I recently started on a “The Little Mermaid” inspired outfit so I saw myself working with sequins…. A lot of sequins. We can get blinded by excitement of the sparkly sparkles to forget that sequins can get a bit overwhelming. Here are a couple of useful tips if you’re thinking about sewing with sequins.
1. Don’t use your fabric scissors
If you are a regularly sewist, you may know the main rule, if you use your fabric sheers to cut anything else, they become dull and it will never be the same again. You may say “hello Giselle is fabric!”. Use any other sharp scissors that will cut through & precise.
2. Use the selvages of the fabric
The selvages are the edges of the fabric that let us identify the grainline of the fabric. We usually throw this part out, but in this case it can come in handy with the raw edges. This will look more professional & less sequins will fall off the garment.
3. Use a heavy needle
We should always do a test run on a piece of fabric, but with sequins or any beaded fabric you might wanna use a heavy needle on your sewing machine. Is important to mention, in some cases, if the sequins are chunky you might have to remove at the seam before sewing. Which brings me to my last tip.
4. Keep the sequins that fall off
Kind of obvious if you had to remove them before sewing, but even if you didn’t remove them, keep ‘em! Yes all of them! You will see sequins everywhere, try to keep them so you can fill any gaps of the dress or add them to the garment for a more fuller Plus you clean as you go, it’s a win win!
I’ve had to learned these the hard way but hope this can help you on your way to look sequin fabulous! For more tips catch my reel on this on Instagram.
https://instagram.com/chebowlier?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==