How to sew rhinestones?

There are many ways to transform something. One of them is decorating with rhinestones. Small, but bright and often shiny crystals form an iridescent three-dimensional pattern on an object. You can create such an application yourself. To do this you will need a piece of clothing, knowledge of the characteristics of its material, a scattering of decorative stones and patience.

How are rhinestones attached to clothes?

The gluing method depends on the characteristics of the fabric from which the clothing is made, as well as on the type of rhinestones. There are crystals on which a layer of hot-melt adhesive has already been applied. Such decorations are attached to the item using spot heating.

In its turn You can warm up the pebble with an iron or applicator. The choice between these 2 options is made after taking into account the characteristics of the item being decorated. If the fabric from which it is made tolerates ironing well, then gluing can be done using an iron. If ironing is prohibited, then work on fixing the rhinestones is done using an applicator.

In addition to the thermal method, it is practiced manual gluing. It comes down to applying glue to the back of the crystal. Sometimes an adhesive agent is used on the clothing itself.

Important! Regardless of how the rhinestones were attached, clothes with them should be washed at a water temperature of no higher than 50 degrees.

On glue

Method suitable for rhinestones whose reverse side is not covered with a bonding compound. Such products come with the “no hotfix” marking. It is also called cold fix rhinestones.

The work should begin with the right choice of glue. Be sure to read the ingredients before purchasing. It should not contain acrylate dispersions, acetone and acetic acids. These components discolor fabrics and decorations for them, and at the same time do not provide reliable fixation of the decorative element and material.

Next, proceed to preparing clothes. It needs to be washed and degreased. Folk remedies or specialized rinses can handle the last task. When choosing them, pay attention to the description of additional functions. If it says antistatic effect, look for another product. When preparing to glue rhinestones, there is no need to remove the electrical charge from the item of clothing.

If it is better not to wash the item or get it too wet, then the way out is to treat it with a cotton pad soaked in alcohol. Close attention should be paid to the area you are going to decorate. Further work with the wardrobe item depends on what part of it will be decorated and from what material it is created. If the material does not stretch, and the cut element does not contact other parts of the item, then it makes sense to secure the area to be decorated in a hoop. They will help to glue the crystals more accurately, securely and evenly.

Important! The hoop works on the principle of stretching. Do not use them on fabric that has a lot of stretch.

If the area to be decorated is in contact with others - for example: the front side is in contact with the back - then you need to place a piece of cardboard under it (preferably thicker). This will protect adjacent parts of your clothing from being soaked in glue.

The sequence of steps in the process of directly attaching jewelry to a wardrobe item:

• lay a material on the work surface that does not react to glue (this is necessary so that the item does not stick to the table);
• transfer the design to the fabric;
• using a tool (some use tweezers, others use a slightly melted thin candle, for example, a church candle), pick up the rhinestone;
• apply a little glue to it (on the back, non-front part);
• place the decor in place (the side with the glue should be facing the surface of the item, and the front should be facing you);
• press a little;
• repeat the steps for the remaining decorations.

Glue can be applied directly to the item of clothing itself, but without an idea of ​​the process it is difficult to determine the required amount of product. Mistakes can lead to uneven and unreliable gluing., as well as the formation of whitish mass growths around the rhinestone - this is what the glue looks like after hardening.

Thermal method

Suitable for rhinestones whose non-front side has been coated with adhesive by the manufacturer itself. The adhesive layer is hot-melt. When exposed to an iron, it softens and acquires fastening properties.

Step-by-step instructions for using such crystals:

• transfer the design to the fabric;
• place foil, paper or a specialized mat under the fabric (this is protection against glue getting into other areas of the wardrobe item);
• lay out the design with pebbles;
• set the iron to “two points”, “silk”, “wool” (steam, turn off humidification);
• cover the material with rhinestones with an iron;
• place the iron on the area with rhinestones, press lightly, hold for 2-3 minutes (the larger the jewelry, the longer you should use the iron);
• remove the iron and ironing iron;
• Allow clothes to cool.

Important! Thermal rhinestones attach well to smooth fabrics using an iron, but not to fleecy fabrics or those that are not prone to stretching.

Using an applicator

The device, like the iron, is suitable for working with hot-melt rhinestones, but is much more delicate when handling jewelry and fabric.. Due to its gentle action, the applicator can be used on materials that are sensitive to heat and high temperatures. It is also used in the process of decorating embossed, stretchable and fleecy fabrics. In their case, the device provides the most reliable fastening.

The device itself looks like a miniature soldering iron, on the head of which there is a miniature heating element. Its circumference corresponds to the circumference of the rhinestone. Thereby Only the pebble is heated, and the fabric is not exposed to high temperatures.

Important! The heating element is removable, and the applicator is sold together with a set of nozzles of different diameters. When changing them, it becomes possible to high-quality gluing rhinestones of various sizes.

The gluing process itself:

1. the design is transferred from the picture to the fabric;
2. rhinestones are placed according to the pattern;
3. the applicator is connected to the network;
4. the device is given a little time to warm up;
5. the applicator is brought to the rhinestone placed in its place;
6. press the device;
7. wait the allotted time (the timing depends on the size of the decoration), remove it;
8. repeat the manipulation with other decorative elements.

On tape

We are not talking about stationery, but about a special adhesive tape that can be found in a hardware and fabric store. To use it for its intended purpose you will need:

• tweezers;
• adhesive tape (more correct name: thermal film);
• pattern template in mirror image (can be displayed in Point);
• rhinestones.

The work process itself:

1. securely attach the stencil with the pattern to a flat working surface (for example, using stationery tape);
2. remove the backing from the thermal film (the backing should not be torn or thrown away, it will be useful in the future);
3. We place the film on the pattern so that its adhesive side is facing up, and the non-sticky side is in contact with the pattern;
4. We attach the edges of the thermal film to the table with tape;
5. we pick up the rhinestone with tweezers (we take the crystal not as usual, but with the back side, that is, the tweezers should touch the part on which the glue is applied);
6. place the stone (the adhesive side should be facing up, and the front side should be in contact with the thermal film);
7. after laying out the pattern, take the backing that was previously removed from the thermal film and place it on top of the rhinestone;
8. press (we apply pressure evenly over the entire area of ​​the drawing);
9. remove all layers of tape that secured the work to the table;
10. turn the workpiece over;
11. we check whether it turned out correctly;
12. if there are errors, then carefully remove the backing and make the necessary adjustments;
13. if everything is in order, then you can start transferring the pattern from the thermal film to the clothes;
14. lay out the item of clothing on the ironing board;
15. remove the backing from the adhesive film;
16. We put a film with rhinestones on top of the clothes (the side with rhinestones should be in contact with the clothes);
17. Lay a flat sheet of paper on top of the film;
18. take the iron, set the “wool” mode, turn off the steam;
19. place the iron on top of the applique, wait (5–15 seconds for thin fabric, up to 30 seconds for dense fabric);
20. stop using the iron and let it cool;
21. After complete cooling, remove the tape.

Important! If the pattern is lined with rhinestones of different heights and widths, then before transferring the pattern from the film to clothing, you need to place a soft cloth under the item of clothing. Under the weight of the iron, it will be pressed unevenly, due to which the finished application will turn out to be just as embossed and voluminous, as planned.

Sew one at a time

Sewing is only possible if the rhinestones themselves have holes for thread passage. In this case, not ordinary threads are used, but specialized monofilament (you can buy it at a hardware store) or the thinnest fishing line (both those sold in sewing departments and products sold through fishing stores are suitable). You also need a special needle - the so-called bead needle.

The sewing process itself is simple. The only thing is It must be taken into account that passing a thread through a crystal hole once is not enough. It is necessary to thread the monofilament through the rhinestone hole twice. In other words, each crystal is attached using a double stitch.

Serious problems usually arise after the embroidery process is completed. Craftswomen simply do not know how to secure the fishing line so that it does not unravel in the future and does not prick during wear. Matches will help you solve the problem (not a lighter). You need to tie the ends of the monofilament in a knot, and then use the heat from the flame (not the fire itself, but its heat) to singe the ends.

Important! Don't choose rhinestones with sharp edges. They “saw through” the fishing line on which they are strung.

How to attach ribbon rhinestones

For work we will need the following tools and materials:

• rhinestone ribbon;
• scissors;
• pliers (small);
• needle;
• monofilament or silver lurex;
• acrylic paint;
• brush.

To start you need to determine the end and beginning of the ribbon with rhinestones. They differ in the tongue. The front part has it, but the end does not. Having found out where the bunch of crystals begins, we apply the tape to the place to be sewn and begin working with the needle.

We thread the needle to the left of the first rhinestone (that is, on the side from which the bunch continues and does not break). We bring the needle from the bottom up, making a double stitch. Next, the needle is led to the tongue. As before, sew it on with a double stitch.

Important! The seams should be as close to the rhinestones as possible. After completing the stitch, the crystal adjacent to it is moved closer to the previous decoration. Due to this, the ribbon disappears from view, only the decorative stones remain visible.

In a similar way - double stitch, thread the needle from the bottom and bring it out from the top - the entire bunch of rhinestones is stitched. After completing the pattern, cut off the excess length of the ribbon with pliers. Further actions depend on the type of drawing. If the ornament is circular, then the rivets holding the last pebble in the row are sewn to the tongue (a thread is threaded through the rivets, and then it is sewn over the tongue). If the pattern is not circular, then the monofilament passed through the outer rivets is fixed using a knot on the back of the item.

Paint is necessary to create a background on which the stitches will not be visible. In other words, you need paint that completely matches the monofilament in tone. She paints fabric under rhinestones. To accurately perform the action, the attached tape is bent slightly to the side or the material is pulled away with your fingers.

Ways to sew rhinestones onto knitted fabric

Reliable attachment to an uneven surface, for example, to a knitted hat, is provided by a “soldering iron”, also known as an applicator.. During its use, other parts of the knitted product are not exposed to high temperatures, due to which their structure does not deteriorate. If you don’t have a specialized tool at hand, then the best way out would be to use sew-on crystals.