How to Mount Diamond Art onto Crochet or Knitting Without Sewing

Do you love Diamond Art and and yarn too? Recently I wanted to add a finished Diamond Art design to my Magical Stripes Mini Tote, so I tested a few options. See what worked and what didn’t, and learn how to mount Diamond Art onto your crochet!

The Right Project

For my July Scrappy Stitchers Stash Bash pattern, I made this Magical Stripes Mini Tote bag. I loved the way the colors worked together and thought it would be the perfect backdrop for my unicorn. But how to mount it?

I only wanted the unicorn itself, without any of the background from the Diamond Art fabric. So that made the idea of sewing it on more difficult. I decided gluing it on in some form was going to be the best option.

Testing the Adhesives

I wasn’t sure what glue to use to mount the diamond art to my bag. Rather than risk ruining the bag, I decided to test a few small samples. I cut a few little pieces off the corner of the Diamond Art fabric, and glued each one to the inside of the bag to see how well it worked.

Adhesive Test #1 – Supertite Fusion Tack

Fail

This was another conference freebie. What I got was called Fabric Tack, but the product name seems to have changed to Fabric Tack since then.

It’s an adhesive meant to bind fabric to fabric, but I wasn’t sure if it would work on fluffy, fuzzy yarn. I hadn’t opened the tube yet, so this was my first time trying this adhesive.

I turned the bag inside out and placed a random piece of styrofoam inside it to prevent any bleed through. Then I glued the small piece of fabric to the bag.

I let it dry for a few hours, but the results were disappointing. It stuck very well to the Diamond Art fabric, and I couldn’t scrape it off that, but it really didn’t stick at all to the yarn. A little bit of lifting and it came right off. I think it would be a great glue for its intended, fabric application, but not so much for yarn.

Adhesive Test #2 – Supertite Multi-Grab 360

Pass!

I got this as a conference freebie too, along with several other adhesives. Earlier in the year, I used it to fix a broken butter dish. It worked beautifully and even held up to the dishwasher afterwards. It’s like a thicker, slightly slower drying, super glue.

I tested this one in the exact same way as #1, on a different spot. This time, it stuck well to both the fabric and the crochet. I have not been able to remove it, without risking damage to the crochet bag.

Adhesive Test #3 – Diamond Dotz Sandwich Adhesive

Pass!

While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I suddenly remembered that I had some sandwich adhesive left over. This was the adhesive Leisure Arts had provided for the Diamond Dotz Freestyle mirror I designed for them. I doubted it would stick to the crochet, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

It’s a sheet of adhesive, with a white backing on one side and a clear backing on the other. For this test, I cut a small piece the same size as my test fabric. Removed the white backing and attached the test fabric to the sticky layer. Then I removed the clear backing and attached it to the bag.

This turned out to be the best of the 3 options! Not only did it stick securely, but it was easier and less messy to apply. Also, the bond was instant, with no drying time or bleed through to worry about. This is the adhesive I ended up choosing to mount my diamond art to my bag. I’m assuming it would work just as well on a knit fabric too.

How to mount diamond art with sandwich adhesive

First I cut out the unicorn from my Diamond Art and cut a piece of adhesive slightly larger than it. Then I removed the white backing and placed the unicorn (face up), onto the adhesive. I replaced the white backing, to keep the sticky edges from wrapping around and sticking to anything they shouldn’t.

Through the clear layer, I could see the back of the unicorn. I used small scissors to trim away the excess adhesive, though a craft knife would likely have been more efficient.

Finally, I removed the clear backing and carefully placed the unicorn onto the bag. This was the most nerve wracking part because the bond is instant and not repositionable. But I got it centered nicely and am very happy with the overall result!

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