SEWING SEQUINS

If your child loves dancing, performs at dance concerts and wears costumes, there will be a time when you will need to be sewing sequins.

It is very easy to learn how to sew sequins on a dance costume, and you will be amazed at the transformation some glitter will make to a costume.

Obviously this page is really aimed at those who do not know how to sew at all and for children learning to sew sequins on themselves, (which they can learn to do as they get older.)

You can do a test run on a scrap of material a couple of times if you are very nervous.

Here is a sample of strands of stretchable sequins available at fabric.com You can click on any of these and find many more styles and colors of sequins.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

It is a good idea to mark (very, very lightly with something that won't show or will come off), the place you will be sewing sequins onto, especially if you have instructions to be spaced a certain distance apart.

Thread the sewing cotton through the needle.
Tie a knot in the cotton, at the very end, so it won't go through the material and there isn't a lot of cotton hanging down.
Do one or two stitch overs to hold in place, on the inside of the material.
Push needle through to good side of material.
Feed the needle through the hole in the sequin and push sequin down cotton until it is against the material.
Feed the needle through the glass bead and push it down to be on top of sequin.

Take the needle over the side of the bead and back through the hole in the sequin and on through the material to the other side.
Pull cotton gently so sequin and bead are tight to each other and firmly up against the material.
To secure, do one small stitch behind sequin, trying not to go through all the way to the other side.
Sew over one or two more times.
Cut cotton close to the material.
Depending on how close the sequins are to each other and the need for flexibility of the costume, you'll decide if you need to cut the cotton after each sequin and then start all over again with the next or if you can go straight on to the next sequin beside it.

A note of warning - even if they are spaced together, eg in a line, always secure the thread by oversewing 2 stitches at the start and end of a sequin before going across to the next. If you don't do this and one sequin gets caught and snaps the cotton, the whole line of sequins will come undone and unravel.

Thick lines of Stretchable Sequins	Single lines of Non-Stretchable Sequins

There are many different sizes and types of sequins, beads and accessories. You can find lines of sequins, already sewn together on a band, or on a stretchy piece of elastic. These are a great time saver instead of sewing sequins individually. Just remember, if its not stretchy, that part of the costume its on will not stretch either.

Instead of sewing sequins, many people use fabric glue to glue on sequins. If sequins need to be attached to a part of a costume that doesn't flex or stretch and the material isn't stretchy, eg a part of a skirt, then glueing is fine, especially on netting where you can see through. But if you glue onto stretchy material that needs to flex eg a leotard, there is a good chance the sequins will pop off as the dancer moves and dances.

You can find some wonderful designs made from sequins to decorate your dance costume. A few different accessories can bring a jazz or other dance costume alight on stage and add the extra sparkle!

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