Bejewelled

Today, Audrey got her jewels...

And since I wanted to construct the tiara and the necklace centerpiece as distinct pieces of jewelry, I used a technique I figured out when I originally stitched Your Majesty's crown. You can read that old post here.

This time I used the same aluminum mesh (1/16") and backed it with a light, water-soluble stabilizer to give the threads some extra stability. I sandwiched the two layers using tape to hold them together.

I then stitched through the grid and attached all the jewels with a transparent thread.

A quick soak on a wet rag removed the thin stabilizer in a matter of moments.

This was a good modification to the technique since the threads felt much more secure than in the last crown I made.

I then cut the shapes out of the aluminum, leaving a one mesh seam allowance around the jewels which then gets folded back behind the beadwork.

All in all, it's a neat little method when you can't sew the jewels directly down onto the fabric. If I had sewn the tiara's jewels directly into Audrey's chignon, most likely they would have gotten lost amongst the fibers.

Thankfully, Audrey is now fully dressed and ready to play her part.

See you next time!