Make your Christmas jumper sparkle with our sequin embroidery

Adding sparkle to your wardrobe rotation is practically a necessity for the festive season, but that doesn’t have to limit you to a glitter-emblazoned Rudolph sweater.

Subtle sequins and a zesty design team up in our sequin embroidery, creating a gorgeous holiday piece that can easily be thrown on to jazz up any outfit.

The clementine patch isn’t limited to tops only, it can transform jackets, jeans, skirts and even accessories.

For an understated look, a solo patch can do the trick, or make in multiples for a complete jumper overhaul, as we have done in this project.

In this guide, we’ll take you through how to use sequins to embroider a lovely clementine patch and how to transfer that to your jumper.

Kate Gwilliam designed this project, and it was first published in Mollie Makes issue 111. Sign up for our embroidery newsletter to receive more beautiful embroidery projects every week.

Are you looking for more stitching inspiration? Check out our free embroidery patterns for lots more ideas.

Free sequin embroidery template

• Clementine sequin embroidery templates

How to do sequin embroidery and make a festive jumper

You will need:

• Plain sweatshirt
• 50 x 50cm (193⁄4 x 193⁄4″) white felt
• Erasable fabric marker
• Flat orange sequins, 1cm (1/8″)
• Flat orange sequins, 0.8cm (2/8″)
• Cupped orange sequins, 0.8cm (2/8″)
• Cupped orange sequins, 0.6cm (1⁄4″)
• Cupped orange sequins, 0.5cm (1⁄4″)
• Flat green sequins, 0.8cm (2/8″)
• Flat green sequins, 0.5cm (1⁄4″)
• Paintbrush

Step 1

Transfer the designs to felt

Cut five 10x10cm(4×4″) squares from the felt. Using the template above, place the template on one of the squares and draw around it.

Make sure to copy over the leaf detail, as well as the dotted and straight lines on the leaves.

Repeat four more times with the remaining felt squares.

Step 2

Thread your needle

Double thread a needle with orange thread – sequins can sometimes have sharp edges, so this makes them more secure – then knot the end.

Step 3

Start stitching the orange sequins

Starting at the bottom of the clementine shape, place a sequin of any size onto the felt and hold it down with your thumb.

Bring the needle up from behind the felt and through the centre hole of the sequin, then take the needle back down through the felt at the top of the sequin.

Step 4

Layer your sequins

Continue filling the clementine shape in this way, using all the different sizes of sequins to create a layered finish.

If you need to tie off the thread, make a couple of small stitches on the same spot and tie a knot at the back.

Step 5

Fold your green sequins

To create the leaves, take the 0.8cm (2/8″) flat green sequins and fold them in half, making little taco shapes.

Use approximately 25 sequins for each patch.

Step 6

Create the leaves

Using green thread, doubled as per Step 2, bring the needle up at the bottom of the right leaf – the end closest to the middle of the clementine.

Place a folded sequin on the felt using the lines as a guide, and stitch into the hole.

Bring the needle up at the top of the sequin, then down into the centre hole.

Fill the leaves on the solid lines with the folded sequins.

Where two need to be used, overlap them to keep the shape.

Step 7

Add the smaller green sequins

Fill the other side of the leaf with the smaller sequins, following the dotted lines and working from the outside towards the centre line of the leaf. This is so the layers of sequins are fullest at the centre.

Step 8

Repeat as many times as you wish

Repeat Steps 2-7 on each felt square to create all five patches.

Step 9

Remove the erasble marker

Using a clean paintbrush dipped in water, remove the erasable marker pen lines. Be gentle when dabbing at the lines so as not to saturate the felt.

Cut around the edge of the sequins on all five of the patches.

Step 10

Pin and stitch

Pin the patches to the jumper, using the main image as a guide.

Thread the needle with white thread, again, doubling up and knotting the end.

Bring the needle up from behind the first patch and through the edge of the felt, approximately 1-2mm (1/16″) in from the edge. Bring the needle down just next to the edge of the patch.

Step 11

Finish stitching your patches

Continue stitching around each patch in the same way, making small, neat stitches, and knotting off the thread securely whenever the end of a length is reached.

Spruce up your Christmas wardrobe with this sequin embroidery

Add glitz and glam to your plain jumper with these sequined clementines! They’re simple to stitch and are sure to add the festive touch you are looking for.

Love creating your own Christmas wardrobe?

We have an elegant pine needle jumper embroidery that you’ll love and is subtle enough to wear through both autumn and winter.

Caitlin McDougall

Caitlin has always had a love for all things crafty ever since it has been engrained in her from a young age by her talented mum. From embroidery to jewellery making to painting, she likes to dabble in and out of new and old mediums whenever she finds inspiration. She is currently learning how to use her new sewing machine in hopes to be able to start making her own summer clothes. Caitlin previously worked on Love Embroidery magazine for two years, before making the move to Simply Sewing.

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