Have your favorite pair of jeans or jackets and denim jackets become unwearable due to a loose and faulty snap button? Well, it is very common for these strong and easy-to-use buttons to lose their strength with time. However, you will be pleased to know that fixing a snap button is not so complicated.
To fix a snap button, you just need a few hand tools. After finding the matching pieces, you need to use those tools to remove the old button and install the new one. To know in detail about this process, keep investigating further.
Different Types of Snap Buttons
The most crucial part of fixing a snap button is to find the proper replacement pieces. Snaps come in many shapes and sizes, which may sometimes lead to confusion to pick the right one.
The two most common snaps seen in coats, bags, jackets, and other types of clothing closure are – spring snaps and heavy-duty/camping snaps.
Apart from the size variation, snaps are made of different materials – nickel-plated brass and stainless steel. Though they may be indistinguishable at the first glance, they can be differentiated by color variation.
Nickel-plated brass has a slight golden tinge while the stainless-steel ones are silvery white. Avoid mixing nickel-plated brass and stainless-steel fasteners.
Before Going to Fix a Snap Button Tools We Need
The required tools for replacing both spring snaps and heavy-duty/camping snaps are mostly the same. You can either use a set of hand tools or get a more expensive snap tool. The final result is the same, but the snap tool will make your work easier. The following hand tools are required to fix a snap button:
- Wire Cutter
- Hammer
- Hand tool kit for snap fasteners
The hand tool kit for snap fasteners consists of three pieces – two bars of different shapes and a hammer bed.
How to Fix a Snap Button – Showing Effective Steps
It may seem a bit tricky to replace a snap button at first. But if you follow the process step by step, you will find it pretty easy.
Step 1: Find a Matching Piece
At first, you need to find a matching snap button for your clothing or bag. If only one part of the button needs to be fixed, and you can’t find the matching part to it, you will have to replace both parts of the snap.
Step 2: Remove the Old Button
Use a wire cutter to remove the old button. To remove the female side, pull the button with enough force so that you can loosen the button a bit. Don’t pull too hard or you may damage the fabric.
If the button doesn’t come off completely, then put the wire cutter in between the loose button and the fabric and remove them carefully. Try not to cut the fabric. If the fabric somehow gets damaged, you will need to repair the hole before attaching the new snap. Otherwise, the button will not fit properly and may come off.
Removing the male part is quite easy. Just cut off the nub with the wire cutter and the two parts will separate from the fabric.
Step 3: Sort Out the Parts and Pieces
Both male and female parts have two pieces each of their own. The female part has a cap that is visible from the outside, and a piece consisting of a socket that is snapped into. The male part has a piece consisting of a peaked bit, called stud that goes into the female part, and a post that holds the previous one.
Once you have sorted out the pieces, determine on which side you will attach the female pieces and on which side you will attach the male ones. If you have only one side to replace, make sure you are installing the right pieces.
Step 4: Install the New Pieces
Once you have sorted out the pieces, it’s time to install the new snap button. Use a flat and sturdy surface, so that you can hammer the pieces properly. The installation process varies slightly for male and female parts.
Step 4.1: Installing the Female Part
Take the cap and slip it through the fabric. Then take the hammer bed and rest the cap on it. Make sure to use the concave side of the hammer bed. Place the female socket in such a way that the metal tube of the cap goes through the back of the socket.
Use the hand tool with a pointy end and slowly hammer it. The point will slide through the little metal tube of the cap and form a ring. This will create a ring inside the female socket which will lock the two pieces together. Check if the ring inside is properly formed otherwise, if kept undone, the snap may come apart.
Step 4.2: Installing the Male Part
Take the hammer bed and flip it over to reveal the side that has a little circle sculpt on it. Put the post on it and insert the fabric hole through the metal tube of the post. Note that the post goes backside of the fabric. Afterward, place the male stud on top of the metal tube of the post.
For the male part, take the hand tool that has a hole sculpted out at one end. Place the tool over the nub of the stud and then hammer it 4-5 times. Check the pieces if they are. If not, hammer them a couple more times until they are secured properly.
Step 5: Test the Button
At last, test the newly installed buttons whether they snap properly or not. If they don’t, there’s a possibility that the metal tube inside the female socket isn’t hammered properly. Try hammering it again to push down the metal part properly so that the male stud can snap into the socket, or start over the whole process.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
1. How do you fix a snap button without the tool?
Answer: You can fix a snap button without the help of a snap button tool. For that, you will need a kit called “Hand tool kit for snap fasteners” which consists of three different types of hand tools.
2. What is a shank button?
Answer: It is a type of button that consists of a shank. Shank is a small device that provides a little amount of space between the button and the fabric.
3. How does a snap button work?
Answer: A snap button has two parts – a female socket and a male stud. The male stud has a nub, which snaps inside the female socket when pressed. The nub is held with a tight spring inside the socket. When pulled off, the spring gets loose and the male stud comes out.
Last Words
If you are fixing snap buttons for the first time, you may not get the perfect result. So, it is wise to have extra pieces of snaps in case you need to do the whole process over.
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