Thread: Superspeedy rhinestone-sticking - hot tip!

The lovely Miss Jones has been camping out chez Viva working on a bejewelled custom-made catsuit for her new winter act, and managed to get well over 3000 hot-fix stones onto her costume in about 18 hours work, by my reckoning, ( including some very elaborate motifs and initial samples; excluding the bacon sandwiches and a bit of sleep) using our new patent technique : the trouser-press!
We blagged a table-top iron/trouser press ( sits flat on the table, rather than vertically like the old one my Dad used to have) from another frock-fairy friend of mine.
It was genius!
It means you can arrange a whole design or a random scattering, rearrange or reposition as many times as you like before commiting yourself, and then stick the whole lot down in one 5 second blast.
Plus, because the base that you arrange on is slightly padded, like a traditional ironing board, when the top is clamped down it gives a really good strong seal, as the crystals are almost pushed 'into' the fabric. And when working on a stretch fabric like lycra you can pin into the flatbed to put the fabric under tension and maintain the stretch.
If you are filling in large areas you can arrange all the bigger stones first, give them a fix, and then scatter the smaller stones in and around. Not only does this mean that you have a framework to work around, and don't risk dislodging un-fixed stones in the process, but the bigger stones ( with more glue) get another blast of heat, and stick down even firmer.
No danger of scorching or melting the fabric, as the clever little machine bleeps after a few seconds when time is up.

A few extra tips : don't use steam, as it blows the crystals out of alignement. And do a test first so you get the temperature right.
If you are using a repeat design on a sheer fabric then you could draw it onto a piece of scrap and fix that to the flat-bed of the press. Then lay the top fabric over, place your stones and fix in 5 seconds, and then just reposition the top fabric over your design. Much quicker than redrawing it on the fabric every time!

It was so quick : the sleeves had over 250 stones each in different sizes, set in a regular lattice pattern, and by the end Miss J had them down to about 30 minutes each! Boy, can that girl bling!

Warning - so satisfying in terms of quick accurate results that this method is highly addictive!

Vx

WARNING

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Amazing tip!! Love it! xx

Yes indeed it is fab! I cant wait to wear it on saturday as I will be twinkling like the star on a christmas tree!!

Although it is speedy in comparison, I left home at 10.30 tuesday morning ad got home just after 10pm Wednesday night, so poor Dan who was sat at home waiting for me doesnt think it was that quick. Considering we got engaged on Monday night he thought I might have been around a bit more!! I may be in the dog house but looking at my catsuit totally worth it!!!

Thanks Viva you are the best and you make a mean Rissotto!! Xx

Brilliant tip! My friend who makes wedding dresses briefly told me about using the trouser press but I coudn't imagine how you'd do it without moving the stones when you press!

...hmmm, now what can I stick rhinestones on... ? :-)

Awesome!

Thanks for sharing the tip. I love it when people share helpful advice on here