Friday, March 4, 2011

Fashion Tapas: Bead Knitted Parasol

Definitely not for rain:

Bead knitted parasol c. 1805  - Fashioning Fashion Exhibit LACMA

Those were the days. You had the time on your hands to make a bead knitted parasol, and then the time to sashay down the boulevard with it on display.

Bead knitting, in which a bead is locked into the knitted stitches, and not just stranded between or in front of stitches, is the perfect technique for making pictures similar to needle point. The workmanship on this item was exquisite and the colors much more vibrant than what I was able to capture with my little point-and-shot camera.

The fiber is silk and the beads are glass and metal.

4 comments:

Karena said...

Sharon simply stunning!! I am off to your Etsy shop!

Do come and enter my Artful Offering!

xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

Sharon, Love the umbrella! It is gorgeous! Before I started painting, I owned a needlework shop, so your lovely blog is right up my alley!

Now to check out your Etsy site.

shellie said...

i would definitely be sashaying down the street if i had one of those....gorgeous!

Rebecca said...

That's an amazing piece! It's hard to imagine creating something so elaborate and intricate.