If you were a cool kid in the early 2000’s, theres a high chance to you would have owned something completely encrusted with rhinestones. Although that trend has left the real world, here in the vintage world, rhinestones still reign supreme and oh boy it’s a sparkly life. Upon joining the vintage, burlesque and pinup world, you will start noticing that there is a lot of sparkles (be it in the form of glitter, sequin or rhinestones). Personally, the way I look at life is if it stands still, cover it in glitter, rhinestones or fairy lights! Bedazzling is a great way to decorate, emphasise and enhance items, clothing, shoes, accessories and more to give it a special edge and a little bit more sparkle. Bedazzling is a process of adhering rhinestones, crystals, beads, glitter or sequins to an object for beautification purposes. You will see it all the time when it comes to burlesque performances, pinup shows or anything that needs a boost on stage. It may sound like a simple thing to do, but it does take a bit of know-how. As someone who has been covering a multitude of things with rhinestones, I thought today I’d share my comprehensive guide.
Let’s have a quick look at the difference between crystals and rhinestones. The term “crystal” refers to the product made specifically by Swarovski. Swarovski crystal elements are a branded product that is of premium quality and give incomparable sparkle and vivid colour. The term “rhinestone” refers to any other (non-branded) glass product on the market.
Types of Rhinestones
There are three main types of rhinestones; Swarovski crystals, high quality glass rhinestones (like dmc rhinestones) and plastic/acrylic rhinestones.
Swarovski crystals are the most expensive rhinestones as they are considered the best quality rhinestone you can get (think Dita Von Teese and how sparkly she is on stage, yeah, those are definitely Swarovski). Swarovski has a long history and is the leading brand of crystal rhinestones they are internationally renowned, have a unique cutting process, and manufacture well-known crystal rhinestones.
Glass rhinestone or DMC (Diamonte Machine Cut or Die Mould Cut) although not as sparkly as Swarovski, these are my personal go-to rhinestone. They are about 1/10th of the price of Swarovski and are most commonly made in Korea. They are high quality, they are double machine cut stones and slightly larger than lower quality rhinestones.
Plastic/Acrylic rhinestones: Acrylic rhinestones are made of acrylic (polymthyl methacrylate) and molded through injection moulding. The acrylic material has the advantages of high transparency, low price, and easy machining, so it is used as a material for making plastic rhinestones. They are on the lower part in terms of quality and sparkle.
Now that we have briefly covered the main types of rhinestones, within these categories are two subcategories which related to the adhesion method.
Flatback rhinestones are rhinestones backed with foiling for extra brilliance and protection. These are easy to apply to a variety of materials using glues.
Flatback Hotfix rhinestones have an adhesive backing and require heat to melt and apply the rhinestone.
Adhesive methods
When buying your crystals, keep in mind if you are purchasing plain fallback or Hotfix. If you are choosing Hotfix, you will need some kind of heating method to adhere the rhinestone to your object. I use this heating tool which is specially designed for rhinestone application and comes with a multitude of tips to fit different crystal sizes. If you dont want to purchase a separate tool, a simple iron can work just as well but can get a little fiddly.
If you are looking to use glue for your normal flatback rhinestones, the two main types are GemTack and E6000. GemTack is a premium adhesive formulates specifically to secure gems and rhinestones. It is one of the only adhesives that is suitable for applying mirror backed stones as the glue won’t warp or alter the appearance of gems or rhinestones. It is permanent, dries clear, is non toxic and water based washable. It is odour free, flexible and comes with a precision tip cap.
E6000 is your net option but I will start by saying only use this adhesive if you are in a well ventilated area and wearing a mask. This ahesive has a very strong smell and the fumes have been linked to cancer cell development in animals but there is some debate with its effects on humans. E6000 is a unique adhesive formulated to meet high performance industrial requirements, thus making it an excellent crafting tool. E6000 has exceptional adhesion to wood, metal, glass, fiberglass, ceramics, and concrete and it also adheres strongly to leather, rubber, vinyl and many plastics. E6000 dries clear and once cured, it’s waterproof, washer/dryer safe, paintable and safe for photographs.
Both of these adhesives can be purchased from most craft stores, online and Amazon.
Where to buy your crystals
It’s important to know where you are getting your crystals from. Some companies may say that they are selling Swarovski but they are just selling dupes and you will be robbed of your potential sparkles. The grading system for rhinestones is not regulated so untrustworthy sellers can write whatever they want on their product with no repercussions. I’d definitely recommend shopping with a trust seller. My go to crystal seller is Avant Crystals as I find their online store layout easy to use, they have well organised and categorised segments so I know exactly what I am buying and their colour range and price is great. A fellow burlesque friend shops with Crystal Queen but as I have never shopped with them personally, I cannot give proper feedback.
Depending on where you live, many craft stores, bead shops and dance stores will also sell crystals of various kinds although the range may be limiting. Another place to grab your rhinestones are places such as eBay but of course, unless it’s a trusted seller, you might not get exactly what you want.
Useful accessories
Before you click ‘check out’, let me draw your attention to a few useful tools when it comes to rhinestones and bedazzling because I love anything that makes my life easier. Look into getting a wax pencil or a gem picker; these tools really help you pick up and place your rhinestones into your glue quickly. If you are wanting to make your own, add a little candle wax of blu-tac onto the tip of a kebab stick or toothpick.
It might also be worth getting gem tweezers or pickers if you dont want to use a picker pencil tool.
Rhinestone Size Guide
When purchasing your rhinestones, you will need to decide what size you get. I was given this handy size graphic by a friend but keep in mind that you should look at a proper ruler when deciding.
Whenever I want to scatter rhinestones over a surface (such as a piece of clothing or a prop), I generally go for the SS20 as I find the size isn’t too small so the crystal gets lost, but to super huge. If you are planning on fully encrusting an object with rhinestones, it’s worth purchasing a range of sizes as rhinestones do not tesselate well so there will always be a small gap between your rhinestones. If you are, for example, covering something fully, start with SS20 but also pick up some SS17’s or even something smaller. It’s certainly worth buying different sizes if your item is curved such as a shoe. The smaller rhinestones will be necessary for patching up the gaps on curves. Rhinestones packed together are most effectively done on a flat straight surface but unfortunately, most of the time you’ll be covering something with a slight curve. When the time comes to actually covering your chosen surface, it’s good to remember that the larger the rhinestone you choose, the faster you will cover your surface.
Quantity
This is always the hardest thing to guess, how many crystals do you need to buy? Unfortunately this will always feel like a guestimate as you won’t know until you start adhering your rhinestones to your surface. Certainly I’ve started a project and ran out of rhinestones a little way in, it happens to all of us. You most definitely will need more rhinestones than you think you will especially if you are fully encrusting your item.
Whilst deciding how many rhinestones to buy, you may notice that you can buy them in a ‘gross’. A gross means 144 rhinestones of whatever size. I’m sorry this section is so vague; my biggest tip is order your rhinestones for your project early, and then see how quickly they dwindle once you start attaching them and be prepared to order more.
Choosing your Colours
Much like deciding on the quantity of rhinestones you need, choosing the right colour can be a little daunting. Unless you can shop in person and really choose your colours accurately, it’s a little bit tricky to do so online. Some stores offer a sample pack where each colour is sent to you with a labeled colour so when you order in bulk you know exactly what colour you are receiving. Sometimes you just need to take a guess or buy two similar colours and decide later.
Application Patterns
It’s time to get comfy, put on a movie (or a long running tv series), make yourself a cup of tea and grab your rhinestones, glue and the item you wish to bedazzle. There’s a little debate as to the correct rhinestone application process; some put glue on each rhinestone individually and then adhere it to the object whilst some draw a line of glue directly onto the item and then add the rhinestones. I think it’s completely up to you and as long as you are prepared to put in the hours of work, do it however you prefer. I would recommend applying your rhinestones one straight line at a time; working in rows and tucking the gems in as tight of a pattern as possible is the best. Each row beneath (or above) should fit into the spaces left between the rhinestones in the previous row you added. You may end up using your wax pencils or pickers to push the rhinestones into place or stop them from sliding around if your glue is still very wet (sometimes it helps to wait for the glue to go a bit tacky before adding your rhinestones).
If you are not fully encrusting your item, it’s best to lay out your rhinestones over the item to see if you like the density of the application. Its easier to adjust before you permanently adhere your rhinestones. Recently, rhinestone stencils have become more and more popular and might be worth looking into if you are decorating an item in a specific way. These stencils are designed to be placed on your object and you simply adhere the rhinestones in the gaps the stencil provides. The stencil will also tell you what size you will need to pick up and it makes creating patterns uniform and cohesive.
If you are using HotFix rhinestones, place the rhinestone on your item and then touch the applicator to the crystal and hold it down for several seconds. If you give the rhinestone a slight jiggle and its still moving, the glue hasn’t melted yet so hold it down for a little while longer. Once the glue has melted, avoid touching the rhinestone for at least a minute as it will be very hot and can burn slightly. Before it fully cools down, push the rhinestone further into your item (this works really well with fabric) as it gives the melted hot glue a chance to fuse well. Without sounding like Captain Obvious, the HotFix applicator tip is very hot and if you touch it, it will burn you (its just like an iron or a curling wand). I have two burn scars on my legs as whilst sitting cross legged, the applicator fell off my table and fell onto the floor touching my leg along the wayfaring two different parts of it at the same time. Ouch.
Regardless of what you item is, it really doesn’t matter where you start applying your rhinestones. Prepare this to be a long process; there’s really no time limit and it all depends on the size of your item, the size of your rhinestones and even things such as humidity which effects the speed the glue dries. Don’t expect to cover an entire object in an hour or two and be prepared to chip away at this for several evenings.
Bedazzling an item can be tedious but also really fun and rewarding. If your bedazzling for a performance, let me tell you that when the stage lights hit you just right, you just sparkle like a diamond. Bedazzling can be a great way to switch off after a long day and just spend sometime watching Netflix without feeling lazy about it. When it comes to rhinestoning, it’s best just to start somewhere; yes you will probably buy the wrong size (guilty) or the wrong colour (guilty) but it’s all part of the process but eventually those ‘wrong rhinestones’ will come in handy so just hold onto them for a little bit. Enjoy the process, watch some trashy tv and have fun!
Happy rhinestoning!
Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.