Thread: sequins: sewing question

Since I can't seem to find a fringe belt that comes with metallic fringe, (need 18" or longer) I thought I'd add individual sequins or a row (?) of sequins to the belt myself.

Question: Which would look better? A vertical strand of sequins placed here and there mixed in with the belt? But I don't know what would weigh it down to make it hang right,

-OR-

Sew individual sequins onto the strands of the fringe belt. I don't even know if this is possible. I can hand sew, but I don't sew with a machine.

When ordering sequins for sewing individually, do I order them on a spool or loose?

Thankd bhuzzers

I'm not sure what the final effect you're going for is. I don't think I have seen little sequins sewn into fringe before. Usually when sequins are mixed with fringe, they are the large, hole-at-the-top paillettes, not small center-hole sequins. I have seen accent fringe made from lengths of pre-strung sequins, but I'm not sure I would care for the look of a whole belt made of them, since they don't move in a particularly fluid way.

Did you look at Mylar fringe? If you are just looking for shine, it might work on a belt as long as you were careful about not sitting down and creasing it. I've never ordered from AFC Express, but they have Mylar fringe in both 18" and 36" lengths.

18" Mylar Fringe
36" Mylar Fringe

I have a green chiffon circle skirt underneath (to wear with beaded peacock bedlah) and I was just looking to add some sparkle and a royal blue color over the skirt to tie it in with the blue in the bedlah. I didn't want anything as dramatic as a petal skirt over the top so I thought fringe belt in royal or dark blue would add the blue color I needed and sewing random tiny sequins on a strand of fringe here and there would ad sparkle (sequins would be same color as fringe belt.)

I just wanted the fringe to sparle under lights (at hafla performance) but not to over power, so pailettes would be too much. Does that make sense?

Could you match the beads and make some long strings of beads to augment the fringe on the belt? It wouldn't have to be a permanent modification to the belt--you could attach the beads to a narrow ribbon and baste the ribbon underneath so you could remove it easily if you wanted to go back to the original design. You know what the costume looks like and I don't, so I'm just tossing out ideas.

i donno if this may help, but. over here we can find some fringe belts, they're long (go down to almost my feet) and come in many different colors. and the string that is used, the color string, is interwoven with metallic thread. not insanely visible, but the fringe sparkles a little from afar. also, there are coins in the top section of the belt, in V shape, in the same metal tone as the thread.
if you're interested i can get you one?

Thanks Kathiya, but I'd be wearing it under a belt and I think the coins and v-shape would show. How sweet of you to offer.

Just something for consideration. There are tiny paillettes. A challenge to find, but they are available.

Sewing individual sequins onto chainette fringe would be near to impossible. I would just use a dot of fabric glue on each sequin. Spread out the fringe on some wax paper and dot away.

how about just a string of sequins? look in the ribbon/trim part of fabric stores and such. they often have string of sequins pre-sewn together.

Originally Posted by HOOKEDNOVICE

Since I can't seem to find a fringe belt that comes with metallic fringe, (need 18" or longer) I thought I'd add individual sequins or a row (?) of sequins to the belt myself.

Question: Which would look better? A vertical strand of sequins placed here and there mixed in with the belt? But I don't know what would weigh it down to make it hang right,

-OR-

Sew individual sequins onto the strands of the fringe belt. I don't even know if this is possible. I can hand sew, but I don't sew with a machine.

When ordering sequins for sewing individually, do I order them on a spool or loose?

Hello, I saw your other post also, asking about metallic fringe.

I think you are talking about buying a chainette fringe belt, yes?

I think either of the styles you mentioned above would look good.

I would buy loose sequins to avoid spending time unraveling them from the threads that hold them together.

For the glittery-but-not-overpowering effect you are looking for, here are some suggestions:
1. Look for a metallic skinny yarn, cut to length and baste small clusters of strands throughout the fringe belt.

2. Buy slightly larger-than-regular-sized sequins (but not as large as pailettes). Larger ones have larger holes which will much better accommodate the thickness of the chainette fringe. Thread a strand of fringe through a sequin, make a knot and repeat further down the same piece of fringe. Repeat with random pieces of fringe.

An alternative to the knot is to pass the fringe piece through the sequin hole again -- this will hold it in place.

End result is the scattered sequins effect.

I've seen this done on someone else's hip scarf with chainette fringe; unfortunately I don't have a pic. Used to be one of my I'll-get-to-it-someday projects :-)

3. Same as #2 but use faceted beads as they reflect light better. Just make sure that the bead holes are large enough for the strand of fringe to go through quite easily.

Hope that helps!

Hi You can use a strand of sequin trim then glue a pair of matching GLASS rhinestones to the end back to back for weight. Or you can buy a lead fishing lure and clamp it on then dip it in glue then glitter to match. I did this for a skirt once, i sued glitter glue to glue the stones on it looked fab.
Andrea

Are you talking about a metallic fringe hula skirt? I used to wear on over one of my plain skirts. They come in various colors.

Adult Pink Metallic Hula Skirt review at Kaboodle

Too bad this one is plastic and not metallic:
Hula Skirt Multicolored Plastic Hawaiian-SkirtsSupplies Buy Online

Another option, is you could buy a long length of bugle bead fringe and sew it on to a base and wear under your belt. You probably wouldn't want a solid fringe all the way around, so you could stagger 1-2 inch pieces as much or as little as you wanted.

Originally Posted by scn1188

Hello, I saw your other post also, asking about metallic fringe.

I think you are talking about buying a chainette fringe belt, yes? yes.

I would buy loose sequins to avoid spending time unraveling them from the threads that hold them together. Okay, will do

For the glittery-but-not-overpowering effect you are looking for, here are some suggestions:

2. Buy slightly larger-than-regular-sized sequins (but not as large as pailettes). Larger ones have larger holes which will much better accommodate the thickness of the chainette fringe. Thread a strand of fringe through a sequin, make a knot and repeat further down the same piece of fringe. Repeat with random pieces of fringe. BRILLIANT! I am using this method

An alternative to the knot is to pass the fringe piece through the sequin hole again -- this will hold it in place.

End result is the scattered sequins effect.

3. Same as #2 but use faceted beads as they reflect light better. Just make sure that the bead holes are large enough for the strand of fringe to go through quite easily. What are facedted beads? Beads with holes?

Hope that helps!

You guys are fabulous! Thanks for the help!

3. Same as #2 but use faceted beads as they reflect light better. Just make sure that the bead holes are large enough for the strand of fringe to go through quite easily. What are facedted beads? Beads with holes?


Faceted beads have several surfaces cut at different angles. Think of a cut diamond versus a smooth round glass marble and how they look when you move them around. But of course, you could mix and match for a variety of looks.

See examples of various faceted beads of all shapes and colors here:
Swarovski Crystal Beads, Swarovski Components - Fire Mountain Gems and Beads
[note, these are swarovskis so there is more shine and clarity compared to plastic beads]

If you're going to be doing more projects, Michael's sells this value pack of mixed sized smooth round and faceted round gold and silver beads. I got it not long ago, for I think ~$5. Looks like a mix of approx 4-, 5-, 7- and 10mm round beads, and 5mm faceted beads. It's the mix on the top left corner:
Jewelry Essentials Craft Value Pack Plastic Beads

Good luck with your project! Look forward to seeing a pic :-)