Jeans Sewing: Skirting the Issue - Absolutely Riveting

I started off by poking a hole through the
many layers of denim, and drill with my seam
ripper. I didn't rip with it, but I used it's
sharp little point just to get to the other side.

Once I had a tiny hole, I worked through with
the pointy end of a bamboo skewer. I had to
do that on either side, and really work it back and
forth, in order to get a big enough hole for the rivet
to feed through.

After I fed the rivet through, and capped
it off, I taped it down with several layers of
masking tape on either side, just to keep it in place and
then moved on to the next rivet.  I have 4 of them
ready to go - two on each end of the pocket opening.

I'm going to get a little help
with the hammer to make the two ends come firmly together.
I did some test work on multiple layers of denim scrap,
 and found that smashing those two ends together
straight on,  isn't the easiest thing in the world.
I believe there is a tool for it, but I don't think it's cheap.

Since I wrote this post, I've realized that probably the correct tool for creating the rivet hole is an awl. The nice lady at the fabric store said she wouldn't bother to spend the $7 on one herself, if the technique I came up with here is working. I'm still considering whether or not to plunk down the money for what appears to be the right tool.

 I don't  know the official reason for rivets, but I would guess they help stabalize certain features of the garment. I'm putting them at either end of my front hip pockets, which have a tendency to gape open, no matter how much trying on and basting I did to get that opening to lay flat. Perhaps they help with that too?

 I do know that the kind of jeans I like, have rivets at the corners of the pockets, so I want to know how to add them.

I'm going to admit right off that I don't know the right way to add rivets. I could keep looking through all the resources I've collected, or buy more (I was told the Palmer and Pletsch have a good video on everything from fitting to sewing jeans), or I could simply forge ahead, get some experience with this fabric, sewing skill set, and thought process. That is the way I learn best - a little reading, a little trying it out, and then go back and read and listen some more. That's why I'm working on this jeans-style denim skirt I've been blogging about.

Trying out new-to-me techniques, like the ones I'm feeling my way through on this jeans-style denim skirt are the kinds of experiences that keep me 

Enchanted by Sewing