Gala Gown: More Embellishments

I just love distractions, don’t you!?

While I should be focusing on my dress, I seem to be having more fun playing with beads and wire lately.  Pixie suggested French beaded flowers, which was exactly what I had in mind!  As a reference book, I am using Beads in Bloom by Arlene Baker.

So while I watch Dancing with the Stars, I am making my own sparkly baubles, which, I suppose, is rather fitting.

Well, if I thought that the cotton ticking and spiral steel boning was a pain to work with, I was wrong.  I have now managed to stab wire ends through my fingertips on four separate occasions.  This is dangerous work!  And, of course, bloody fingers must be exiled from the sewing room at this time.

I grabbed some wool felt from the stash as a base for my corsage embellishments (one will go on the shoulder, and the other on the hip).  The color of the felt does not match very well, but will not be visible once I finish!

The first time around, I sewed some of my leaves down and then added beaded flowers as they were completed.  But on second thought, it was easier to start with the wire pieces, and add the fabric in later.  Although, thread has a way of getting caught when there are quite a few pieces of wire.  So perhaps it is better to start with fabric?

I started with gold and platinum colored beads on gold wire.  However, the green and gold in the jacquard did not pick up the green silk and gold beads, so I decided to add some blue and green beads to help tie everything together.

To ensure that the wire ends are not going to cause any more damage (to my dress OR fingers), I added some fleece to the back of the corsage.  Yes, the white looks ridiculous, but it is what I had on hand.

I am pleased with how the beaded flowers look, so all is well.  And once I am sure that my fingers have stopped bleeding, I will get back in the sewing room!