Sequin Jumper

Hello! Today, I have one of two posts about using different techniques for transforming/updating/embellishing jumpers, which could also be applied to any item of clothing you have that needs a little updating or saving from the recycling pile. Todays post starts with my favourite: sequins. It's a simple design and changed my sad looking jumper into something a little more happy.

The jumper was a cheap, slouchy, oversized sweater that I picked up from Primark and have worn less than a handful of times [washing days, if I'm being honest].

This embellishment technique has been used in a previous post, transforming a gingham dish cloths in to a cushion cover [you can see that post in more detail here]. However; as this jumper will be going through the wash, I decided to swap the fabric glue for hand-stitching [but you don't need to].

To start, you need to plan out the general area for your design and length of sequin ribbon required to make it. I put my jumper on to mark with pins where I wanted the design to sit and then began making the design with the sequin ribbon in the space, keeping in place with pins as I went along:

If you would rather have a more uniform design, or have guidelines to follow, create a template on your computer or freehand to follow - you can pin your ribbon to the paper and then tear it away before or after you start fixing it in place.

Once happy with the layout and design, we can begin fixing in place. If you would prefer the no-sew option, you can easily do this using the same methods as my sequin cushion cover. Ensure the fabric glue you buy is machine washable and you are good to go!
I decided to spend a bit of time hand-sewing, so with black thread and needle ready, I began a basic running stitch from one end to the other, sewing around two sequins in place at a time:
As the text lines became more curved, I found sectioning off areas in an embroidery hoop helped keep everything in place and a little easier to manage:

[keep the embroidery hoop fairly loose to prevent any damage to the sequins]

Continuing the running stitch until I reached the end, I trimmed the end of the ribbon and
fixed the final sequin in place with a few extra stitches:

The inside of my jumper looks a little something like this:

If you have a more detailed design, or have a thin material you are working with, you can reinforce and protect this by adding backing fabric which you stitch into as you fix your embellishments in place.

Have a quick check of the design to see if any sequins have tried to ruin the lines [they alway have an attempt, so test them!] and make any last minute stitches to keep them in place.
Otherwise, the transformation is complete: