How to Hem a Sequin Dress

Hemming a sequin dress can be a challenging ordeal if you are trying to do it on your own without a guide. Measurements can be off. The sequins, depending on the kind, can be bulky. The line of fabric holding the sequins can fray. Adding sequins to the dress adds a new set of problems, but the actual process of hemming a sequin dress is not complicated. If you make a few adjustments to the process of hemming a dress without sequins, the process is really quite simple. This article tells you how and when to make the small adjustments to the hemming process to accommodate the sequins.

Put on the dress. The easiest way to figure out where you need to hem the dress is to slip it on and measure the hem based on where the hem falls on your leg.

Pin a section of the dress. Stand on a chair while you have a second person push pins into the fabric of the dress where you want the hem to be. As your helper marks the material, slowly turn so the pins can be put all the way around.

Take off the dress and finish pinning. Slip the dress off and fold the hem based on the section you pinned. This is where an accommodation needs to be made for sequins. Lay the dress on a flat and stable surface and pin the hem around the bottom of the dress. Because the hem has sequins, you need to double fold the hem before you sew it. Leave about 3 inches of material so you can fold the material inside the dress, and roll the material inside again. Then push a pin through the layers of material about every inch, so you can flatten the folded sequin to avoid bulk. Don't add too many pins, but you want to be sure that the hem will not slip while you are sewing it.

Sew the hem. Sew about a 1/2 inch above the bottom of the fold. Using your sewing machine, sew the hem by pulling the fabric through the machine. You will have to pull slowly so the sequin fabric does not pull, tear or stretch.