Information on Iron-On (Hot Fix) Swarovski Crystals

Swarovski Hot Fix rhinestones stones have glue that melts at about 340 - 375 degrees F. If your fabric is easily damaged by heat, these are not the stones for you.

These stones can be applied with your household iron or a heat press. A specialized tool, the "as seen on TV" BeJeweler can also be used. The BeJeweler will pick-up round rhinestones, heat them until the glue begins to melt so that you can attach them to your fabric. Its quick, it' clean and its easy.

The weakest link in the rhinestone system is its mirror backing, the coating on the back of a rhinestone is a mirror bonded to the glass. This mirror does not have a very strong bond with the glass and can be pulled free of the glass over time. This is why you may see a silver spot where a rhinestone used to be.

When you use heat set rhinestones, only the backing is glued to the fabric. These stones will come loose over time in a washing machine and/or dryer. It is highly advised to hand-wash any items with glued rhinestones, regardless of how they are put on the garment.

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There are two methods of applying hot-fix rhinestones. The first method is by using the Hot-Fixer tool, and the second method involves the use of a standard iron.

Hot-Fixer Tool Method

1. Before plugging in hot-fix tool, ensure that you are using the proper sized attachment for the rhinestone size you wish to affix.
2. Plug in the hot-fix tool and lean it on the provided stand.
3. Take care not to touch the metal as it heats up.
4. Get your fabric ready and place it face up on a flat surface that can withstand heat.
5. Place all rhinestones face up in a separate area.
6. Pick up hot-fix tool by handle and place on the rhinestone; rhinestone should readily fit and affix to the tool.
7. Now place rhinestone onto fabric where you wish it to adhere.
8. Press rhinestone into place on fabric for a few seconds to let glue melt and adhere to fabric.

It may take a few tries to get this correct, but with practice you’ll be an expert!

Iron-on Method

1. Place fabric face up on a flat surface that can withstand heat.
2. Position rhinestone face up on fabric in the area where you wish it to adhere.
3. Heat up your iron to the lowest setting.
4. Once iron is heated, press and hold iron to the rhinestone; glue should melt and rhinestone should adhere to fabric.
5. Let dry and cool – voila, you’re done!

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Do not dry clean any garment that has any kind of glued stones on it, be it glue or heat fix. Regardless of the manufacturer, the cleaning fluids can denature the glue, cause it to become yellow and brittle, or just plain dissolve it.

Even Swarovski, who that says that their glue will withstand dry cleaning, it with reservations some dry cleaning will not harm the glue, other dry cleaning will. And since you do not know what kind of fluids are used at any one time, you will not know if your stones will survive the process don't take the chance!

I would suggest using 10SS rhinestones the smaller the rhinestone, the less likely it is to be ripped off when handled roughly. The larger the rhinestone, the more likely it is to be torn off leaving a very shiny silver spot where a rhinestone used to be. You will be much more happy with the look of 10ss stones as opposed to larger rhinestones. If you have a steady hand and good eyes, then go with a smaller rhinestone for an extraordinary look. Of course, if you use a smaller rhinestone, you will need more rhinestones.

If you choose to interleave your rows of rhinestones offset every other row for a very tight set, then you will need more rhinestones, up to 1/3 more.

Labelled with ICRA