GUIDE
How to make a rhinestone template for tumblers
Tumblers are one of the most popular rhinestone projects — and one of the easiest to get wrong. The trick is working at the true size of your wrap area before you place a single stone. Stoneplot handles that for you.
What you need
Your tumbler, hotfix rhinestones, rhinestone template material (flock or stencil vinyl), a cutting machine that accepts SVG (Cricut, Silhouette, ScanNCut), transfer tape, and a heat gun or press suitable for curved surfaces.
Step 1 — Measure the wrap area
Wrap a tape measure around the tumbler where the design will sit, and measure the height of the usable band. Note both numbers in millimetres — this rectangle is your canvas. Tapered tumblers vary from top to bottom, so measure at the exact height of your design.
Step 2 — Set the true size in Stoneplot
Open the Stoneplot studio, upload your artwork, and set the canvas to your measured width and height. Because Stoneplot works in real millimetres, what you see on screen is exactly what will wrap around the cup — no scaling surprises at the cutting mat.
Step 3 — Choose a stone size that survives the curve
Small stones follow curves more gracefully; large stones can sit at slight angles on a tight radius. For most 20–30 oz tumblers, SS10 (≈2.8 mm) is the safe all-rounder, with SS6 for fine detail. Check the stone size guide if you're unsure.
Step 4 — Design for a wrap
Keep important detail away from the seam line where the two ends of the template meet. Symmetrical designs work beautifully on tumblers — use Stoneplot's mirror tools to build both halves at once, and spacing controls to keep stones off the edges of your band.
Step 5 — Download and cut
Hit DOWNLOAD to get a cut-ready SVG grouped by colour. Import it into your cutting software, confirm the width matches your measurement exactly, then cut from template material. If you use a Cricut, our Cricut guide covers the Design Space import step by step.
Step 6 — Brush, transfer, press
Brush hotfix stones into the template, lift with transfer tape, and position the design on the tumbler. Work in sections around the curve, pressing each area with a heat gun or tumbler press according to your stones' settings, and let everything cool fully before peeling.
Tips for tumbler success
Do a paper test cut first to check the fit around the cup; slightly increase spacing if stones crowd on the curve; and save your draft in your Stoneplot library — once a design fits one tumbler, re-cutting for the next one takes minutes.