Hi sewing friends! Lisa here from Tie Dye Diva patterns talking to you about the gorgeous color-changing sequin fabric known as two-tone, reversible, or flip sequins (or mermaid sequins as my daughter likes to call them!) If you “pet” them one way (and you will), they are one color, but brush them the other direction, they are a different color on the other side! You’re probably seen them in stores on pillows or as appliqués on t-shirts, but I love to go bold with them and use them as garment elements, and kids (and adults) love them too!

Cali Fabrics carries two-tone sequin fabric in more than a dozen color combinations, from black and white to iridescents and metallics and a rainbow of colors in between. It might seem a little pricey, but a yard of 60″ wide sequin fabric goes a long, long, long way! I chose Ocean Blue and Hot Pink and made this totally fun, over-the-top baby romper.

When my daughter saw it, she begged me to make her something with two-tone sequins too. Lately she has been very picky in her clothing choices so when she asks for me to make something specific it makes me happy, so I dove right in.

We choose the Lemon Drop Dress pattern for its slim bodice and full skirt, using our beautiful two tone sequin fabric on the bodice and Hot Pink Tulle for an extra glamorous skirt overlay.

It wasn’t difficult to make either of these garments with the sequin fabric. I know a lot of people are hesitant to sew with sequins and flip sequins may be even more intimidating. With the right tools and tips you should feel more comfortable with trying these fabrics too! Let me share a couple of tips.

First up: cutting. Since two-tone sequin fabric is so thick, I don’t cut it on the fold. I turn it over and draw my full pattern piece with chalk on the black backing.

Then, since these sequins are super messy I use tape on the front so the ones that come loose from the cutting stay stuck on the tape and make clean up so much easier. I normally use masking tape but I was out so i substituted with packaging tape and it worked perfectly!

I usually line all my dresses, which encloses the seam allowance, and this helps keep the the little sequins that peek out from from scratching the skin.  But if you can’t line the dress, or don’t want to, be sure to remove the sequins from your seam allowance.  This can be done by clipping the little clear threads right on top of the sequins or you can use your seam ripper too.

Speaking of lining, normally I’d interline the back of sequin fabric with woven material to stabilize it, then use lining as specified in the pattern. However, the poly/lycra backing on this particular fabric is already fairly thick and stable so I skipped the bulk of an extra liner and just lined the bodice as called for in the pattern.

Now you’re ready to get sewing and so my last bit of advice is this: Be prepared to break your needles. It never fails. I do find using Microtex needles helps a lot and keeping the sequins pushed in one direction as you sew is also helpful.

I hope these tips will help and encourage you to try sewing with these fun flip sequins too! You can find our PDF sewing patterns at Tie Dye Diva Patterns and all kinds of sewing goodness from me and Jen over at Tie Dye Diva on Instagram. We’d love to see you there!