How to Tell if Fabric Can Be Embellished with Rhinestones

There are so many different types of fabrics available: velvet, polyester, tweed and silk, chiffon just to name a few. These range from light weight to medium weight and heavy weight woven fabrics. Some of these are sheer like chiffon, net or georgette. Others are very thick like velour or denim. With so many different choices, are all fabrics suitable for rhinestone embellishment?

The short answer is yes. Certainly, there are some fabrics that you cannot embellish with hot fix rhinestones. Chiefly, these are fabrics that have low absorbency or have been chemically treated with water repellent treatments, easy to care treatments or softening agents and sheer fabrics.

Glues for Attaching Rhinestones to Fabric

However, providing you use the correct glue and technique, non-hot fix rhinestones can be used to embellish many more types of fabric. Glues such as super glues, hot glue and those containing acetone are NOT recommended. Two of the most popular glue for attaching rhinestones are E6000 and Gem-Tac. Gem-Tac is my favorite glue for using on fabrics for ease of use. You can squeeze it directly out of the bottle and easily control how much glue you apply. E6000 is gloppy and harder to control the flow. 

Technique for Gluing Rhinestones to Fabric

Notably, most important aspect of gluing rhinestones is the amount of glue. Ultimately, the glue needs to seep out from the edges when the rhinestone is pressed into the glue drop. This provides a seal to protect the rhinestone and keep it from falling off. Adhesives tend to shrink when curing. If too little glue is used, there may be too much space between the rhinestone and the glue. As a result, this can cause the rhinestone to peel off. All suitable rhinestone fabric glue dries clear, so it will not be seen if you accidentally use too much. And it is preferable to use too much rather than too little and have your rhinestone peel off.

Sheer fabrics can be embellished with rhinestones too. Place a piece of wax paper underneath when gluing. Then, glue as described above. When the glue is done curing, simply peel the was paper off from the underside of the fabric.

Applying rhinestones to fabric seems daunting but is actually very easy. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rhinestone Etc. We will be happy to answer your questions.

Rhinestones Etc Storesells quality rhinestones while providing excellent customer service.