Rhinestones- The Ultimate Guide to Rhinestones Selection and Use
Rhinestones are diamond imitation stones known for their radiance and shine dazzling the eyes of bypassers and dominating dance floors. Also known as diamantes and gems, they’re made from paste, and glass or gem quartz. You can sew, glue or hotfix them on your clothes, shoes or use them as jewelry. Nevertheless, not all rhinestones in the market are of superior quality. Low-quality ones quickly wear out and lose their radiant beauty. When looking to buy quality stones, these are some of the features you shouldn’t overlook.
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Important Rhinestones Features
1. The Material
Rhinestones are popularly divided into various types depending on the material used. The stones from leading brands are made from high-quality acrylic materials and are some of the finest.
2. The Quality
A good diamante should have an enhanced reflective degree and translucency. The acrylic material its made from should be of high quality and injected through high-quality molds to produce flat, smooth, and brightest reflection.
3. The Surface Cut
The surface cut should be flat. This will allow the stone to produce a brighter refracted light. The quality of diamantes is basically determined by their ability to refract light. Our stones have 16 facets. Each of these stones has 16 cut faces to provide the highest light refractions. This highest refraction is made possible by the many surfaces which are made available for light to bounce on. The SS40 and SS50 which are all having 16 facets features multiple colors to suit different tastes. The low-quality crystals like DMC or 4A+++ have fewer facets averaging 8 to 12 faces hence their poor shining ability.
4. Injection Gate
The injection gate should be smooth, and flat to avoid little accidents like punching or scratching of your skin.
5. The Backing
On the back of gem is silver/gold foil backing. The silver/gold back is what enhances the shining ability of your stone. It should be strong, and firm to resist damage. Test this by gently scratching it at the bottom. If it scratches, the stone is very poor in quality, and the silver/gold back will quickly wear off. These kinds of stones also offer poor adhesion to clothes hence the ease for falling off. To have peace of mind it is best to use Rhinestones as the back of its stones are made from high-quality materials that ensure your dress or garment’s stones will always stay intact whether you’re on the dance floor or swimming in competitions.
Uses Of Rhinestones
Rhinestones have a lot of creative uses. You can use them to make beautiful earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, tiaras, cufflinks or any other types of jewelry you fancy. On fabric you can use them on; dance costumes, wedding gowns, swimsuits or any garments that you would like to sparkle.
There are different kinds of gems you could use for your preferred activity. You could choose from either standard, AB, Metallic or Opal rhinestones.
The standard which is glass/crystal colored stones is the most popular. The AB stones are inspired by Aurora Borealis also known as polar lights. They have a subtle high shimmer. The metallic pearls have metal coating while the Opal rhinestones are professionally crafted to give out an Opal effect.
Rhinestones For Dance Dresses
Can’t figure out how to rock your dancing costumes? Ballet dancers, ballroom dancers, and Irish dancers and synchronized swimmers use them as the magic wands to sway their audiences and judges. But then, if you poorly add the stones on your costumes, they won’t stand the test of time.
How To Add Rhinestones To Fabrics
There are three popular ways of adding rhinestones to your piece of fabric or dress:
Gluing, Hot fixing, and Sewing.
They’re discussed in detail below;
• Gluing:
Gluing is the easiest way of adding rhinestones to fabrics but also the least effective method. To glue them to your cloth, you’re going to use a non-hotfix stone, and gemstone glue like Gem Tac Glue or Helmet Gemstone Glue made in Australia. You’ll apply the glue on the region where you want the stones to be. The Diamantes used with this method of attachment have brushed foil that helps the glue to stick on the garment. After applying the gemstone glue on the garment, hold your stones with tweezers, and gently press them on the glue. Let the cloth rest for 24 hours before using it.
• Hot fixing:
For this method, you’re going to need hot-fix rhinestones with glue which is melted to stick to the fabric.
How To Hot Fix/ Heat Press Rhinestones? Place the stones on your preferred region on the fabric then spread a piece of cloth on them. Press the cloth with an iron box at the lowest temperature till the glue melts. This should take between 45 seconds to 1 minute. Allow the cloth to rest for around 20 minutes before you can use it. Either way, you’d also use a hot glue gun to activate the glue.
• Sewing:
There are unique rhinestones for this sewing. The stones, in this case, come with little holes for passing the thread to attach them to the cloth. After passing the thread in the holes, tie knots underneath the piece of fabric.
Moreover, all these methods could be time-consuming if you need to apply many rhinestones to an outfit, especially those with fascinating designs. Therefore, the best way to ensure quality application of these rhinestones and save you time is to hire a stoning specialist that has an eye for detail and ensures the design requirments are met precisely. Stoning services are offered by Wholesale Rhinestone in Perth for affordable prices to take care of all your design and stoning needs so you can focus on being fabulous in your outfit.