Crystal pattern help

[Sierra]

I'm starting my second crystal project and would like some opinions on whether this pattern looks good. I just laid some out on the back of the dress, planning to extend the pattern all the way around and up the strap.

I want to be absolutely sure it'll come out nice before I start gluing! I was also planning to space out matching purple crystals all over the dress, but they're not in the photo because I need to exchange them. Would those look okay as well?

[FigureSpins]

What size are those crystals?  I bought some that were 5mm and they looked puny on the dress from afar.  Sparkly, but not noticeable, so I added double what I expected.  The ones you've used look bigger, but I might want to go up another size for more impact.

I won a nice raffle basket at our State Games competition.  One of the prizes inside was a gift certificate for $25 of rhinestones from a local vendor.  I wanted to order something that would go with anything, so I figured clear would work, but I'm not sure what size to request.

[sarahspins]

I think I would cluster them a little closer towards the edge of the purple and space them out a little more as you go out.

[Sk8tmum]

The pattern around the cut out looks good; they're close enough together that it will sparkle nicely (smaller stones with AB coating can work and give you a good shimmer).  If you want a bit more density cheap, then, get some ss10s to fill in here and there - the irregularity works well with AB as they refract light differently.

However, I wouldn't bother with the purple crystals at all; they won't show.  I'd use AB crystals instead for the body. And, you need to go way bigger if you're just doing individual crystals; I'd not go below an SS30 myself. 

And, if you want a twinkly effect, where you have the illusion ... get some tiny ones (honestly, I use ss5 or 10) and scatter them over the illusion.  You could see the twinkly effect from the nose-bleed seats in our arena ... and it was cheap! 

[Sierra]

What size are those crystals?  I bought some that were 5mm and they looked puny on the dress from afar. 

These are SS20, which are supposed to be 4.6-4.8mm.

I think I would cluster them a little closer towards the edge of the purple and space them out a little more as you go out.

It does look better like that- thank you!

The pattern around the cut out looks good; they're close enough together that it will sparkle nicely (smaller stones with AB coating can work and give you a good shimmer).  If you want a bit more density cheap, then, get some ss10s to fill in here and there - the irregularity works well with AB as they refract light differently.

However, I wouldn't bother with the purple crystals at all; they won't show.  I'd use AB crystals instead for the body. And, you need to go way bigger if you're just doing individual crystals; I'd not go below an SS30 myself. 

And, if you want a twinkly effect, where you have the illusion ... get some tiny ones (honestly, I use ss5 or 10) and scatter them over the illusion.  You could see the twinkly effect from the nose-bleed seats in our arena ... and it was cheap! 

I was planning on purple AB ones, not so that they would show but so the entire dress would sparkle. Would they still sparkle or not? I didn't want crystal ABs on the body because I don't like the polka dot effect.



I picked out amethyst AB with my Preciosa sample chart, but then Swarovski was discounted so I got that instead, thinking the color would be similar.. I was wrong. Swarovski amethyst AB is bright blue. So I need to mail them back for exchange and decide whether to get the preciosa amethyst AB or whether to get something else.

[Sk8tmum]

These are SS20, which are supposed to be 4.6-4.8mm.
It does look better like that- thank you!
I was planning on purple AB ones, not so that they would show but so the entire dress would sparkle. Would they still sparkle or not? I didn't want crystal ABs on the body because I don't like the polka dot effect.

It doesn't give a Polka Dot effect to put the ABs on the body; the light just refracts off the rhinestones, and it twinkles. It will look polka-dot-ish up close, but, on the ice, you don't see the individual stones - just the refraction.

If you use purple ones, you won't see anything at all, as the colour from the rhinestones will just be absorbed into the dress.  If you're looking for general twinklieness (is that a word?) then use a ton of smallish rhinestones all over the body. By small-ish, I'm actually referring to SS20s, by the way ... I don't go below SS30s in general on the body of dresses ... looks tacky as all get out off the ice, but, amazing on the ice.

[Sk8tmum]

And I just scuttled upstairs to check out my Swarovski collection- my amethyst are definitely NOT bright blue!!!!! Odd.

[Sierra]

All right thanks for the help I think I will exchange the amethyst for crystal AB and use those on the body. I counted how many crystals I'd need to line the edges and came up with 300, though I have 432 allotted so I can make the pattern a little thicker and extend it down some. Then it would  thin out to having crystals dotted here and there on the main part of the dress.

The baggie is marked amethyst AB and I can see the amethyst hue in the crystal, it's just the AB coating that is blue. The illustration online looked bluish but I didn't pay mind to it because it was an illustration, not a photo, and I figured the blue was meant to show the reflection that AB would have. I sat them on the dress and went across the room, they still looked very blue.

[JSM]

Sierra, I just got an order of ruby ab crystals yesterday, and I thought the same thing- they are really blue!  I wonder if the ab coating differs between colors?  I know my crystal ab stones don't reflect blue at all...

[FigureSpins]

I can select "Crystal AB 30ss" for my prize.  Will that go with pretty much any color outfit?

[Sk8tmum]

I can select "Crystal AB 30ss" for my prize.  Will that go with pretty much any color outfit?

YES!!!! The Crystal AB are incredibly gorgeous; 30ss is the best size.  And, even if you don't use them - I have had people hunting me down for my supplies of them on many on occasion (I order them in huge bulk, and usually have extra).  I've used them on everything from white to black and in between - they are so versatile.

[FigureSpins]

Okay, that's what I'll request, then.  Hopefully, the donor still has them in stock.

Thanks very much.

[sarahspins]

The baggie is marked amethyst AB and I can see the amethyst hue in the crystal, it's just the AB coating that is blue. The illustration online looked bluish but I didn't pay mind to it because it was an illustration, not a photo, and I figured the blue was meant to show the reflection that AB would have. I sat them on the dress and went across the room, they still looked very blue.

It's worth the $15 (plus shipping) to get a color card.. almost all of the darker AB stones have the same blue-ish look to them, and even the solid colors are often MUCH different looking in person than online.  Matching isn't always good because they will get "lost" and look more like faint glitter than sparkle.  I think Crystal AB would look fine on your dress though... it has more of a pink/orange/purple sparkle than some of the AB colors.

Just so everyone can "see" what Sierra is talking about, you can see the difference between Amethyst and Amethyst AB..


And a comparison of Crystal and Crystal AB


Of course, here I am sitting here with a color card scratching my head because I don't know what color to choose for my FS dress... there are too many choices and I don't think I want to use the crystal AB I already have (purchased for another dress, which I decided not to use).

[Sierra]

It's worth the $15 (plus shipping) to get a color card..

I had a Preciosa color chart, but then Swarovski was on sale and that's where I messed up Preciosa amethyst AB isn't blue at all.
I second that the chart is worth it though.. it's very helpful.

I just began stoning, so far the crystal AB is lovely. I thought the same thing, that the pink undertones went very nicely with the dress color.

[FigureSpins]

YES!!!! The Crystal AB are incredibly gorgeous; 30ss is the best size.  And, even if you don't use them - I have had people hunting me down for my supplies of them on many on occasion (I order them in huge bulk, and usually have extra).  I've used them on everything from white to black and in between - they are so versatile.

My gift certificate was enough for a gross of Crystal AB 30ss.  The donor is shipping them to me, so I don't even have to make arrangements to pick them up.  She's local, so if I need stones in the future, that's who I'll call for sure.  That was a very generous donation she made to the basket!  (To think I almost recycled the gift certificate. It was face-down, so I thought it was a blank sheet of cardstock, lol.)

Over the weekend, I exchanged the tights, skate guards and soakers that were also in the basket for the correct sizes.  Everything was for little-little kids and my teenagers are adult-sized!  The blade guards were waaaay too short for their 10" CorAces, lol.

Now I need a project for these stones.