Thread: how to prep fabric to glue on stones?

Dear Bhuzzers,

What should I wash my circle skirt fabric with (rayon??? it's synthetic) so it best accepts the Gem-Tac glue? I'm going to play around and hopefully use up some of my inexpensive acrylic Joann Fabric "stones". I've done the wet hang deal to get it stretching on the bias as much as possible but I haven't used any soap on the fabric.

Should I use Blue Dawn to strip away any sizing or fabric finish residue?

Do I need to put something behind the fabric to keep it from sticking?

Thanks!

I am also going to glue stones to fabric in a little bit, so I will be watching this thread and if you like I will post my results. I will be using e6000.
As far as advice goes do you have extra fabric of the skirt you can use for testing? Also, as long as the glue works for fabric, witch shouldn't be hard as fabric has texture, I don't see any major issues from this.
BTW, are you sure that the gems won't weigh the skirt down too much?

ETA, I would put something behind your fabric when you glue just to be safe.

Um... I've used Gem Tac on several different fabrics, some washed, some not, and haven't really found a difference. Gem Tac is pretty tough stuff.

The standard instructions are to pre-wash the fabric with mild detergent to remove the sizing or any industrial processing chemicals, rinse well (more than once if necessary), and dry--no liquid fabric softener, Febreze, Static Guard, dryer sheets, or other fabric conditioners. Glues, fabric paints, iron-on transfers, etc., supposedly adhere best to clean, uncoated fibers, but obviously, if your fabric isn't washable, you just have to jump in and hope for the best. Rayon doesn't always wash well--sometimes it bleeds off a lot of color and fades, and sometimes it pills, so if you have a scrap, I'd experiment first.

Unless you are using sparing amounts of liquid on thick fabric, it's always a good idea to put a board (e.g., a sheet of cardboard) under the layer you are embellishing. Some people like to put plastic over the board/under the fabric, too, but whether it's necessary will depend on how thin the fabric is and how runny what you're applying is. Glue isn't going to run through like some brush-applied fabric paints might, so you could probably skip the plastic layer, unless you have reason to suspect you'll accidentally glue your garment to the cardboard. One of the main downsides to the plastic is that it can make the project slip around, so if you do use it, you might want to carefully press in a few thumbtacks or pins to hold the work steady.

The only other hint I know is to use just a teeny bit more glue than necessary, so that the excess squishes up ever so slightly along the edges and forms a little bezel for the gem to sit in. This supposedly makes it more difficult to knock the stone off since the adhesive mechanically wraps around the edges instead of just being in contact with the flat back surface.

Thanks! I'll try to hand-wash in blue dawn...I use it to strip my son's cloth diapers because the more "natural" detergents can leave behind residue. I think the plastic covered board is an awesome idea! I hope the photo below works. I'm just going to add some little bits of sparkle to the flowers.