Materials2 min
SS16, SS20, SS30: choosing rhinestone size without guessing
SS numbering is not a clothing size. Here is what it measures, and which size belongs where on a ceremonial piece.
El FetlaThe atelier
SS means stone size. The number is a diameter in an old unit: SS16 is about 4 mm, SS20 about 4.7 mm, SS30 about 6.4 mm. Between SS16 and SS30 the diameter does not double — but the area is more than two and a half times greater. That is why an SS30 dropped into a scatter of SS16 does not blend: it dominates.
What goes where
- SS10–SS16 — scatters, fills, fine outlines. The size that sparkles without drawing the eye to any one stone.
- SS20 — the do-everything size: visible enough to structure a motif, discreet enough to repeat.
- SS30 and up — accent points. One per motif, not one in three.
Hotfix or sew-on?
Hotfix carries a glue disc on the back and is set with an iron or a heat tool. It is fast, even, and it is what you want for a scatter of several hundred stones. On a delicate or heavily textured fabric, though, heat and glue are a risk: always test on an offcut.
Sew-on stones are drilled. Slower, holds on anything, and recoverable — a sewn stone can be unpicked; a glued one takes the fabric's nap with it.
How many to order
Rhinestones are sold by the box of 1,440 (ten gross). For a scatter, count the area rather than the stones: at SS16, a medium density runs around 60–80 stones per 10 cm × 10 cm. Buy generously — they drop, they jump under the iron, and an opened box keeps for years.
