Comments on: My jeans NEED to have rhinestones on them

Question: My jeans NEED to have rhinestones on them

SampleSize — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:30:03 -0800

I have a pair of jeans. It is a normal pair of jeans. I would like to have a line of rhinestones going along the outseam on either leg. What's the best method?

I went to The Rag Shop to do some research. It seems I have several options, none of which seem all that great.

1. I can glue on rhinestones using fabric glue. I can spend many many hours doing this and then wash the jeans and goodbye rhinestones.
2. I can do the same with sequins. They don't look quite as cool, but still acceptable, and seem a little less likely to pop off. This would also take many many hours
3. I can get some sequin rope like this and hire a tailor to sew it on. This is easy and, I think, would look okay. I'll probably do this if no one has a better idea.

Really, I'd like rhinestones. I started doing some Googling and noticed a variety of rhinestone applicators, but none that stood out as a great option, so I said, Y'know what? I'll just ask on mefi. Someone will have the answer.

So...please help me transform my jeans into AWESOME JEANS.

By: monkey!knife!fight!

monkey!knife!fight! — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:34:32 -0800

bedazzler, yo.

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:34:35 -0800

The bedazzler and similar vaguely crafty items do that sort of thing - and hook them in using metal prongs generally. Know anyone who is susceptible to late night TV ads that might have one?

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:38:47 -0800

MAJOR NOISE WARNING on monkey!knife!fight!'s link. Turn your volume waaay down before clicking.

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:48:43 -0800

In addition to the bedazzler option, there is also rhinestone rope you could sew on - not sequins, but rhinestones. It costs a small fortune, but would look much better than sequins. Check out a craft or fabric store that has a wide range of ribbons, edgings, trims, etc. as it's normally with that stuff.

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:52:05 -0800

example, though it comes in colors, and multi-color ribbons / patterns too.

By: MonkeySaltedNuts

MonkeySaltedNuts — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:04:49 -0800

It is easy to google up Rhinestone Guy. He recomends heat set gems for jeans and says (about jeans)

Jeans' Legs: IF you plan on decorating with rhinestones only, I suggest you consider elaborate designs in rhinestones of 10SS and 12SS. Larger rhinestones will have a tendency to peel if you machine wash. IF you are going to hand wash only, any size will be fine on the legs.

along with lots of other advice on jeans.

One alternative I recall seeing to glue or heatset is mountings with a pin or teeth that penetrate the fabric and are then bent over or capped on the inside. These metal endings can scratch the hell out of your legs but you can always sew some padding and a length of (blue jeans) canvas over them on the inside.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:39:14 -0800

Hi! I'm Tana! You may remember me from a national tv show. As a single mother, I traveled all over New York to find just one (1!) Bedazzler. I am called the Bedazzler Queen. For the historical retro price of just 29.95 you can own your own Bedazzler right now! Call now!

By: yodelingisfun

yodelingisfun — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 01:14:50 -0800

I just want to say that as a new owner of the bedazzler, it sucks. I doubt it would really work for the seams of the jeans as that part of the fabric is so thick. Really, I had high hopes for the bedazzler and now I'm sad.

By: La Cieca

La Cieca — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:37:08 -0800

For a line of rhinestones, I would say your best bet is to buy "by-the-yard" rhinestone trim. I would use a two step process to apply.

First apply the trim using fabric glue, taking time to get the line straight along the seams.

Then, once the glue is dry, go back and hand-stitch the trim along the jeans seam.

I would still wash the jeans by hand, in cold water, and probably for safety's sake turn them inside out for the wash, if you want the rhinestones to stay in place for more than a wash or two.

By: otherwordlyglow

otherwordlyglow — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:39:20 -0800

Seconding yodelingisfun. The Bedazzler sucks. I bought one about a year ago and was super-excited at the thought of the rhinestones heaven I was about to enter. Or so I thought. There are plenty of other tools for applying rhinestones and rivets out there that work LOTS better. Look for something made of metal. The Bedazzler is plastic and as noted, it sucks.