I love it when crafts combine. I saw a magnetic cuff for sewing pins and it got me thinking. My Dad is a cabinet maker but these days he makes amazing custom windows and French doors. Think ornate church window stuff. But when he’s not doing that, he’s building kitchens and doing all sorts of house renovation stuff. And I was thinking that a magnetic cuff would be an awesome way to hold onto screws etc when he’s stuck up a ladder.
I thought on it a bit and remembered that I bought these heavy duty sew in magnets that you can use for handbag and purse closures. The magnet is enclosed in a flexible plastic square, so in a bag closure, you would sew through the plastic. I thought they might work nicely and I had a few in the stash. As it turns out, they were perfect. I got mine on eBay and I’m not sure where else you might get them. If you want to grab some, just type in ‘sew in magnet’ on eBay.
You might think that my fabric choice is a bit odd. Not the type of fabric, you need a cotton drill, cotton duck or cotton canvas, but the print. I guess most people would chose a more sedate grey, navy or black or perhaps a manly print. I even had those in my stash. However, I chose stars for the exterior and stripes for the inner for two good reasons. One, you will find it in a busy, sawdusty workshop and two, Daddy-O has a Roger Ramjet thing and I thought it might give him a giggle!
You’ll need:
- Scraps of a cotton drill, cotton duck or cotton canvas to fit
- 6 sew in magnets
- Stapler or hand sewing equipment
- 2 sets of metal snaps and tools to set them
- Hammer
- Normal sewing supplies
I asked Daddy-O to measure a tight measurement of his wrist and then the measurement 3” or 15cm further up his forearm. There wasn’t a massive difference between the two, so I used the largest measurement to make mine. I added seam allowance of 5mm each short end and enough room for the snaps to wrap over each other (the size of your snaps will influence this). I cut out two pieces of fabric that long by 15cm or 3” wide.
I made sure I had all my magnets the same side up and stapled them together until I had two rows of three, all joined together. You can absolutely sew through the plastic but sewing magnets on a machine is awkward because they want to stick to the machine. So, staples. I didn’t think of it at the time but hand sewing could work too.Centre the magnet cluster on the wrong side of the fabric and mark how big it is. It is better to go slightly bigger because you will need to get the magnets in there. With fabrics right side together, sew from one mark to the other, leaving an opening big enough for the magnets on one long side. I sewed with a straight stitch and a 5mm seam allowance all the way round.
Clip the corners and turn everything right side around and press. Be sure to press the seam allowance in, where the magnet will go. Insert the magnets and pin (you can pin through the plastic to stop the magnets shifting). Topstitch all the way around, closing the opening for the magnets. Sew a line of topstitching either side of the magnets, to keep them from shifting. I did two rows each side because I thought it looked nice.
Nearly there! It’s time for snaps! I have a pretty detailed snap tutorial in my Leather Cord Keeper post but I’ll give a run down here. I worked out where I wanted my snaps and make a mark with a fabric marker. I used an awl to make a small hole at all four points and then inserted my snaps using the tools that came with the kit and a hammer.
And there you have it! Magnetic Cuff complete. I whizzed it off to Daddy-O and he is already putting it good use (and laughing at my Roger Ramjet reference!). He says he loves it and has found it pretty handy already! I don’t like to make inferences about age but I don’t call him the Old Boy for no reason and I do kind worry when he says he’s a bit sore because he fell off a roof last week. So I hope that this gift keeps him out of trouble! And if you need a custom window…
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