Who doesn’t like a little bit of sparkle? And one of the easiest ways to add sparkle is with sequins.
Sequins can be added in a variety of ways, with solid coverage, along a line, or scattered over the surface. We look at four ways to add sequins in this video. There are more, but this is a good start.
Technique 1 – Back stitch
Take the needle up through the fabric where you would like the centre of the sequin to be. Thread the sequin on to the needle and thread so it sits right-side-up when on the fabric. Then take the needle down through the fabric just to the right of the sequin outer edge. Bring the thread back up through the fabric, across the other side of the sequin, and then take it back down through the centre of the sequin. This effectively creates two back stitches which are holding the sequin in place.
Bring the thread up again where you would like the centre of the next sequin to be, and repeat the process.
Technique 2 – Eyelet stitch
As with plain eyelet stitch (see video XX) the needle comes up through the centre of the hole (in this case the centre of the sequin) then down over the edge, for each stitch that secures the sequin to the fabric.
In our demonstration, four eyelet stitches have been used to secure each sequin. This can be varied according to the look you would like to achieve, with more or fewer stitches. For a balanced look, change the placement of the stitches so they are evenly spaced around the edge of the sequin.
Technique 3 – with a small bead
By adding a smaller bead on the thread after your sequin, you can take the thread back down the sequin hole, and secure it to the fabric. The smaller bead stops the thread from pulling all the way through the sequin hole.
A small knot or a tiny back stitch (on the back of the fabric) every few beads can help secure the sequins against pulling.
Technique 4 – overlapping
There are a number of different approaches to achieving this look. In our demonstration, we are effectively using a back stitch, but just a single stitch per sequin.
Bring the needle up through the fabric to the left of the placement for the first sequin. Place the sequin on the fabric, and take the needle back down through the hole. Move along the stitching line just over one sequin width, bringing the needle back up through the fabric, again just left of the placement for the next sequin. Place the sequin on the fabric, and take the needle back down through the hole.
Although I find that it takes a little concentration to get started with this technique, I prefer it to ones that only catch a few threads of the base fabric under the edge of the sequin, as there is less chance to pull threads in your fabric if the sequins get caught on something.
If you are stitching left-handed, you can reverse the stitching direction to give you a comfortable sewing motion.
Watch these techniques in the Sequins video on YouTube.
See how we bring the sparkle back into a thrifted top in Iris.