Kam Snaps

Here I go again raving about the ease and simplicity of the Kam snaps.
They are turning out to be perfect for the job I bought them for.
 Which was for doll clothes and baby clothes.

I ordered a selection of colours and I have not been disappointed with my choices.You may remember I  wasn't too happy with the colours that came with the pliers but funnily enough the cheap, nasty red colour snaps were perfect for the outfit below.

Here is a colour chart I found online so you can see the range of colours.

 (I used the gorgeous Periwinkle snaps on this little number.)

My favourite colours so far are the periwinkle, chocolate, apple green B44, teal B29, dark red B54  and seafoam B19. There are a few more colours I would like to get later on like the Taupe, rust, and grey.                             

 Another use we found was on the flaps of  Hubby's hat. They had been stitched up and he wanted the option to use them. So I unpicked the stitching and replaced it with snaps in a matter of five minutes. they are so easy and with the range of colours available you can find one to go with almost any fabric. 

Here they are in use on this all in one dolls outfit.                  

They stand out like a sore thumb in this  photo but when done up, they are hardly noticeable on this busy fabric.

 I have two pairs of pliers,   a cheapy pair hubby ordered from China which I was a little disappointed with as the build quality  isn't brilliant, they rattle and squeak and feel cheap and nasty, BUT they do the job perfectly.           My second pair  are a much nicer quality and they are silent,   BUT they are more difficult to use, I have found they crush the resin prong too much to one side, which stops the snap from snapping shut properly.

The snaps come in different sizes and the pliers come with the attachments for the different size snap caps, but  it's time consuming changing them over, so I have one pair set up for T16 and the other for T20,  although I am finding I can set the T20 snaps using the cheapy pliers and the attachment for setting  the T16  without a problem.

Kam Snaps

About a month ago I discovered these Kam snaps and thought they would make a great solution to my dilemma  as to what sort of fasteners to put on the dolls clothes I have been making for my Grandaughter. I didn't want to use velcro as it's a little bulky and I hate sewing through it.Metal press studs have sharp edges which cut through the thread in a short time. the plastic versions seem to break easily.  So Darling Hubby order some kam snaps in from China for me.

They arrived a couple of days ago I have had a little play and they are brilliant the perfect solution to my problem. They are a fraction of the price of the prym ( hammer in type) of fasteners and an awful lot quicker and easier to apply.

They are also a lot easier to remove should you make a mistake. 

Like the prym ones  there are four parts to each fastener.  Two caps,  that look like drawing pins and a  stud ( the male bit) and a socket (the female bit)  You need poke a small hole in your project to push the point of the cap through.

Then  place either the male or female part over the point   and then use the pliers to squeeze the two parts together. 

You don't need to use much force and  you must remember to get the snap in the pliers the right way round... the cap fits into the larger, shallow, smooth cup you see at the top of this photo and the stud and socket fit into the deeper black cup at the below.

 The Snaps come in  several different sizes.

But not all sizes seem to be available in the UK ..yet. They are made of resin and seem to be pretty durable.

 Most of the snap colours that came with my pliers are pretty naff, but don't despair there are a couple of companies selling these snap fasteners  here in the UK. But I can only find one company selling all the colours I want.

They are  http://www.plushaddict.co.uk/

I have just placed an order with them  and I am  now eagerly waiting delivery of my selection of colours. Fingers crossed I won't be disappointed by my choices.

Prices seem to vary alot from site to site .

Plush addicts are selling the pliers for around £11- £12 which seems to be a reasonable price .

The snaps sell at £3.20 per hundred (one colour.) So if you want  alot of colours it works out expensive.

Anyway getting back to these snaps.... in the next photo,  you can see the smooth, concave side of the pliers, this where the cap sits ,...it's nice and easy to work out even for  a novice. 

 In my last photo you can see that the central pin has been beautifully squished to form a stopper,  which prevents  the cap and stud/socket falling off the project.

 Now for your information there is also a website that gives you a 101 things to make using these kam snaps, ranging from a coat for hen pecked chicken...(I kid you NOT)   To   Nappy covers, (which are really cute). 

Use them as  the centre of flowers on card projects or detachable accessories on clothing, headbands or bags.

Straps on bags,  baby bibs, pocket fastener, decorations, baby & childrens clothing to tents and so on and so on .The only down side is if you want to place these snaps into the middle of something large  that won't fit in the pliers you'll have to buy the kam snap freestanding tool which is quite pricey.   Here's the link. take a look for yourself.

www.kamsnaps.com/101-Uses-for-KAM-Snaps-60.html