Theresa LaQuey - Guest blogger - beaded dress part 1

Updates from the land of beaded evening gowns from your bloggerista Theresa LaQuey.

The sketch for my dress.

As all of you readers know, I am the sister of the wonderful Andrea Schewe, designer extraordinaire. I am currently working on a very difficult piece of work.  I rarely get a chance to sew for myself, but this seems to be the moment.  I am singing a couple of tunes with the band at the Savoy Hotel in London on New Year's Eve and really felt that I needed to make myself a "wow-er" of a gown for the occasion. I haven't attempted to make myself one of these knock-outs in well over 12 years, they practically draw blood.  (oh whoops, they actually do)  So, let's get into the design process.

I based my design on the marble floors of the Savoy - black and white marble.  I also thought this might help my now 50 year old body.  I haven't been so "weight watcher-y" recently as it has been a hard couple of years.  As it is European, I didn't want to scream (I WAS A REALLY FABOO 1930'S BLOND 20 YEARS AGO),  but yet, I wanted all who I might encounter to know that I had made an effort.  I created a design in black jet and white satin bugle beads.

The black jet would help minimize the not quite so slim waist and the white bringing up accent to the ever expressive sining face.  I also put some fake godets of white satin bugle beads in the skirt lest I look interesting on the dance floor.  

I started the patterning from one of the vintage patterns that I have been collecting for years.  A little evening gown number that was a Hollywood pattern from 1937-ish.  Don't worry about the size 20 on the pattern, that is a size 12 now-a-days.  I sized the basic down to my size in muslin, and then started to apply my specify design lines.

Now, one of the reasons I choose this pattern is that it has a 7 gore skirt, it would keep most of the gown on the straight of grain, as opposed to the bias.  When you are applying so many beads to silk chiffon the weight of the beads can pull on the bias and distort the shapes of the pattern pieces. The more the gown is on the straight, the less worry there is.  I also made sure to create my muslin with the plunging neckline as close to the straight as possible, once again reinforcing the structure of the gown.  After, in a manner that is a bit quizzical, I managed to get a decent fit on my own, I marked and took the muslin apart and started down the road of no return, the beading.


From Andrea ... Stay tuned ... beading on Monday.