged quite a few lobster style trigger hooks, D-rings, split rings and key rings from old or broken or unwanted items.
Do you have any interesting clasps, closures or attachments? Do you have any tips for salvaging or buying them cheaply? We’d love to hear your ideas 🙂