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DIY Sequined Sweater

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I must admit when Grace, of Stripes & Sequins, suggested that we each try making our own Markus Lupfer-inspired sequined sweater, I was uncertain. Attempting to attach tons of tiny sequins onto a sweater seemed difficult and downright messy. But I’m known to never turn down a DIY challenge and after the first successful attempt, I’m happy to report that this tutorial isn’t nearly as difficult as it seems. Because I chose a design that covered a lot of surface area, using sequin trim was a huge time saver. Thank you, Grace, for motivating me to just go for it!

You’ll need:

Print the pattern at 100% scale. Cut out the pattern and position the ears on the center of the sweater. Trace the outline with a fabric marker or pen.

Run a very thin line of glue along the inside of the outline. I like to work a few a inches at a time. Lay the black sequin trim over the glue and gently pat it down into the sweater. Continue adding glue and trim until the outline is complete. Cut the trim with scissors and glue the last sequin down with a small drop of glue.

Continue onto the next color. Run the next line of glue close to the previous row of sequins. Using the pattern as guideline, trim the sequins and glue down accordingly.

Fill in the rest of the empty space with white sequins. Don’t worry if some sequins fall off the ends of the trim as they can be fixed later.

Continue gluing and don’t forget to use the tweezers to help with tight areas.

Once both ears are filled in, add any additional accents with glue. If there are any bald spots or frayed ends, cover them up with loose sequins and glue.

Allow the glue to dry completely. An optional step is to reinforce the sequins by stitching sections of sequins onto the sweater from the backside.

And you’re finished! The sweater should be dry cleaned only.

Don’t forget to head over to Stripes & Sequins to see Grace’s purr-fect version!

(all images by HonestlyWTF)

86 Comments

  8. Stella    October 9, 2012

    Great style and east to make. I will try this on my t-shirts and hope will do better.

  13. Rachel    October 9, 2012

    Omg! This is so simple yet it looks so detailed! Can’t wait to try it!!

  20. christin    October 9, 2012

    omg i need one of these. i would say that i should make one, but i know i would totally screw the pooch on this.

  24. Nomadic D    October 9, 2012

    You had me until “Reinforce the sequins by stitching them onto the sweater from the backside”. All of them!? Stitch them?! Ha! I’ll pass. Super impressed by those (ie: you) with the patience to actually do it though!

    http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/

  37. Candice    October 9, 2012

    Love it! Will definitely try this one. Your DIY designs are great!!

    Candice

  40. Diana Pereira    October 9, 2012

    OMG
    I rather just pay for the sweater
    that is so time consuming, not worth my time!
    But what great do it yourself

  42. Justine    October 9, 2012

    Now the markus lupfer sweater is $425. Going off of the site you provided to buy sequin trim, 1/4 of an inch is 25 cents. To get 10 yards of sequin trim like you suggest would end up costing $360 …. Sometimes you should just buy the damn sweater. 

  44. Chrissy    October 9, 2012

    Justine – it’s 25 cents for a yard of 1/4″ size sequins… for 10 yrds it would be $2.50 … but the minimum order is 36 yards which is $9.

  48. Erica    October 9, 2012

    @Justine, the sequin trim is 25 cents a yard which makes the total cost of sequins $2.50. @Chrissy is correct – Sequins direct requires a minimum purchase of 36 yards ($9). However, you can probably find sequin trim at lower quantities on Etsy.

  49. Carol Rial    October 9, 2012

    Hey, you’re right, it doesn’t look so difficult as it seemed at first. Or you make it look easier! Turns out beautiful. Going to try it out!

  64. Judy    October 14, 2012

    Thank you so much for this tutorial! I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Markus Lupfer sweater for a bit now, but they’re simply not affordable for me. Now I can get creative and get a similar effect. Great job!

  67. rose    October 28, 2012

    I made mine :)
    I did my own little twist and personalizations
    its super easy and fun
    and in the end you get a super cute and unique shirt

  71. Kate    December 19, 2012

    I tried this DIY and it turned out great! Thank you for the inspiration!

    Check out how mine turned out here: highstreetwind.blogspot.com

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