​Spangles may be stitched down in a variety of decorative ways, either individually or in lines, with fancy stitching with coloured silk threads. Alternatively, they can be held down with chips, looped chips, beads or, invisibly, in fish-scale stitching which results in the overlapping spangles concealing the stitch that holds down the previous spangle.

Spangles can be distinguished from sequins by their method of manufacture.  Spangles are made from a coil of wire which is cut into C-shapes and then hammered so the C forms a flat ring (there will still be a visible join).  Sequins are punched from a sheet of metal (or plastic) with a small hole for thread, they can be of any shape and can be flat, domed or faceted.  This distinction is normally made by goldworkers and not all authors use the terms in the same way.

Spangles have a long history across the world: excavations of 6th century royal tombs in Korea have shown that they were used to embellish royal crowns.  European artefacts date back to the 16th century: the Victoria and Albert Museum holds a dalmatic and other ecclesiastical garments embellished with them from this time.  They continued to be used in England in subsequent centuries: the V&A also holds a burse made for Elizabeth I’s Great Seal plus various high-status garments.  Their use wasn’t restricted to garments for royalty and nobility: they feature on a revolutionary cap from the French revolution now held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

17th century trade records between the Netherlands and Indonesia indicate that cloth embellished with spangles was unsurprisingly highly esteemed; by the 18th and 19th centuries in Lucknow, northern India, spangles and metal thread were used to completely cover shoes; 19th century rules for Madras Foot Artillery officers’ dress included spangles.