Coffee Ballerina Bead Dress

This dress gave me more trouble than I was expecting! I've previously drawn from this dress for other patterns but it's the first time I've revisited the whole pattern. The bodice of this dress is much longer than the other patterns and so seems to work perfectly for the two custom dresses I've done by DukeWaxeye and GraniteFire.

The pattern itself went extremely smooth. The top portion of the bodice went by without any fuss. It wasn't until I reached the skirt than I noticed an issue: the darn brown beads I'd purchased bleed dye when worked with. My fingertips had turned faux-tan orange and had to be carefully cleaned between beading sessions. While working I had to be careful not to touch the skirt and then the bodice for fear the dye would discolor the cream beads.

You can read more about the dye problems via the blog post I made while working: makeitpink.blogspot.com/2014/0… Update: The dress has existed for a while and now touching the skirt doesn't do anything terrible. My cousin picked out all the colors and it resembles much of her coffee photos (you can see them via amelia_love on Instagram).

Made from glass seed beads in size 11 (cream, brown, and copper-lined) and size 15 (light cream, cream, and brown). The copper beads are lined with real copper and are some of the more expensive materials I've worked with! The bodice is threaded with white Japanese One G nylon and the skirt with brown. The ribbon is cream with a loop edging. The crystal is from an antique saloon chandelier I took apart. Mostly herringbone technique.

Color Total: 4
Bead Sizes: 2
Bonus: Ribbon and antique crystal
Size: 3 3/4 inches tall, 1 inch waist, 1 1/4 inch bust, 4 1/2 inches hem
Time: 13 hours (3 hours faster than previously)