Byzantine Collar: Beading complete
Well the beading is as done as it can be within the timeframe I have.
There are about 425 Beads on this collar, counting the edge dangly bits.
I finished phase 2 and 3 and have strung beads on the wire for the danglies for phase 4.
Just have to coil the ends so they can be sewn on to the collar after the collar is sewn up.
Here are some pics:
I decided to fill in the cross with 4 beads so it would look like a diamond shape instead.
I kept thinking to myself that a dancing girl would not be sporting crosses on her collar.
You can see here that from far away the diamond shapes looks like a solid metal plaque with a pearl in the middle instead of an arrangement of beads. That was the effect I was going for anyway.
The collar is still on the frame here. I've not had the nerve to take it off. I'm afraid to take it off. This is the first time I've used this frame. Plus, I wished I could add more beads and some thread embroidery to it. This darn beadwork is like potato chips, you can' eat just one.
From a designer's standpoint, I hate that I'm using linen for the ground fabric instead of satin. But when Lady Leonor did a quick dig around on suptuary laws for me, her initial findings indicated that they were far more punitive with breaking sumptuary laws regarding fabric and fabric color, than they were for Jewelry. So I thought it would be best to stay in Linen instead of the slippery shiny satin.
Also, the linen is not that faded in person, the flash is reflecting off the linen, making it look ligher than it is.
In the Byzantine empire, the royals favored the large round pearls, so again to attemt to modify the outfit to the class of a dancer, I'm using inferior pearls with slight flaws or irregularity of shape. It's a stab in the dark but if there are sumptuary laws about pearl, I'd assume they would not be so flipped out if the pearls would be unacceptable to someone of a higher class. Silver would probalby not be as precious as gold, and the clear glass beads or rock crystal (I'm using glass), should not be a big deal. I don't see them using a lot of Jet, but it was available in Europe, so in the interest of being in Kingdom colors, this is what I'm using.
I had to resist adding some color in...I'll pretty much have to make another byzantine outfit just so I can play with some color.
I've got adventurine and amethyst to play with and want to get more gold to trim it out.
Here is the last picture:
And this is a fuzzy closeup of a section showing where the beaded danglies will be going
That's all for now...I'm pooped.
There are about 425 Beads on this collar, counting the edge dangly bits.
I finished phase 2 and 3 and have strung beads on the wire for the danglies for phase 4.
Just have to coil the ends so they can be sewn on to the collar after the collar is sewn up.
Here are some pics:
I decided to fill in the cross with 4 beads so it would look like a diamond shape instead.
I kept thinking to myself that a dancing girl would not be sporting crosses on her collar.
You can see here that from far away the diamond shapes looks like a solid metal plaque with a pearl in the middle instead of an arrangement of beads. That was the effect I was going for anyway.
The collar is still on the frame here. I've not had the nerve to take it off. I'm afraid to take it off. This is the first time I've used this frame. Plus, I wished I could add more beads and some thread embroidery to it. This darn beadwork is like potato chips, you can' eat just one.
From a designer's standpoint, I hate that I'm using linen for the ground fabric instead of satin. But when Lady Leonor did a quick dig around on suptuary laws for me, her initial findings indicated that they were far more punitive with breaking sumptuary laws regarding fabric and fabric color, than they were for Jewelry. So I thought it would be best to stay in Linen instead of the slippery shiny satin.
Also, the linen is not that faded in person, the flash is reflecting off the linen, making it look ligher than it is.
In the Byzantine empire, the royals favored the large round pearls, so again to attemt to modify the outfit to the class of a dancer, I'm using inferior pearls with slight flaws or irregularity of shape. It's a stab in the dark but if there are sumptuary laws about pearl, I'd assume they would not be so flipped out if the pearls would be unacceptable to someone of a higher class. Silver would probalby not be as precious as gold, and the clear glass beads or rock crystal (I'm using glass), should not be a big deal. I don't see them using a lot of Jet, but it was available in Europe, so in the interest of being in Kingdom colors, this is what I'm using.
I had to resist adding some color in...I'll pretty much have to make another byzantine outfit just so I can play with some color.
I've got adventurine and amethyst to play with and want to get more gold to trim it out.
Here is the last picture:
And this is a fuzzy closeup of a section showing where the beaded danglies will be going
That's all for now...I'm pooped.