Sometimes elevating a Summer tee from plain to something more requires a bit of sparkle. Using sequin trim to create t-shirt details that don’t exist makes for a fun and unique piece that looks lovely paired with skirts and dressier shorts – and a t-shirt that’s a little more chic than your average white tee. 
And it’s super-simple! Here’s how to make your own:
You Need:
t-shirt / sequin trim in your choice of color / fabric chalk / Embellish It! fabric glue / paper / pen / scissors / hand-sewing needle & matching thread (optional)
How to: 
1. Lay your shirt on a flat surface. 
Use a piece of paper to sketch half of the Peter Pan-style collar, and cut out to create your template.
2. Draw around the collar template with fabric chalk, flipping over to create the other side of the collar. 
Also add two faux “buttons” as circles on the front of the tee, and a fake “pocket” if you like.
3. Spread fabric glue over the lines you drew and very carefully place the sequin trim in the glue.
Flip the shirt over and glue down the trim at the back once the front is dry enough to stay in place. Overlap the ends of the trim a little, then trim down once the glue has dried a little.
4. Allow to dry enough so the sequins aren’t sliding around on top of the glue, but not enough so the glue has hardened completely. Use your needle and thread to further tack down the ends where the trim meets itself with a couple hand-stitches. (You can see that I switched out the thread to a color to match my sequin trim rather than my t-shirt when I realized how obvious the black thread would look.)
You’re done!
It’s amazing how just a simple tee can be jazzed up with a little bit of sparkle. Try adding any details you want, including front plackets, different-shaped buttons, interesting collars, or faux seams. You can even try different types of trim, or even beads on a string like my Bead-Edged Cut-Out Shoulder Top tutorial here! (You may have to hand-stitch the trim down if it is bulky and heavy like the beads on a string.)
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this DIY, please share it!~
Loves it! I’m thinking some heat-set crystals would look great as well…
Sequin designed shirts were huge in the 70’s. Giant lips, hearts, peace signs. Very groovy!
How cool! The sequins add such a fun dimension to the 2D tromp l’oeil
Very cute!
New post on SEARCH IN FASHION – August wishlist
Omg this is soo cute! I HAVE to dyi this, I just have to. Love it!
Very adorable.
Bromeliad recently posted…Weekend photos
Carly, this is great! Definitely think I’m going to try this!!!
Kate recently posted…Hello, Boot Season!
Brilliant! I love the look. I will definitely try this with one. Perhaps it will look good too using Iron on Rhinestones. What do you think?
In love. I’m going out to get the supplies tomorrow!! Can’t wait to wear it with this perfect tutu for a holiday party!!
seriously love this!
I love this tshirt. Great idea!
Amy recently posted…Embrace the Pace-2 GREAT Antique Store Items
cute pattern! I recently did this with a cheap tshirt but just added the sequins along the trim of the neckline, sleeves and bottom.
Thanks Erin! It’s amazing how much more sophisticated a simple tee can look with some sequins 🙂 All hail glitter and bling!!
Thank you so much for sharing your process, such a cute shirt. I’m not exactly a sequins type, but I would certainly wear this.
Mia @ shelovestocraft recently posted…Paste Eater
Thanks, Mia! You can use any type of trim you like if you’d prefer a non-sequined version…plus it might be easier to wash 😉
I love this shirt and the finish is so professional!
Sequins are one of my favourite things!
Check out theginfox.wordpress.com for free templates and Craft DIY ideas!
theginfox recently posted…DIY Marquee Light!
Thanks so much, theginfox! Your marquee light is so pretty!
OMG, that’s so cute!
Hello! This is SO CUTE. I love collared shirts. This has inspired me to try some things.
I’m also a blogger and always looking to build community with other bloggers as I’ve not done much. I blog about art/lifestyle and diy mostly. I’m searching for art and DIY blogs that I enjoy.
Anyway, do you have any sort of advice for bloggers trying to get back into the game and gain community? I know you’ve got a lot going on here and are probably very busy keeping it up (I don’t blog nearly often enough.. ugh). I’m also very open to having coffee or tea and travel a lot for business (I’m also an artist and designer).
I’ve also heard of bloggers promoting content or work like sites that offer perks for social media status, communities for bloggers, blog listings like bloglovin’, as well as sites where you can actually earn money and promotional opportunities for content like Advowire. Do you use any of these sites to promote content or collaborate with other bloggers? Do you know of other sites/resources you’d like to reccomend?
So it’s very nice to meet you, yes this is long and I apologize. Hope to hear from you. Thank you for reading. <3
Hi Amber, thanks for your comment – glad the DIY inspired you! Are you local to the Portland, OR area? If you are I’d recommend joining Portland Bloggers – I volunteer with them and they’re the largest bloggers’ group in the area. And if you’re not local I’m sure you would be able to find another group local to your community (Google or FB search) – they’re a great way to connect with other bloggers and build something awesome together!
Gaining community is one of the toughest things to do and it really comes from a combination of putting out great, beautiful visuals and content, consistently…and promoting it consistently across your social channels. Audience-building is a whole topic in and of itself. I’m actually working on an online course on audience building right now specifically geared for DIY/craft and creative blogs that I hope to release within the next 2 months. If that might be something you’re interested in, please let me know!
As for content promotion sites, I don’t use Advowire personally, but I am a member of a number of ad network/paid post sites like Clever Girls, IZEA, and SheKnows, to name a few. Some other bloggers I know work with co-promotional sites and I’ve tried that in the past but the content they serve up after posts I haven’t liked in terms of design; I thought it was a bad user experience and looked really spammy so I deleted. It did bring me some traffic though, however it wasn’t that much considering how disruptive it looked on my blog. Maybe they’ve gotten better…but nowadays when I want to collaborate with other bloggers I’ll reach out through the Portland Bloggers’ Facebook group or reach out to my blogger friends to produce a post or something more meaty for our audiences…sidebar ads/link chains don’t really cut it anymore.
Hope that helps! 🙂
i will try it on my purple t-shirt,thank you so much for sharing your blog..
Thank you – hope it works out on your purple shirt wonderfully!