How many Rhinestones will I need for my project?
Well again that depends on the project, but probably more than you think you may need. While a gross of rhinestones might seem like a lot, they may not go as far as you think. We get asked this question a lot, so we thought we would try to help you in estimating your requirements. To do this we must translate inches to millimeters and square inches to square centimeters. But fear not; you don't need to break out the calculator, because we've done the hard part for you.
For this comparison, we will use 12ss, 20ss and 30ss rhinestones. A 12ss rhinestone is approximately 3.1 millimeters (mm), a 20ss is roughly 4.7mm and a 30ss is about 6.5 mm. One inch equals 25.4 millimeters (2.54 centimeters) and one square inch equals 6.45 square centimeters. The following chart shows approximately how many of each size you would need to cover either a one inch strip or a one square inch area.
Size |
Number Needed to Cover A One (1) inch Strip |
Number Needed to Cover One (1) Square Inch |
12ss | (25.4 / 3.1) = 8.2 | (8.2 * 8.2) = 67.24 |
20ss | (25.4 / 4.7) = 5.4 | (5.4 * 5.4) = 29.16 |
30ss | (25.4 / 6.5) = 3.9 | (3.9 * 3.9) = 15.21 |
So, using this example we would need 3 gross of 12ss rhinestones to cover a cell phone or PDA that measures 3" x 2." (3" * 2") = 6 * 67.24 = 403 / 144 = 2.8 gross. Since 3 gross of crystals equals 432, you would have roughly 30 stones left over. It's always handy to have a few extra stones on hand for future repairs.