Custom Bead Work (Design) and Embroidery
When you think of a beautiful wedding gown you may think of the custom bead work (designs) and embroidery on both the dress and the veil. Someone has to come up with those designs and you can bet it’s taken them quite a while to complete such beautiful work. If you’re in the market for a dress with custom bead work and embroidery, you may not have to look any further than a professional alterations business.
Bead work and embroidery have been making a comeback in fashion in recent years. It’s not unusual to see 3-piece ladies’ suits with beading or embroidery, sometimes both, on the lapels or across the back. You may even find embroidery on blue jean jackets or pants.
If you’d like to try your hand at designing custom bead work or embroidery, there are some things you’ll need to know. Here are the basics:
Beads – Craft stores, sewing shops, and the internet are a few places to find beads. Depending upon what you want, they can range in price from reasonable to very expensive. Consider how much fabric you want to cover and then purchase more beads than you think you’ll need.
Patterns – You can find beading patterns online and in books or you may design your own. Begin with a sketch and then lay the beads out on a sheet of sticky paper so you’ll know how many of each color you’ll need. After you’ve come up with a design, it’s time to sew them on.
Sewing – This can be time consuming. You can sew each bead on individually or sew them in rows. Which method you choose will be determined by the design you’ve come up with. When sewing the beads on, it’s best to use nylon and a small needle. These will provide the best results.
Embroidery is another element which has found its way back to clothing. Some pieces are embroidered with initials while others are more elaborate and cover a large part of the fabric. Embroidery, like beading on fabric, is time consuming but the results can be stunning.
There are three basic stitches in embroidery: satin stitch, run stitch, and fill stitch. Embroidery can also be done by hand or with a machine. Whichever method you choose, you’ll need gauze, a pattern, colored thread, and a needle.
Each stitch in embroidery yields amazing results. The satin stitch is done horizontally and looks like a column. The fill stitch is used when you want to cover a large area with one color. Run stitches are great for outlining or making a single line in your pattern.
If you have a design you’d like put on a dress, jacket, or other garments, look for a professional alterations business. They have qualified staff that is able to help you create the custom bead work (design) and embroidery you want.