Tag: swarovski

Swarovski & Silk

Beaded Collar

This is what reminded me that I hadn’t shown you the silk steampunk outfit – I finally found the time to make one of the accessories to go with it!

In our original sketches, we’d talked about a beaded silk collar and matching wrist cuffs. I haven’t made those yet (I’ve run out of gold eyelets!), but I did manage to make the collar.

The silk is an offcut from the original dress, lined with an offcut of the bodice lining which was heavily interfaced. The Swarovski crystal beads were all unpicked from the original dress, and then sewn onto the collar in two sessions in front of the telly – taking a total of seven and a half hours. That’s just the beading, not the original unpicking, or the sewing of the collar itself. I knew all that time I spent sewing on beads in the bridal shop would come in useful eventually!

I deliberately didn’t take the beads all the way up to the edge, partly to allow a little bit of the lovely fabric to show through, and partly so that there was nice soft silk against the skin.

Beaded Collar

When the collar catches the light, it really sparkles. These photos really don’t do it any kind of justice at all – you really need to see it move. The silk has a beautiful lustre of its own, and with the beads on top… wow. I know that sounds as though I’m blowing my own trumpet, but really, it’s the materials doing all the hard work!

Beaded Collar

And this is how it fastens – three eyelets on each side at the back, and a simple ribbon. Nice and long, so you can just skip it off over your head rather than having to re-lace it every time.

I’ve still got loads of beads left over, more than enough for the matching cuffs. I might ask to borrow the jacket, so I can use up the remaining beads on the sleeves.

I’m really tempted to make one of these for myself… although where I’d go wearing a sparkly crystal collar I’m not too sure! Maybe I’ll just wear it to work.

Steampunk Silk

Steampunk Silk

This is a costume that I made for a friend, way back last October for a Hallowe’en event. She already had a corset and a mask, so they dictated the copper, gold and brown accent colours.

The ivory silk had a previous incarnation as her wedding dress. The slightly distressed texture is a result of putting it through the washing machine, but it left the fabric amazingly soft and a joy to work with. There was enough to make a jacket and a bustled skirt, with some left over for accessories.

Steampunk Silk

The jacket is a modification of two Simplicity steampunk patterns – 2172 and 2207. The back and sleeves were taken from 2207, with the front from 2172. I added lacing into the princess seams at the back, and beading to the cuffs. The buttons were from the original dress, as were the Swarovski crystal beads.

Steampunk Silk

The bustle and swags are in sections, all interchangeable so they can be worn in lots of different ways. They simply tie at the waist with ribbons. The skirt itself is bustled at the back, using ribbons sewn through channels in the centre back seam. This can be let down into a train. There’s a little bit of ruching at the front too, conveniently placed to disguise a stain that wouldn’t come out! (Shhh, don’t tell…)

I also made a petticoat to go underneath, to give  the skirt a little bit of extra fullness. I don’t know why I didn’t take a photograph of that, but you can just see the ruffle peeking out, here. There are better photos of the outfit being worn to stunning effect, but I need to get permission before I post them here. Thankfully it was well received, and looked absolutely fabulous!

As always, I wish I’d had a bit more time to make this. The bustle and swags were a bit rushed, and I would have liked to add much more beading to the cuffs. But I absolutely loved making it. It was a real treat to work with such sumptuous silk duchess satin, and to swap creative ideas with a friend. In fact, it’s inspired me to modify my own wedding dress for an event I’m attending in May.  You’ll have to wait and see how it turns out!