I have this little eyelet puncher thing that is used for scrap booking(like SillyLilPuppet mentioned). It comes with different heads, one to punch the hole, and one to hammer the eyelet down in place(in different sizes). All you do is hammer it, gently though, the one I have goes through the fabric, and into the wood behind it.
This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Darice-1201-45-Ey ... B002PNP5U0
It is actually pretty easy to use, so something like this might be an option.