# How to attach metal magnets to felt material? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706 "2010-07-06T13:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/1 "2010-07-06T13:10:33Z")
I need a way to attach tiny little magnets (like [these](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E63O08/ref=oss_product)) to the inside of a hat. Like [this](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AERO1I/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000K3JNRI&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0DYBD5DP7A8MJJGRFVGC). I tried some cloth glue that I had, but it soaked through the felt, made the felt stiff and in some cases easily tore off. OK, the back story is dull (and I often find that people will try to provide alternative solutions) but… Here’s the back story - however, assume if you will that we are not looking for other solutions to the problem at this time. My buddy does a kid’s puppet show. He has one character that he puts different hats and faces on. The hats and faces are made of felt. But when he does a show outside, the hats tend to blow away. I put a few magnets on the puppet’s head (plastic) with some epoxy and on a test hat we put some magnets inside the hat. Worked like a charm! But now we need to put a bunch on a lot of hats without it showing. We originally tried velcro but found that the velcro lost its sticky-ness quickly. It got dirty, covered in bits of felt while in prop-box and in general was not the best solution. We tried pins, but they were hard to change quickly. The magnets work great, if we can figure out how to get them onto the hats. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/2 "2010-07-06T13:17:56Z")
My WAG is you’re trying to attach the magnets directly to the felt. Why not put the magnets in a sleeve or pocket and then sew that envelope to the felt? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/3 "2010-07-06T13:18:14Z")
“Goop” or Silicone rubber. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/4 "2010-07-06T13:28:33Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > My WAG is you’re trying to attach the magnets directly to the felt. Why not put the magnets in a sleeve or pocket and then sew that envelope to the felt? Maybe a variant might work. He says if we sew it to the hats the sewing will will be visible (But maybe not if we get a professional) **beowulff** , I think I have some Shoe Goo, which I believe is pretty much like Goop. Maybe we could give that a try. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/5 "2010-07-06T14:38:34Z")
Felt is not that strong in terms of surface integrity and is not a great fabric to try and glue things to that are intended to be pulled on and off and thereby stressing the fabric surface. Sewing a fabric pocket and then putting the magnet in that is the only good long term solution. Glue strength is not the issue, the surface of the felt is still going to pull apart and separate when stressed. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/6 "2010-07-06T15:45:45Z")
Have you tried a hot glue gun? Double-sticky-sided carpet tape might work, too. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/7 "2010-07-06T15:55:24Z")
A glue gun is pretty cheap - worth a try. I kind of like the doublesided tape, because it is something that can be redone if need be. I see **astro** ’s point - felt just isn’t a good medium to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/8 "2010-07-06T16:04:38Z")
Hot glue will not bond non-porous surfaces, which the magnet is. My favorite glue is Weld-bond. It looks just like white glue but can bond porous and non-porous materials. It can actually glue glass to glass. It’s available at craft stores, ACE Hardware, and stained glass shops. No home should be without it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/9 "2010-07-06T16:13:58Z")
Does the puppet-fedora have a band like the real one does? Because if you’re careful, you can sew the sleeves/pouches for the magnets on so the outside stitches only occur underneath the hatband and conceal the stitching that way. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/10 "2010-07-06T16:47:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Does the puppet-fedora have a band like the real one does? Because if you’re careful, you can sew the sleeves/pouches for the magnets on so the outside stitches only occur underneath the hatband and conceal the stitching that way. Actually, I guess that was a poor link, my apologies. I was just trying to convey what the target was. There are all kinds of tops to go on the puppet, all of them made from felt. (I say tops, because I a lot of them are different types of hair and/or ears. He can change the appearance pretty quickly.) I guess my best answer to your question is, I don’t know. I’m going to guess that alot of the tops don’t.) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/11 "2010-07-06T19:51:24Z")
Anyone else disappointed that he wasn’t making a Magnetic Hat to foil (no pun) the govt./aliens? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/12 "2010-07-06T20:49:23Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Anyone else disappointed that he wasn’t making a Magnetic Hat to foil (no pun) the govt./aliens? I’m am \*so \*busted! You’ve been reading my blog, haven’t you? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/13 "2010-07-07T19:14:04Z")
I’m liking the idea of sewing them into little pockets, but if you’ve already got magnets glued to the puppet head, why not just sew some disks (or strips, or scraps) of a ferrous metal into the hats and faces? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/14 "2010-07-07T22:09:27Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m liking the idea of sewing them into little pockets, but if you’ve already got magnets glued to the puppet head, why not just sew some disks (or strips, or scraps) of a ferrous metal into the hats and faces? I guess mostly 'cause we have lots of magnets and no metal scraps. I’m not sure where he got the magnets, but he has hundreds of them. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/15 "2010-07-09T02:20:37Z")
Oh. Well, make sure he gets the polarity right. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/16 "2010-07-09T09:17:55Z")
How about attaching double sided tape to thin metal strips on the inside of the hat allowing the magnets to be placed on the outside. Earth magnets are pretty strong and once attached, will not move. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-attach-metal-magnets-to-felt-material/545706/17 "2010-07-21T11:32:28Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Maybe a variant might work. He says if we sew it to the hats the sewing will will be visible (But maybe not if we get a professional) > > **beowulff** , I think I have some Shoe Goo, which I believe is pretty much like Goop. Maybe we could give that a try. I was thinking more of you putting the magnets in their own envelope kinda like a skin over them, then you could sew or glue them wherever you want.