All About Diamond Mosaic Kits

Diamond embroidery is an established name for a type of needlework that is very popular today. And although this is not embroidery at all, and, of course, not diamonds are used, the appearance of the finished product resembles cross-stitching with an elegant shine and radiance. From a large number of kits for such needlework, you need to be able to choose a quality one that will delight both the process and the result.

Kits from different manufacturers may be very similar, but not always identical. Although the basis is always the same, because it is the principle of embroidery.

This is what comes with a standard diamond embroidery (mosaic) kit.

• Cloth base with an adhesive layer. This is the canvas on which the "diamonds" will be applied. By its structure, it resembles a dense oilcloth. The canvas is divided into sectors with numbering. Each sector is a few cells where rhinestones will go for gluing. The sector is marked with a certain color, the number on it also indicates belonging to a particular color. The analogy with embroidery is not accidental: a canvas with sectors and cells is used for embroidery.
• Rhinestones. They are scattered in bags, each bag has its own color. Necessarily numbered. One side of the rhinestone is flat, the other is convex. It is fixed to the base of the pebble with the flat side. It's great if the bags have a zip fastener, then you can pour in some rhinestones, close the bag and not worry about the integrity of the contents.
• Legend, checklist. Thanks to this element, you can compare the cell symbol on the canvas and the color number.
• Stretcher. Does not apply to the basic configuration, not included in every set.As a rule, due to the stretcher, the price for a set for creativity increases significantly.
• Stylus. This is the name of the stick that will hook the rhinestones and transfer them to the working field. Usually the tip of this stick is metal, but it itself is plastic. It is very convenient to work with the stylus. There are styluses with three working tips that can hook 3 pebbles at once.
• Tweezers. It can go as an addition to the stylus or replace it. Tweezers are not that comfortable.
• Sticky cube (sometimes represented by a flat square or rectangle). This is a silicone element, usually included in the package. It will fill the groove in the tip of the stylus to make it sticky. As soon as the stylus stops gripping stones well, then it's time to re-immerse it in the sticky cube.
• Tray. This is a container where pebbles will be poured from the bag. Usually the tray is ribbed, which, when shaken, helps the rhinestones to lie down in rows and with the convex part up. In some sets, there are multi-section trays: that is, you can immediately pour out all the colors, each in its own recess.
• Corrector. Small plastic spatula needed to trim rows. But if you didn't put it in the set, it's okay, a regular ruler will do.

Additional tools are practically not found, although you may come across sets with not one stylus, but with two or three. It is not worth worrying about the fact that there may not be enough pebbles in the bag: usually they are filled up with a margin of 20%. This applies to both square and round rhinestones.

The Russian company Granni has been on the market not so long ago, but a huge range of diamond embroidery has made it a well-known manufacturer. The company is distinguished by great attention to the choice of crystals, their brightness, juiciness, and uniformity. The sets are sold in large, very beautiful, well-made boxes. The manufacturer offers at least 400 plots, including black and white works, landscape (forest, parks, water spaces), floral (from roses to peonies).

For those who want global creative work, you can turn to triptych embroidery. Such modular paintings really refresh the interior. For example, they look good over the sofa. Triptych - three paintings. Most often these are works with one theme and color scheme. Less often - one big work, as if divided into three parts.

Among other brands - "Preobrana", pictures from crystal rhinestones. It is also a Russian manufacturer, which, however, has modified the technique. You will have to fasten the rhinestones not with glue, but with a thermo-applicator. And this tool must be purchased separately, it does not come in a set. Most of the assortment is made up of icons, original portraits, reproductions of masterpieces of painting.

It is worth mentioning the Ginger Cat brand, it is more oriented towards children, but adults will have to do more with embroidery. The difficulty level is pretty serious. The assortment includes paintings with or without stretchers. The animal theme works especially well for this manufacturer.

The most popular manufacturer is probably the Diamond Painting brand. They are pioneers in this type of product on the Russian market, which is also their success. Crystals of this company have 9 facets, which helps to achieve a special play of light, the finished picture is very expressive. And it's not so important what exactly is laid out: horses, peacocks, flowers or angels, the picture will be bright, the colors are juicy, the image is of high quality.

Among foreign competitors is the Chinese Snow White.More than affordable prices, a wide range, a variety of subjects. Basically, there is a lot of choice for already confident masters, but small works for beginners can also be found. Consumers in the reviews do not complain about the brightness of the color and the quality of the components of the set.

Based on the review, you can imagine what is better to spend your money on. A huge number of diamond embroidery kits have appeared in fixed-price stores, which are very cheap. And among them you can really find something interesting, only there is almost never a stretcher there.

The canvas in such sets is stretched either on very thick cardboard or on plywood, which means that the finished work will have to be somehow independently drawn up. Driving rhinestones under glass is not the best solution, so you have to design the frame yourself.

Other tips for choosing a diamond embroidery kit.

• If it is chosen as a gift, it is better to give the one whose theme is neutral. Some images may seem trivial to the gifted or insufficiently appropriate to the taste. Rarely disappointing are the sets that become original replicas of famous paintings - for example, Van Gogh's Starry Night. You can consider this option. Landscapes and still lifes usually look good as a gift.
• It is important to make sure that the products are of good quality. Alas, there are sets in which, among the pebbles, every second with a marriage. These are defective lots, which are destined to be written off, but the unscrupulous seller thinks differently. Reading reviews is always helpful.
• A set on a stretcher, although it is more expensive, is considered a much more profitable purchase than just a canvas. Especially if it is a gift, and even, for example, to the head. Simplicity is not always nice, sometimes the bad thing is that its cheapness is combined with an insufficiently thought-out process - if laying out the mosaic is inconvenient, not everyone will finish the job. The picture will simply be abandoned.
• If you can open the package and the kit does not include a stretcher, you should evaluate how the canvas lies. If rolled, good. If bent - bad, there will be creases.

It is not enough to buy, you still need to bring the matter to the end, make a full calculation and arrange the work. Let's see how the process of drawing up a diamond mosaic looks like.

• Take all the contents out of the box, spread out. Compare the control sheet (legend) with what is printed on the canvas. Check if all the colors are in the bags, if the stylus works, if there is a silicone cube. Perhaps the complete set of a particular set does not provide for some components.
• Work better during the day, in natural lightif not, an artificial light source should be sufficient. Small cells, numbers, working with tiny stones require good lighting.
• Think over exactly how the work will progress. You can lay out the mosaic in color sectors, or in rows. If in rows, then all the bags with pebbles will have to be opened immediately, poured into a multi-section container. If in sectors, the bags are opened one by one.
• You can carry a pebble on the canvas with tweezers, and already fix it there with a stylus. You can only use the stylus, it works well in two directions. As the stylus loses its stickiness, it should be immersed in a silicone cube or mat.
• Moving along the canvas, you need to trim the rows in time. This is done either with a corrector from the set, or with a ruler.
• When the whole picture is assembled, you need to "print" the image onto the canvas again. This is done so that the stones do not fall out, they are held firmly. You need to wrap the canvas with a cloth and then draw a rolling pin along the fabric. The same action flattens the resulting image.

How to use the kit is always indicated in the instructions. In most cases - in detail. True, they rarely write there that the finished diamond embroidery can still be covered with a layer of varnish. This will additionally fix the rhinestones, provide them with coupling, and the picture itself - a longer life.