Sequins for Needlepoint – Product Review

Updated August 6, 2021.

I am not much of a bling person, so I resisted the idea of using sequins for needlepoint for a long time. Now I’m mad at myself for this because the 2mm sequins from The Collection are so wonderful and easy to use.

The company’s sequins come in three sizes, 2, 4, and 5 millimeters, and in different shapes and colors. They are packaged in tiny vials that have labels on the front identifying the size and color. Because this obscures one side, turn the vials over to get a good look at the color.

Most of the colors are iridescent but not really shiny. I like this because it means they play nicely with others in a piece. The sequins have large holes in relation to their size, so they are easy to sew on.

I poured to sequins out into a low bowl, taking a few at a time to lay on my canvas as I worked. I found this was an effective way to use them.

This canvas, a Mary Engelbreit package, had one intersection “dots” on 13 mesh canvas. The 2mm size covers these nicely without crowding. On a less crowded canvas, this size would also work well for single intersection accents on 18-mesh. Use 4mm for larger areas on 18 and 5mm for larger areas on 14.

A few of the sequins seemed to be cut too thin so they were almost transparent, I just discarded these, Messier is the presence of material from the punched holes. It didn’t get on my stitching, it stayed in the bowl and it didn’t bother me. But it might bother some people.

Tips for Using Sequins for Needlepoint

I used a #28 Tapestry Needle and one strand of Pebbly Perle (no longer made) to attach them. This needle went through the hole easily. I think a #26 would work as well, but I didn’t try it.

Match your thread to the color of the sequin, THe matching thread blends in nicely.

You can sew them on by sewing from center to one edge, as I did. You can also come up in the center, go through a bead, and bring your needle back through the sequin but not through the bead. This would be a more blingy look.

Better than Beads

I liked these sequins much better than beads for many reasons:

• They lay flat on the canvas.
• They have bigger holes so I can use tapestry needles with no problems.
• I can use contrasting thread and more stitches to get different looks.
• I have a variety of methods for attachment.
• The different shapes can give me different looks.

I love these sequins and am plotting my next piece using them.

Please note: Samples of this product were provided to me for purposes of review and designing.