Have you ever wondered who invented the sequin? Well, no one really knows for sure. Gold sequins were found in King Tut’s Tomb. In the antechamber of the tomb there was even a shirt shimmering with sequins intended for him to be well dressed in the afterlife.

These original Egyptian sequins were made of ornate gold rolled thin and cut out and hung. Egyptians glazed the gold to stop scratches and chips.

Later, Leonardo da Vinci designed a machine to attach sequins to fabric, but it was never actually created.

Mr. Algy Lieberman pioneered sequin production in the United States. His former factory in New York turned out six million sequins a day. He also pioneered the use of plastics in sequins, and invented the washable sequin.

The first form of plastic was gelatin. But there were complications. Gelatin melted if it got too hot. Forget dry cleaning or ironing! Moisture was no better. If someone got caught in a rainstorm, it would melt. Washing machines liquefied sequins. Algy set out to find a solution.

Then a new plastic was tried. Eastman Kodak was producing acetate for their film stock. It was a clear plastic plated on one side with real silver. Kodak customized acetate for Algy’s manufacturing company. They coated the silver with a clear ink of the desired color. The effect was brilliant.  The light would penetrate through the color, hit the silver, and reflect back.

Plastic sequins were more stable than gelatin sequins. Still, they could melt in sun. And tarnish in rain. “We had to get around that eventually,” Algy says. “It took many, many years. We experimented with different methods. What we came up with was a sandwich.” He invented a new sequin with a piece of very thin, clear Mylar around it. (Mylar was an invention by Dupont Corporation around WWII) The coloring is actually inside, protected by the Mylar. This makes the sequin machine washable! Mr. Lieberman retired and sold his business in 1999.

Today the sequins are made out of vinyl plastic. It’s easier to work with and not brittle. The plating adheres to it better because it’s a softer surface. Unfortunately, it will curl up as it gets older because vinyl has a memory.

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