Exposed Shoulders
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| Exposed Shoulders |
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| Front of Shirt |
This
top begged to be Restyled. I picked this top up at a second hand store knowing
that I wouldn't wear it with exposed shoulders.
The top shows a lot of
shoulder, a little more than I felt comfortable exposing.
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| Side View of Shirt |
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| Shirt Back |
It was the colors of the top that
caught my eye and I thought it would be better restyled with beading. And I
would be more comfortable wearing it.
Pulling
out my stash of beads I opted to use a very small iridescent seed bead along
with a slightly larger bead.
From past experience, I knew that a waxed or strong beading thread was a must. After all, this top would be hand washed a few times.
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| Assortment of beads. Velvet lined bead board designed by the author. |
From past experience, I knew that a waxed or strong beading thread was a must. After all, this top would be hand washed a few times.
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| Small seed bead and larger bead, beading needle. |
Starting
out, I anchored the seams together with safety pins to keep the adjoining seams
balanced.
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| Shoulder Seams pinned to hold seams together during the beading process. |
The small and larger beads were mixed using four small and then one
larger bead. Any pattern could have been used.
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| Beading seam anchored between shoulder seams. |
From
past experience, I knew that I had to anchor the beads and the seams together.
SEW I chose to anchor the large bead on both sides of the shoulder seams.
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The
beads were threaded onto the needle and then anchored on first one side of the
shoulder seam, and then needle was passed through the large bead again and then
passed through the opposite shoulder seam.
As you
can see, the beads started to close the seam nicely. This process of anchoring
the bead seam to the shoulder seams kept the beaded seam straight and nested in
between the two shoulder seams.
Finally finished, the beads closed
the open shoulder seam looking like it was part of the original top.
The beaded seam actually
dresses up the top and makes it more comfortable to wear.
And yes, this shirt is
backwards – I often wear shirts and some pull over dresses backwards. I find I
am much more comfortable and gives the back a whole new look.
After all, you want to leave a
lasting impression …
