I am going to be hand sewing sequins on some alencon lace and then onto a satin wedding dress. These are small round “cup” sequins with a hole in the center. What is the best way to sew them onto the lace? I was just going to hand sew them and bring a thread up through the center hole and make a knot and then sew back down through the hole, and then go to the next sequin from the back side. Is there any better way to do this? I suppose I could hand sew the lace onto the dress and at the same time, add the sequins as I go. Can anyone give me any tips? Is there any particular type of thread I should use? I sure do have a lot of these to sew on… Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.
Sue
Replies
Bring the needle thru the hole then thru the hole on a small pearl and back into the hole of the sequin. Two or three stiches will hold it and the pearl finishes off the sequin. I did this on my daughter's communion dress and it worked great. They even held up to a gentle hand washing.
Edited 5/23/2006 2:26 pm ET by sewcrzee2
Thanks sewcrzee2. I hadn't thought of that. It sounds like it will look very nice and keep the sequins on. Thanks for the help! I appreciate it.
Sue
I agree with sewcrzee that you should anchor the sequins with seed beads. Another method involves using a matching thread and taking a backstitch across the sequin to anchor it, but it doesn't look as nice and is harder to position correctly.
I would attach the sequins to the lace before attaching the lace to the satin if at all possible so that you have maximum flexibility to adjust fit and placement before the wedding. Of course, this means that the lace needs to have some substantial ground to hold the sequins; if it doesn't, you could back it with a sheer interlining.
If you attach the sequins after applying the lace to the satin, you have no options for re-fitting or changing the location of the lace, plus you'd have to handle the entire dress while applying the sequins. Bridal satin is remarkably strong and durable, but handling a large piece while tying all the knots for the sequins will make the already-tedious job even harder.
Plus, you never know when you might want to adjust the position of the lace slightly or make an alteration on the dress, so embellishing the lace before embellishing the dress is a safe bet.
If you decide to embellish the lace before cutting out the pieces you need, I would suggest thread basting the shape of the pieces first so you don't put extra work into the areas of lace that won't be used or find you need to take out work because it falls into a seam. Best wishes to the bride!
Becky
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