Not exactly what I intended to blog, but . . . .
I really wanted to show you a new vintage pattern I bought off eBay, but the picture from the auction wasn't wonderful and didn't show the detail which attracted me in the first place. It should be here within a week, so I'll post it then.
At any rate, it's back to the lab for this dress.
My husband took the pictures above with the new camera. He was just playing around with it a little tonight, and came into the studio.I did a few more experiments:
I was thinking about this quite a bit today, and still haven't reached a conclusion. I've been wondering if I really need to add sequins/beads/whatevers. I have quite a bit of an inner magpie, and although I'm not a frilly person, I do like sparkly things. Hence the top row, with just a row of sparkly stitching holding the whole thing together. Less is more?
For the next row, I'm back to attaching each square with something sparkly. I found some 10mm blue cup sequins in my stash. The only problem with them is that they were round. Not a problem a pair of scissors couldn't fix. I just trimmed them into squares. I just think it would be a bit odd to have an ensemble with the title "Diamonds" and have a round embellishment. I eliminated the twirling on the square by taking a few tiny stitches in the center of the square which would be hidden by the sequin. I made the sequin secure by making sure I didn't stitch back through the exact same place when I stitched back down through the sequin. No twirling at all. 
I'm still undecided. I think the squares are too plain with just a row of stitching, but the sequins may be too much. Then again, it's not too much because this is the *only* embellishment on the whole dress besides the sash. I need to think about it some more. Meanwhile, I can still start cutting out the gown and getting the inner support layers sewn. Today's parting shot, compliments of my husband:
I got my garments back from the show today, along with their ribbons. I initally reported that I won two ribbons, but ended up with three, which was a suprise when I opened the boxes. There's a category called "Viewer's Choice"; the people who view the show vote by ballot and the ballots are counted after the show closes. Little Red Empress won the Viewer's Choice.
8 comments:
Wow! Congratulations again! :D
FWIW, I kinda like the square sequins...it's different...
Those three ribbons are totally deserved! About the Diamonds... I don't know, maybe it hits you when the dress is assembled, then you can visualize it for real...
What a nice surprise for you. Viewers choice! The viewers had good taste.
Following the diamond ornamentation process with great interest. I do think the square or diamond shaped is the way to go.
Oh, congratulations on winning another ribbon! That's wonderful.
It's really difficult to decide about the squares. Spontaneously, I'd like the sparkly line better. On the other hand, you're aiming for a stunning couture dress, right? Not a dress to wear every day (or every evening, in that case). The sequins would be more striking - in a good way. They'd make more of a statement.
Have a lovely weekend. :)
I wonder how it would be to put a cluster of sequins underneath the sheer diamonds? You'd still have sparkle, but it would be softer.
I like the way this is progressing...very interesting.
Summerset, when I do embellishemnt I always over embellish and then cut back - it's kind of like writing that way - I need to get all of my ideas up there before I can start editing and cutting out the chaf. So dont' worry there.
I was thinking the squares might be just a tad too big in proportion to the sequins, and they might also look better if they were more directional and laid partially each other from the top of the bodice on down like fish scales. Kennth King does osomething similar; his method is propriatary and he woudln't reveal it when Ann, Georgene and I met him, but you can see an example of it on his web site, just click on "couture" whenyou get to his website: http://www.kennethdking.com/index.html
Phyllis
Thanks for the second round of congrats, ladies!
Phyllis - I tend to do something similar to what you do with embellishment. To begin with, I pull out every bead, sequin, trim, thread and whatzit I have that might go on the the project. I then weed out what won't work from there. With this one, I'm sort of trying a bit of everything, and then deciding.
I think I know what technique you're talking about - he's very secretive about that. I asked him about it in a chat on time and I couldn't get much out of him, except that he doesn't use a spray fixative to hold the pieces in place before he stitches them down. He must drape the pieces on a form somehow and then from there - who knows? Stitch them to a base? I'll have to go up to his site, haven't been in a while.
Thanks for the input everyone and stay tuned for yet another round of what might or might not work.
Summerset - congratulations again! All three ribbons are well deserved!
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