sewing sequined fabric
 

I need to sew a tablecloth for a wedding and the bride's choice is this heavily sequined black mesh fabric. I was planning on serging the seams but am unsure if the fabric will move properly through the serger. Has anyone sewn on this type of facric before? I am hoping the blade on the serger will slice through the sequins too. Should I reinforce the seam with tape or something? I am reluctant to start on this for fear of ruining the beautiful fabric. All suggestions are appreciated.

You will have to pick off the sequins where the seam goes. Sometimes the needle will split the sequin and fall off. I have not sewn this on a serger was afraid the serger blades would dull cutting through the sequins.

I tried sewing this kind of fabric a while ago (for a costume) and none of my machines would go through the sequins, including vintage singers. The needles would get gummed up, stalled, etc. I concur with picking off the sequins where the seam goes. Personally I wouldn't risk it with the serger, but, will wait to see if anyone else has had good luck with that.

I think I might try gluing the seams.

The last time I sewed with that type of fabric, I used a size 14 needle and a narrow seam. You may also overlap the seams so there is nothing to turn under. A good book on bridal and specialty sewing from your libary will help a lot. Is there to be a lining under this lovely fabric? If so the overlap may work out best. Good luck with your project. Trish

Definitely pick off the sequins to clear an area for the seams. If you have bare spots after sewing, then reattach some of the sequines. Have done this before and it worked well.

Is the fabric under the sequins knit or woven? If it is knit you can use a normal machine because the fabric won't shred. IMHO sequined cloth is quite heavy and it drags when sewing a sizable piece. I would think that the weight could be an issue with a serger and its speed. I know you need to be very careful about guiding the fabric and holding the seam width constant.

Sequins are horrible! I have broken and bent needles with them countless times. I don't own a serger so I can't speak to that, but they are a pain with a sewing machine.

Pick the sequins off where you sew the seam and then hand sew them on to cover the seam. That is what we do at the bridal shop.

I just fixed a dress for my daughter like that, if you put tissue paper under the fabric it will glide easily, you need to sew really slow with a small stitch and the remove the tissue paper.

I agree with Rosiewell! I used to make my daughter's figure skating dresses, and they almost always had sequins. Slowly is the key! I f you try to pick off enough sequins to give you a free sewing edge, the sequins will unravel from one end of the material to the other, as they are all interconnected, and when you pull one thread..it will just keep unraveling.
Also...being that this particular fabric has a very open mesh behind the sequins, I would definately use seam binding on it...the seam binding will stabilize that mesh, and also help the fabric glide though your machine.
I have a seger and love it..but would not use it on this project..it won't be of benefit, and will dull a good blade..just use a fairly short straight stitch on a regular machine. Good luck!

The designer and maker of Irish Dance dress advises to use a needle for leather, do not remove sequins. You may break a needle or so but it is what it is. I helped make my DGD dance dress and we followed her advise with great results.

When I made formals of sequined fabric I p[icked off all the sequins that fell within the seam line - it is the only way to insure nice seams & prevent broken or bent needles

Needle suggestion
 

Made some vests for choir with sequined. Had best success with titanium needles.