So here is a little bit about me. When I look at sequins and beads sewn in an orderly manner, I get a lot of pleasure from it.
It may sound weird, but the above picture of pink sequins all sewn together among strings of beads is like… exciting and comforting to me. I can stare at it for a long time… 🙂
…Just me being geeky here, but I hope you get some sort of excitement from seeing sequins and beads, because in this article, you will see 3 ways of sewing sequins and beads together.
Watch it in a video here:
To sew sequins and beads, you need:
- Sequins – to see different types of sequins, check my last article on how to sew sequins.
- Seed beads
- Beading needle
- Beading thread
1. Sequin – beads – sequin pattern
For belly dance costumes, this technique is often used to fill up shoulder or side straps of a bra top or a large area in general.
First, bring your needle up from under the fabric, and pick up a sequin. If you are using a cup sequin, make sure the cupped side is facing up.
Then pick up seed beads. Now you need to see how many seed beads you need, because it depends on the size of your sequins and beads. You just need to create the length of 1 sequin with seed beads. Here, I am using 4.
Then hold another sequin, cup side up, with your left hand, if you are sewing with your right hand, right next to the first sequin. And put your needle right through the second sequin.
And just repeat the process to fill up an area.
This technique is great for filling up a large area, or if you have to add length to shoulder straps or side straps of your bra top, and you need to hide the added fabric with sequins to make it look seamless.
2. Sequin-bead Accent
You can make this cute look with just 1 sequin and 1 seed bead. Bring your needle up, and pick up a sequin.
Then pick up a seed bead, and take your needle through the sequin.
That’s it! This is great if you want to feature the whole shape of the sequins. You can make a line with it or fill up an area or just make cute accents like this.
This is the same leaf applique from my last article on how to sew sequins. In 2 places, I used a larger, clear sequin and a smaller gold one for a subtle accent. Doubling up sequins of different sizes creates more dimension.
It somehow became a very Christmassy design. I might use this on my Christmas costume or hair piece. 🙂
3. Bead line over sequins
This one is a bit more advanced, but it creates such a cool look. It’s just a combination of 2 techniques from my earlier videos.
Just like the sequin-beads-sequin pattern above, start with a sequin and a few seed beads. Place another sequin with your other hand, and bring your needle through.
Then, just like we did when beading a single line, bring your needle back up right in between the sequins.
From here, put your needle through the last couple of beads.
Then pick up a few more beads, place a sequin, and bring your needle through the sequin.
Again, back up in the middle, and through the last couple of beads.
Repeat, and it will look like a line of beads going over a series of sequins.
Key here is to keep the tension of the thread relatively tight, and if you are unsure whether you need 3 or 4 beads for example, use less. Using more beads or having loose thread makes the line uneven.
Here, I used this technique to go around the stone with clear sequins and black seed beads. I really enjoy this look!
Hope this tutorial was helpful. If you liked it, please share/pin the photo below for your belly dancer friends. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter from the blue button below to get weekly doses of belly dance DIY.
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Thanks for watching, and keep sparkling!
