Decades ago when I was just beginning to muck about with crafty stuff, I had a mental block. I made miniatures of anything, because committing to a human-sized project seemed too daunting. I’m still shaking off that block. Every few years I try to create a larger tapestry, or book arts piece, or wearable art, mostly to convince myself that I can.
The latest useless-but-lovely project is the ‘Rain Gloves’.
Using many of the same beads, I made an earlier, simpler version back in 2001, which made it into a local newspaper’s coverage of a beadwork fashion show.
But I never really liked those gloves – they were too simple, and didn’t seem to fit quite right. A few years down the line I stopped kidding myself, and realized I would eventually have to remake them.
The new gloves are bead-woven midlength hand ornaments made with mostly right-angle-weave stitch, and including #8 and #11 iridescent gray glass seed beads, glass ‘faux opal’ cabochons, iridescent pressed glass beads in various shapes, and clear smoky gray pressed glass beads in various shapes. Plus about three spools of blue-gray Nymo beading thread got on the cheap from a local upholstery supply company.
Construction: one netted ring leads to a glass opal gem in a beaded bezel, which connects to the main panel. Two separate right-angle-weave straps anchor around the ring and index fingers, or at thumb and opposite side of the hand, crossing over the palm. The bracelet part of the glove wraps around the forearm, and is secured by three gray-purple luster glass discs as buttons on each glove.
I probably have about 38 – 45 working hours into them, which is not bad for a month of beading during evening television.
Yes, my hands are blurred with a Painter filter to focus on the new beadwork. The days when I actually did do hand modeling were long gone even by 2001, sorry.
Are the gloves wearable? Very much so. I typed this blog post in them. I have a daytime outfit and one handsewn gray evening gown these might go well with, but my social calendar is so scant it may be years before I wear the gloves out in public. Given the hours into them, I’d probably have to charge $350 to $450 to duplicate them, so they aren’t likely to go on my ‘for sale or commission’ pages.
But I can now say that I can actually make them.
And now I’m thinking of red ones.
Added 11-28-2015: I was unhappy with the way these fit (sliding down too far on my hand) so I added elements to them. A new netted beadwork ring clasps the upper joint of the middle finger, and is connected to the second, original ring with three beadwork chains.
Two connector bars join the second ring with the second palm-strap, to hold the glove in place when the hand is in a lowered position. On the underside of the hand, a new strap connects the first palm strap and the cuff.
I am much happier with these now.