If you need to attach gems, sequins, glitter, and rhinestones to fabric you may be wondering what is the best fabric glue to stick these all on with. There is nothing worse than having all of your hard work falling off in the washing machine or the clothes dryer due to using substandard or incorrect fabric glue. With my daughter doing calisthenics and my wife making each outfit we needed a reliable way to glue on all these sequins.
Table of Contents
Best Fabric glue instead of sewing
Many of the moms at the dance club are using E6000 Fabri-Fuse and another product called Beacon Gem-Tac permanent adhesive. Both providing excellent results, so being an inquisitive person, I thought I would work out which was the best for my little girl.
Using the strongest fabric glue instead of sewing really speeds up the process of sequencing, and with the latest permanent fabric glue, your outfit can last a lifetime.
Beacon Gem-Tac Review
Pros
- A great multi-purpose adhesive made by Beacon Adhesives
- Bonds gems, sequins, glitter, and rhinestones to fabrics
- bonds fabrics to glass, vinyl, metal, and patent leather
- Perfect for acrylic rhinestones with foil backing.
- Washable and dries crystal clear
- Made in the USA
Cons
- Not as strong for outside all-weather use as the E6000
- Not as thick as the Fabi-Fuse so can cause extra runoff.
The Gem-Tac is a very interesting product. It is not as thick as the E6000 Fabri Fuse but is just as strong when used to bond Swarovski crystals, gems, beads sequins, glitter, and rhinestones to all types of clothing. The glue, although white in the tube it dries clear. So if you use too much on your gemstone it will be hard to see the spillage which is a good thing.
It is also a fantastic product to glue fabrics to glass, vinyl, metal, and leather. It’s a general all-rounder adhesive. You are able to wash your clothes that have been glued with Beacon Gem-Tac and its safe to use in a clothes dryer, in-fact your bond strength should increase with heat.
We haven’t had any rhinestones fall off yet. Also being non-toxic it is very safe for your children. It is also non-flammable so its safe for your family.
If you are wanting glue to bond gems with a silver foil backing, this is the glue for you. The E6000 craft adhesive has a history of eating into the foil backing over time. Saying that the E6000 Fabri Fuse is silver backing safe.
E6000 Fabri Fuse Review
Pros
- Best Fabric Glue for Rhinestones and other DIY projects using fabric, felt, metal, wood, glass, rubber, fused glass, and much more.
- Dries clear.
- Acid-free.
- Washable.
- Flexible.
- Clothes dryer safe.
- Working time: 3 hours, Fully dried in 8 hours per embellishment.
- Made by Eclectic Products, Inc in Pineville, Louisiana.
Cons
- Depending on the E6000 version of glue you buy, if you use the industrial-strength tube, it can get really stringy. This is because it’s a thick product. Stick with Fabri Fuse’s extreme strength for clothing. Less string and no odor.
- E6000 is not recommended when used with the following materials, Styrofoam, polystyrene, polyethylene, or polypropylene plastics.
The E6000 Fabri Fuse is the strongest fabric glue for your DIY clothing project. Used by thousands of mums and dads all over the world to glue on cloth patches and rhinestones, it has proven itself over and over again. I have personally used this for our children’s uniforms I can honestly say that I’m impressed.
The wife used it to glue some Swarovski crystals onto her personalized number plate which has lasted 3 years now in the extreme weather. I have had great success using it to glue Gopro mounts onto helmets and also to glue a LED 5050 light strip to the underside of a wooden handrail shown to the left.
No longer do I need to poke myself in the finger with a needle or spend hours removing stitching from a badge because it went on crooked or even hotfix rhinestones. With the Fabri Fuse, you will get it done right the first time.
There are many different types of E6000 glue for fabrics and other materials, so I made a table up below as a cheat sheet to work out what glue is best for a given embellishment.
Different E6000 Glue Uses
Product |
Where to buy |
Color |
Time |
Use For |
Properties |
 | E6000® Extreme Tack | Clear | • Fully cured in 8 hours • Washable in 72 hours | Fabric, paper, and wood. 14X stronger than adhesive dots | This glue lets you move your work. Extreme Tack is a special adhesive that allows you to make your own glue dots. |
 | E6000 Fabri-Fuse | Clear | • Working time 3 to 4 hours • Fully dried in 8 hours. • Washable in 72 hours | Fabric, rhinestones | The Fabri Fuse is very stretchable even when dry. Perfect product for fabric thats flexible. Washable fabric glue |
 | E6000 Fray Lock | Crystal clear | • Working time: 3 hours • Sets: 3 to 4 hours • Fully cured in 8 hours • Washable after 72 hours | Fabric | This is great for locking in knots, quilting, edges, tears, and more.
Washable fabric glue |
| E6000 Stitchless | Clear | • Sets in 60 seconds with an electric iron • Washable after 72 hours | Fabric to fabric | This stitchless glue lets you use your iron to quickly fake sew hems. Best glue for fabric to fabric.
Washable fabric glue |
 | E6000 Jewelry and Bead | Clear | Perfect to glue all gems, beads, and crystals onto fabric, metal, glass, and leather. Very flexible and strong. | Fabric, stone, glass, and metal. | Perfect to glue in all gems, beads, and crystals onto fabric, metal, glass, and leather. Very flexible and strong. |
 | E6000 Jewelry and Craft Adhesive
Industrial | Clear | • Working time around 4 minutes • Sets strong after 20 minutes • Fully cured in 72 hours | Fabric, wood, stone, glass, metal, ceramics, and rhinestones without foil backing. | Flexibility and strong adhesive when this glue dries make sure it won’t crack with movement.
Washable fabric glue |
 | E6000 Craft Adhesive white
Industrial | white | Fabric, wood, stone, glass, ceramics, metal, and rhinestones without foil backing. | Fabric, wood, stone, glass, ceramics, metal and rhinestones without foil backing. | This is the same formula as other E6000 products just white in color. |
 | E6000 Jewelry and Craft Adhesive Black | Black | Leather, fabric, vinyl, and rhinestones without foil backing. | Fabric, wood, stone, glass, ceramics, metal and rhinestones without foil backing. | This is the same formula as the above E6000, but black in color. This is to match dark projects. |
 | E6000 Shoe Dazzle | Clear | • Working time: 4 minutes • Sets: 20 minutes • Fully cured: 24 to 72 hours | Leather, fabric, vinyl and rhinestones without foil backing. | Designed specifically for use on shoes. With great strength and all-weather properties its perfect for boots and high heels. |
 | E6000 Spray Adhesive | Clear | • Sets fast within 3 minutes • Fully cured after 1 to 5 hours. | Leather, fabric, rubber, foam, vinyl, paper, wood, plastic, and metal. | This is odor-free and sprays out to cover a large area. Used for sticking material sheets together. Best glue for fabric to fabric |
How to Glue Rhinestones to Fabric
The process is really simple and with the correct applicator and fabric glue you will be done in no time. The trick is to use a hobby syringe filled with either E6000 or Gem-Tac. Ultimately we found that E6000 Fabri Fuse was the best glue for rhinestones. This way you don’t need a syringe applicator as the applicator has a small tip nozzle.
If you purchase the larger glue bottles it will work out cheaper, that’s if you will be sticking on heaps of Rhinestones or Swarovski crystals. Don’t worry about the bottled glue going dry as we will be using the syringes as temporary glue containers.
So fill up a small Syringe with some E6000 glue, insert the needle tip, and squeeze out all the air. Use the syringe to place a small dab of glue onto your project and use a wax pencil to pick up a gemstone and place it over the glue dot. Press down lightly and move on to the next rhinestone. Repeat.
After you have finished all the fake crystals it’s time to clean out your syringe with warm soapy water. Squeeze out the remainder of the E6000 Fabric glue or Gem Tac glue. Fill the syringe with warm soapy water and squeeze out 5 times. Dissemble the syringe and leave it to dry. You can reuse these over and over again. If you don’t clean the syringe the glue will harden in the needle and will need to be replaced.
Check out the video below to find out tips on Gluing rhinestones using E6000, craft syringes, and the Crystal Katana
Pixiheart Wax Rhinestone Picker Pencil
For a cheap wax picker check out the Pixiheart. It’s a soft wax pencil, that can be used to pick up very small stone embellishments or beads. This can allow you to pick up, place, and move small items without having to use tweezers or your fingers. If required they can be sharpened in a standard pencil sharpener.
This wax pen makes placing rhinestones so much easier, especially if the gem is really small and you have trouble holding it while gluing.
There are many different types and makes of Rhinestone pickers and they all work on the same principle. STICKINESS. But saying that the Crystal Katana is the most popular.
Best fabric glue for patches
I found that the E6000 Fabri Fuse is the best fabric glue for patches, felt, and denim. This is because of the flexibility and thickness that really make this product stand out. It has the consistency of Clag school paste. It’s the perfect fabric glue for scout badges, no more having to sew on all those badges every few weeks. Also being washing machine and dryer safe your badges will stay on forever. I wish we found out about this stuff years ago, would have made life so much easier.
Saying that, if you do require to either replace or remove a badge or sequins, you can easily do this by lifting one corner of the patch and lift slowly. It will take some effort, but the badge or rhinestone will come off. The heat from a hair dryer or heat gun with variable temperature on a low setting may help. In Cubs and Scouts, we regularly had to remove and replace badges as our children leveled up.
Conclusion
As having used both E6000 Fabri Fuse and Beacon Gen Tac for gluing fabric, we have found that the Fabri Fuse is the better product when working on clothes or uniforms. We actually use the E6000 Jewelry and Craft Adhesive on most things around the house that either break or just need some extra bling as this is an all-round stronger industrial adhesive.
I am a qualified Industrial Electrician for the past 20 years and I love to share my knowledge on home repair and maintenance jobs.
I love fast toys like Motorcycles, Cars, Jetskis, Boats, and Computers so writing about them is easy. Working on them is fun.
To keeps costs down I do all my own mods, repairs, and servicing. These skills I want to share with everyone. DIY is a skill everyone can learn.
Never realized there were so many versions of e6000 glue. My daughter has a business where she glues stones onto mobile phone covers and then sells them on eBay.
I like the tip on using the syringe. We just use a tooth pick.
E6000 is the best. Thanks.
Hello!
Our company creates rhinestoned bras which are worn to music festivals that run over multiple days. We generally use foil-back rhinestones. We use the standard industrial E6000 to glue the foil-backed rhinestones to the bra however, after the first wear, rhinestones do come off. This is not because the glue and rhinestone don’t bond, but instead because the foil is well-stuck onto the glue and the rhinestone then separates from the foil-back.
We note that in your article, when comparing the different types of E6000, you said that the standard industrial E6000 is suitable for rhinestones without a foil backing. When referring to the E6000 Fabri-Fuse, you say that it is suitable for rhinestones, but do not mention anything about not being compatible with a foil backing.
We are just wondering whether the Fabri-Fuse is a better glue to use to fix rhinestones with a foil-backing in particular (ie. is there a difference between the composition of the two glues that makes the Fabri-Fuse more compatible with foil-back rhinestones)?
We look very forward to your response
Kind regards
Nikki
Enchanted Aura
Its sounding like the foil backed rhinestones you are using could be of a lower quality. The e6000 fabri fuse is used by dance mums the world over and is one of the best products out there. I would do some research and work out why they are separating. After gluing try and remove the rhinestone by force to see where the failure is.
There is a slight possibility that the glue is eating into the foil thus causing it to fail. It may be a tin, aluminum, or another silver paperback on the rhinestone. So if you are having multiple failures try and replicate the issue and put the stones under a microscope.
Good luck.
thank you very much I will see if the fabri-fuse is more gentle on the lower quality rhinestones!
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