How to Fix Rhinestones on an Irish Dance Dress

How to Fix Rhinestones on an Irish Dance Dress

Irish dance dresses often lose rhinestones after competitions, travel or washing. The good news is that replacing missing rhinestones is easy and only takes a few minutes.

Most Irish dance dresses use non hotfix flatback rhinestones, which are glued onto the dress fabric.

Replacing them helps keep the dress looking competition-ready and sparkling under stage lights.

What You Need

To repair rhinestones on an Irish dance dress you will need:

• Replacement rhinestones (matching the original size)

• Rhinestone glue or specialist fabric glue

• Tweezers or a wax pickup pencil

• A clean cloth

Step-by-Step Rhinestone Repair

1. Clean the area where the rhinestone has fallen off to remove dust or old glue.

2. Apply a very small amount of rhinestone glue to the flat back of the replacement stone.

3. Carefully place the rhinestone in the original position on the dress.

4. Gently press the stone into place and allow the glue to dry.

Most glues will fully set within 24 hours.

Choosing the Correct Rhinestone Size

Irish dance dresses typically use a mixture of rhinestone sizes to create bold sparkle patterns. The most common sizes used are:

SS16

SS20

SS30

SS34

SS40

If you are repairing a dress, it is important to match the original rhinestone size.

You can see our full guide here:

Irish Dance Rhinestone Size Guide

Shop Replacement Rhinestones

If you need replacement stones for a dance dress repair, you can shop our most popular rhinestones here:

Crystal AB Flatback Rhinestones

These Aurora Borealis rhinestones create the bright rainbow sparkle often used on Irish dance dresses and stage costumes.