Which Adhesive Should I Use to Glue Figure Skating Dress Crystals?

Awesome post! I use hotfix crystals with a Kandy Kane (which I’m assuming is similar to your beweller) and yes it’s terribly time consuming. I also curse upon crystal-spillage. How reassuring to see I’m not the only one. I may have to start a Facebook group!

I’d never heard of E6000. Sounds pretty cool. I love your toothpick method! What us skateys get up to eh? I agree with the fact that you can wash and wash Hotfix. Before they came out (oh dear showing my age) my mother used regular superglue and I have recently had to overhaul a waltz dress who had lost almost all of its Swarovskis due to crap glue. Sigh.

Just a tip when using a Kandy Kane, I hold it like a pen for better manageability, and am always burning the skin on my ring finger as it slips off the plastic onto the ROASTING metal tip. So now I wear a magic glove on my right hand (Lord knows skaters have enough of those!).

I’m glad you liked the post, Gigi! My favorite part is the little girl wearing all the bling. I love her. She could be me. Well, she could be me 35 years ago.

The good thing about growing old? Wearing a ton of bling becomes acceptable again. I’m not quite that old, but you can bet I’m going to wear it once my hair is good and gray!

I have only ever used hot fix crystals – I don’t think I would have the patience for the glue-on kind, I hate messing with glue. I guess hot fix is a little time consuming but at least I know they will stay on. My 14 year old does NOT like crystals on anything other than her competition/testing dresses. For some reason she now considers crystals on anything else “babyish” – which I guess is cheaper for me! She mostly just wears skating pants and t-shirts for practice. I think she does want to put crystals on her new Zuca bag insert – I just keep forgetting to order them. I would recommend getting a color/size chart for the Swavorski hot fix crystals – I think I paid $10 for mine. It helps to see the colors/sizes in person before you order. I always order my crystals online – much cheaper. :~)

It’s funny how stoning is different for different people. I have tried every method and I have the most luck with E-6000 and a dental syringe. I am not coordinated enough to use the hot fix crystals because as you said when you try to flip the stone over to apply it to the dress the stone flies off and lands in the wrong spot (always glue side down of course!!!). I have tried the tooth pick trick too but I got too many glue strings especially on velvet. The syringe works well for me and I’ve rarely had to glue dry on me too fast. I only put down about a dozen or so dots of glue at a time and then I go back and place the stones and then repeat until the dress is finished. If I have to walk away for a few hours or over night and I still have glue in the syringe I just pop a straight pin (the kind with a ball on the end) in the nozzle of the syringe and that keeps the glue fresh for a few days. Ice Mom I would love to see pictures(or video) of your toothpick method, maybe I was doing something wrong when I tried it. I would be happy to send you video of how I stone with the syringe . Oh yeah if you are looking to get rid of those syringes you bought let me know I would be happy to buy them from you!
Becky

Hey, Becky!

A video is a great idea. If I have time this weekend, I’ll do it. If you want to shoot one, too, I could post both methods together.

Yeah, I have a box of dental syringes. If you want ‘em, they’re yours. E-mail me your address. When I find some time to go to the post office, I’ll send them to you. icemom.diane@gmail.com

I’ve had problems with the hot fix crystals (Swarovski) falling off, and since my son doesn’t have very many crystals on his competition wear, it becomes glaringly obvious. So I’ve resorted to putting the flat backs on with Tiffany settings. Just as time consuming as hot fix, but you don’t have the problem of them falling off the tool in the wrong place (I’ve had that happen too), and I’ve never had a crystal fall off. So if you’re not putting on too many crystals, that’s another option. But if you got this route, you will want to put the crystals on, then line the garment in the area where the crystals are because there is a metal backing on the underside of the garment next to the skin.

I also use the E6000/toothpick method for gluing rhinestones. I have never tried hotfix, but if it is slower than gluing by hand and more dangerous then I don’t know that I would be up for it. I have not used the syringe method, but have seen it work for others. It seemed like they worked in teams though – one person laying the glue another placing the stones to prevent dry out. I was also super fast for them.

I do have to agree that E6000 does not hold up well in the dryer (or extreme heat in general) – I used it to put sequins on a practice dress but after a few times through the dryer they started falling off a lot. After I packed it in airplane luggage they fell off even more. It is one of my favorite dresses (so soft and comfy!) so I am debating how I will fix it, but I do know it needs to get fixed.

I do think E6000 dries very fast though. The package says to give it 24 hours, but I have seen people finish a dress 2-3 hours before competing and not have any problems with the stones falling off. Not that I recommend this. Just saying I have seen it and it has been ok.

Also, make sure it is E6000 and not some other type of fancy craft glue. I went to a Jo-Anns and wanted to make a hairpeice to go with my dress (the night before an away competition), but they were out of E6000 and the small tube I had brought with me had dried up. I got some other super “craft glue” because it wasn’t going on fabric but on a plastic hair clip. I started gluing sequins on and the glue DISSOLVED them! I realized it was an acetone-based glue and that was not good. Acetone dries very very fast, but it dissolves pretty much everything water doesn’t. It is what chemists use to clean glassware in the lab. DO NOT get an acetone containing glue for use with costumes – it will probably not hold the sequins or rhinestones but will instead dissolve the backings.

I do not really like the Tiffany settings because they tend to snag the fabric and tights when you are changing. Also I tend to be allergic to the metal they use to make them, so I agree that while they hold stones well, not my favorite way to stick stones on skating costumes.

I think the best way to stick stones on a dress is to sew them on – especially the super large ones. Unfortunately it does take a long time and many colors and sizes are not available for sew on, and the sew on stones tend to be more expensive. However, they are re-useable, tend to stay on much better and you can wash them. Since the colors are so limited I do tend to use a mix of glue-on and sew-on for my competition dresses to get the effects I want.

Hi Icemom, stumbled across your blog a while ago and love it I have just started skating and would love to add some sparkle to my practice wear, you mentioned that ironing the hot-fix crystals is a bad idea on delicate skating dresses, but would it be ok for harder wearing fabrics e.g. leggings? If so, how would you do it? Thanks again for a great resource

Glad to have you among my readers, Newbie! Thanks for the kind words!

Actually, I don’t recommend ironing hot fix at all, even on more durable materials. The crystals will shift around. I should have written that in the post…

It’s better to plunk down the $20 for a bejewler (or something similar), than to ruin an outfit. Sure, lighter fluid and Goo Gone will take off the glue, but it’s a pain in the rear.

I found that E6000 gives me a migrane and then for two days all I smell is glue. However I do still use it for small solid objects like hair clips where I can work outside. As far as hotfix goes I found that placing the stones where I want them and holding the bejewler on them works well for me. I first figure out how long it takes for the glue on the back of the various size crystals to melt so I know how long to hold them down then I just press and count. That way I have my pattern already laid out and I don’t have to worry about the jewel falling off before it gets to where it needs to go.

Thanks Shall shell out for the stuff and do it properly, after all I only need to buy it once and then buy more crystals

Since my skater is a boy, I never thought about the Tiffany settings snagging the tights, but I imagine that would be a pretty common problem.

I’m afraid of E6000 – it just dries too darned fast! Hot fix – I use a hot plate and quilting pin, a trick I picked up from Del Arbour… much faster than the tool. When stoning mesh, I put a silicone cutting board behind the fabric – when I’m done with a section, the stones just pop off, without hurting the fabric, or falling off… just enough glue ooze to adhere securely to the mesh.

With rare exception, I order 20ss Crystal AB by the 10 gross… and go through them like water. Have used 30ss and 34ss from time to time as well.

Never used the hotfix (mainly because I have been too cheap to buy the tool.) I have had success with the E6000, but use a medicine syringe (the ones pharmacies sometimes give out with children’s meds – you can also buy them). When I used the dental syringes, it took a lot of force to push the glue out, easier in the med syringes. But you have to also have more control else too much may come out (larger hole = more glue). I put a small amount in the syringe at a time to prevent it drying out or wasting any. I rinse them out with pure acetone (you can get smaller containers where nail polish is sold).

A hot plate and a quilting pin. Huh. I’m going to try that!

Have you had an issue with the Tiffany settings tearing through the fabric? I know these work well with denim and sturdy fabric, but I’ve been worried about using them with Lycra.

Also, let’s face it: I’m far too lazy to line anything after I’ve constructed it.

The color/size chart is terrific. I bought mine from DreamTimeCreations.com. I really like it because they mount the stones on clear plastic, so it’s easy to see what the crystals look like against the fabric.

I’ve only used the Tiffany settings on stretch foil, which is where I had a big problem with the hot fix stones falling off, and on stretch velvet and haven’t had any problems with them tearing through. I think I’ll give the hot fix another try if I use Lycra on his next costume. I stone the garment before I sew it together to avoid having to line after construction. I had to do that once and it was way too much work.

I’ve never used crystal on stretch foil; although, I have sewn it. Last year’s pop can dress was stretch foil. Man, that stuff is fun to sew. I just loved the look of it, too, very bright and shiny.

In fact, it was so shiny that I didn’t crystal it at all.

I had a lot of fun with this particular shirt. My son was skating to a compilation from Clint Eastwood westerns. The bottom 2/3rds and the sleeves were a dark green velvet shot through with silver metallic thread. The top 1/3rd and cuffs I did with silver foil. Then I stoned a western wear pattern on the foil using onyx crystals. I also put onyx crystals on the cuffs where snaps on the cuffs of a western shirt would go. The onyx crystal really stood out on the silver foil. I though it came out pretty cool.

Stupid question, but how do you “hold” the rhinestones? I’m just picturing getting E6000 all over my fingers!