How to reinforce your pockets with rivets! 

Hello lovelies,
I've recently purchased a rivet press from Green Grizzly, so therefore I am inserting rivets everywhere on my bags! Sometimes not even for practical uses!

On Amanda's awesome new work bag though, I wanted to reinforce the pockets a little better than just stitching. I know she'll be carrying a lot in her work bag, and need it to stand up to a lot of wear and tear, so I used rivets to reinforce the tops of the pockets.... like with Levi's!

'Handmade' zip pull from Emmaline Bags

The rivet press I bought comes with an instructional video, which you can see here.

This tutorial is super simple, and you'll wonder why you haven't done it yourself before!

You'll need single cap rivets, (I used ones with an 8mm post and a 9mm cap, a double cap rivet also works as well, but you won't see the underside), your finished pocket panel (with your pockets sewn to the bag panel), some Fray Check, and some scraps of foam stabiliser or leather.

You'll also need a hole punch and either a rivet press, or a rivet setter and anvil + hammer.

First up, punch the hole for where you want the rivet to go, through all the layers. I had two sets of slip pockets, one over the other, with both divided down the centre, so I put rivets in the top sides of each, and then on the top of each of the centre dividing line.

 Next, dollop a good amount of Fray Check into the hole. This can be a bit fume-y if you're doing a lot of them, so open a window.
 You'll need to punch a corresponding hole in the foam stabiliser (or leather) and then pop the post of the rivet through as shown below.
 From the wrong side of the pocket piece, push the rivet post, with stabiliser attached through the hole.
 Pop the rivet cap on until you hear a nice little click which will hold it in place.
 If you're using a setter and anvil + hammer, then place the rivet on top of the anvil, then put the setter on top, domed side down. Give the setter a good few whacks on the end and then lift up to check if the rivet is set.

If you're using a rivet press, insert into the press, push down until you feel the resistance sort of 'nudge' into place then remove and check the rivet is set. You shouldn't feel any movement on the rivet cap once it's set.

On the back you'll see the rivets and the stabiliser, you can trim the stabiliser down if you'd like, but it shouldn't be noticeable.
 I'm not quite sure why I chose the white side for one of the rivets, maybe just to show you all it's not perfect here in the studio?
 I know now, that Amanda's pockets aren't going anywhere and she can load them up as much as she likes!
Where will you start riveting?