what snap press should i get?

[lizajane]

i want one for making fitted dipes and garment sewing. (or garment snapping, i suppose!!!) my latest thing is soft, cd friendly but also preppy pull on pants but i want to make some rompers and jon jons and i HATE snap tape. so i guess i would need different sizes of snaps-one for dipes and one for clothes.

[psophia17]

I have the one from www.onestopdiapershop.com, and I love it. I think whichever press you get you'll be happy with, they're all pretty much the same. My snaps and dies came from www.thesnapstore.com. Both companies were great to deal with, although I think OSDS was a trifle faster with customer service (this was in spring, so I can't remember how fast it really was).

Definitely get your dies from the same place as your press, because then you'll be sure that everything matches like it should (I ran into this problem when I was given access to a press but couldn't find any dies to fit this particular one, so had to buy a press anyhow). Also, if it's in the budget, buy two so you can do both parts of the snap (male and female, I guess?) without having to change dies, which is a PITA. If you do this, also make sure you buy two of the cap pieces, or you'll still be changing dies all the time.

Also, as far as snap sizes go, I'd just go with sz 20. That's what I use for diapers, and I have used it for everything else in need of snaps too. You'll save yourself a lot of grief trying to sort things out later on down the line, and there's not a lot of difference in size between 16 and 20 anyhow.

[lizajane]

thanks thanks! i was looking at thesnapstore.com. i am so happy to know that there is little difference between 16 and 20. do you think i need metal snap for clothes? or the ones with the hole on the part that shows? i mean the fabric shows through the snap? i was thinking i had to get 16 for clothes and 20 for dipes.

i don't understand the part about changing dyes- could you explain it in dummy terms? lol! i have never snapped anything before!

have you used size 20 for newborn sized stuff? i make newborn to 4T clothing.

thanks thanks.

[calebsmama03]

No idea on snap presses but when will these pants be ready???? E-mail me off boards if that is not appropriate to post :)
Lynne
Mommy to C 3/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url]
And Miss Purple, 5/05

[psophia17]

First, I'd go with plastic snaps on everything - you can get colored snaps to match the clothes you're making, and you can even get engraved plastic snaps, so that if you're making an outfit with tropical fish on it, you can get snaps with fish on them - very cute. I also hate how metal snaps get hot in the dryer - or at least how they do in my dryer. Plastic doesn't do this. Plus, you can get industrial strength plastic snaps from both snapstore.com and onestopdiapershop.com (I think also from www.snap-happy.com) that are guaranteed for life, and that's a nice benefit if you get a defective lot of them.

Second, the main differences between sz 16 and 20 are that a 20 is a mm or two bigger in diameter and it has a longer stud (pointy part). This makes a 20 better for going through more layers. However, when I make pockets out of 2 layers (microfleece and PUL) they snap in plenty tight, so I see no reason not to use them for baby clothes. Maybe newborn clothes might benefit from a 16, but I can't see why. If this is an issue, you can always get sz 18 stud parts, which have a shorter stud but the same size cap as a 20 - I haven't bothered with this, but depending on what you make and what you're making it with (silk? nah :P) it could work for you. Getting the 18/20 combo means you would need one cap die, one socket die, and two stud dies.

As to why I think getting two presses is a good idea, let me describe my snap pressing procedure for you:

1) get item(s) ready for snapping
2) make sure cap die is attached correctly
3) check to see if socket or stud die is in the press from last time
4) get all the appropriate snap parts ready
5) start pressing snaps
6) discover I have not correctly figured out which die is in the press, and put away all the sockets or studs I've gotten out (this is organizational - if you leave piles out, you will be really confused in short order)
7) get out the right snap parts
8) start over with correct snap parts
9) start putting snaps into item(s)
10) decide halfway through that I have been putting snaps in the opposite place from where I wanted them (think mens v. women's buttons and zippers and how they are on opposite sides)
11) get all one kind of snaps in
12) change die (this is easy, but a PITA if you don't have lots of snapping to do)
13) put in other side of snaps on all items
14) check to see that all snaps are working properly (usually this is just because the snap hasn't been pressed as hard as necessary to set the snap)
15) fix strangely working snaps as needed, which sometimes involves changing the dies back and forth - a real PITA, depending on how many snaps need repair or further pressing

With two presses set up (or as many presses as you have dies for, if you go the 18/20 route), this process can be streamlined to check that all snaps work right away and so that you can just do one item at a time - like if you have a rush order or are waiting for materials to finish further items. You could also label stuff and store the right pieces (sockets, 18 studs, 20 studs, caps at each location) right with the press that they're for, and will limit confusion).

As more questions - I am getting excited to dig my press out and set it up :)

[ktshea]

Oooo... two snap presses. That would be so nice! Seems like I'm always changing the dies. OK, must...stop...spending...money... Anyway, I just wanted to chime in and ditto the recommendation for The Snap Store. They were really nice about answering all of my questions when I was preparing to buy my press. I got my press there and my snaps are from there too, size 20. I only have used them for diapers, but I don't see why they wouldn't work on clothes too.

Happy shopping!

[psophia17]

I aspire to two presses - as soon as I make some money back from my diaper business, that's what I'm going to buy as a treat.

As it is, I try and do a whole bunch of diapers at a time so that I can have an assembly line of sorts, so that when I get to the snaps I can get it all done in one fell swoop...but meanwhile it takes forever to get to the end of the stack of works-in-progress! AAARGH!

Unfornuately, I already stopped spending money ;)

[lizajane]

i think i can answer a direct question, yes??

i have already started selling pants for boys and girls in sizes NB-3T. (although, i have to admit, i think that bigger boys might look weird in the cotton ones... but maybe i am just a weirdo about my kids' clothes!)

[psophia17]

Liza - do you have a website? Can you PM it to me? TIA!

[ktshea]

Heehee - I logged all of my expenses last night and that pretty much put the brakes on my spending too. Up until then, I had justified all of my purchases as "for the business". Like, here's some cute ___ (fill in cute item here)___, I'll just buy this "for the business". It really adds up! :) But it's fun so I suppose it's worth it. And doesn't everybody need an industrial-strength snap press or two?