How to Bead Buckskin Dresses
A buckskin dress is considered to be a traditional American Indian garment. Throughout history, Indian women spent a lot of time beading and decorating their buckskin dresses for special events. Marriage, harvest celebrations and hunting party returns were all important occasions where the women would put on their finery. Traditionally, buckskin dresses were beaded with porcupine quills, stones or wood that were polished and had holes drilled through them with native tools. These days, beading a buckskin dress is made a little easier with different sized beads available from craft stores.
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Instructions
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1
Choose the design you would like to bead on the dress. From a swirl pattern to an animal design, if you can see it, you can bead it.
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2
Draw the design lightly on the dress using a pencil. This will give you a basic guide and will wash out or be covered by the beads.
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3
Thread a needle with heavy thread. The needle should be very sharp and thin enough to slide through the buckskin, which is thick and tough. Choose thread that is sturdy enough to hold beads and easy to tie off. While nylon fishing line may seem like a good idea for strength, it wouldn't be the best choice for finishing knots.
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Tie a securing knot in the thread and push it through from the inside of the dress to the outside. Add a few beads and push the needle back through the buckskin. To get the needle back to the front of the dress push it through on either side of the last bead you placed. Repeat until you have beaded the entire design.
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Finish beading the design, then push the needle to the inside of the garment and tie it off. Go back over the dress, and place small anchoring stitches across some of the beads.
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Apply beads to fringe for sleeves and hem by placing 1/4-inch slices in the dress with the scissors. Slide larger beads onto the fringe and tie the end in a knot to secure the beads.
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