Beading Faux leather part 3/3
At the conclusion of my Wear It Out post I had been unsure whether I would be able to find matching purple beads to continue my work, or be forced to remove the sleeves of my jacket. I also had to purchase more red seed beads, 80 grams worth, but thankfully they were easy to find. The purple color most closely matching what I needed finally came from a friend's bead collection.
Couching beads
On my sleeve cuffs I felt it would be a bit uncomfortable to have beaded fringe so I "couched" the beads, a method for sewing them flat. There are a few different ways-- attach the beads down one at a time, use two needles (one for the beads and a following needle for securing them) but the diagram below shows the method I prefer.
I hadn't yet mentioned in my previous posts the effort I have taken to avoid stitching into the lining of this jacket. It's in excellent condition and any wayward stitches would sully the appearance and potentially make my garment uncomfortable. The top of the shoulders and the cuffs are the only areas I was unable to keep the lining free, otherwise I was regularly checking the interior of the jacket to make sure the lining was not getting caught in my sewing.
Project Breakdown
Polyester thread: $1
Red seed beads: $3 a pack, I bought two packs but would have needed three if I had started from scratch
Purple beads: $6 if I had purchased them myself
TOTAL: $16 if I was starting without any materials, but in reality I spent closer to $9, and I already had beading needles.
The jacket or pleather garment, regardless of who is doing this project, hopefully doesn't cost you any money if it is this damaged.
The biggest investment required to make this has been time. I didn't keep track of my hours, but I am going to estimate a solid thirty to forty. Some may wonder why I would spend so much time on a old damaged garment but my reasons are simple: I love this jacket, I love learning a new craft (this was my first major beading project), recycling garments is important to me, and lastly, I don't feel my efforts are wasted because when this jacket is too damaged to continue repairs, I can cut out all of my fringe areas and use them on something else.
Red seed beads: $3 a pack, I bought two packs but would have needed three if I had started from scratch
Purple beads: $6 if I had purchased them myself
TOTAL: $16 if I was starting without any materials, but in reality I spent closer to $9, and I already had beading needles.
The jacket or pleather garment, regardless of who is doing this project, hopefully doesn't cost you any money if it is this damaged.
The biggest investment required to make this has been time. I didn't keep track of my hours, but I am going to estimate a solid thirty to forty. Some may wonder why I would spend so much time on a old damaged garment but my reasons are simple: I love this jacket, I love learning a new craft (this was my first major beading project), recycling garments is important to me, and lastly, I don't feel my efforts are wasted because when this jacket is too damaged to continue repairs, I can cut out all of my fringe areas and use them on something else.
I estimate this work contains 130g red seed beads and 70g purple. A total of 200g is .44 pounds! The extra weight is noticeable when compared to the jacket's original weight but isn't uncomfortable at all.
This project has been my subtle (or not so subtle) homage to all Klingons which is why it's been categorized in Star Trek work.