Padme Senate 2 Gown pt 3

July 26, 2012:  Ok.  The part (one of them) that scares me: the neck and chest bead work. I blew up these pics and traced the pattern (as best I could) and created a template.  There are pics at this address that give some great detailed shots.  Something that I noticed in one of them is that it appears that the bead work was done on a separate waist fabric, trimmed, then sewn on like an applique.  I can't substantiate this however, when looking at other pics.  So I will be doing the bead work straight to the main fabric (that is already had the inner lining basted to it and neck attached--now they are treated as one piece).


Finding the Navette stones (flower petals) is NOT easy.  However, I did do some serious internet searches and found gold and cobalt colored sew on rhinestones.  Unfortunately, they are acrylic.  I will sew them on on their own string so that should crystal ones be found they can be easily replaced.  I approximated that there were 18 flowers comprised of both 3 yellow and 3 blue "petals", tons of dark blue seed beads, and half the amount of golden (not metallic) seed beads, and both blue and yellow round cut gems.

Padme Bead work pattern for
chest (not the neck)

The tools and materials needed: fabric tracing paper, pattern, washable/disappearing fabric marking tool, thread, beading needles (for fabric not stringing necklaces), scissors, beads, embroidery hoop.

Pattern for chest: it is apprximately 5" tall.  The picture is a 1/2" image vertically, flip it for the other half of the breast.  There are yellow seed beads that create clusters as does some blue.
















And the neck:  I haven't marked it  yet.  But here it is.

The picture to the left shows tracing paper for fabric (chalk on one side) I chose to use for transfering the pattern for the bead work onto the bodice.















July 27, 2012:  Ok.  So changes.  I was hoping to use the tracing paper and I did.  I tried blue, white, and pink.  The fabric wouldn't take the chalk.  So I nearly cried.  Then celestial music sprang forth (not from me, of course, because I worse than a toad with a cold).  I own a projector and a fabric pen that will write on the moire fabric. So.  Now to figure out which wall to project onto.

I had to get a decent copy to project.  So I made the template below.  The horizontal band near the top is actually the neck line of the bodice and the "heart" above it is the center front of the neck neckline.

UPDATE: I was wrong about the horizontal band; it actually runs horizontal from center front out almost exactly horizontal.  It seems to end somewhere along the shoulder seam.

Breast Bead work

Neck template

I will update all of the posts as I go, so be sure to sign up for updates!


Update: August 3, 2012:  Since I was concerned about time constraints I farmed the beadwork out to my daughter (she has always done my beadwork in the past).  I also invested in an inexpensive embroidery machine, but more on the later.  

Warmest Regards,