{"id":10638,"date":"2011-06-30T07:20:04","date_gmt":"2011-06-30T11:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/?p=10638"},"modified":"2011-06-30T08:32:10","modified_gmt":"2011-06-30T12:32:10","slug":"pearlies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/?p=10638","title":{"rendered":"Pearlies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pearly\"I ran across Pearlies<\/a> in Mary Poppins<\/i> when I was a kid, and sort of assumed they had died out around the same time as dancing chimney sweeps. I was thus somewhat surprised to find this<\/a> description of modern Pearlies and learn that the tradition is alive and well.<\/p>\n

Pearlies (you can read about their history at the links above) wear clothing decorated with pearl buttons sewn in elaborate patterns. If you’ve got a stash of castoff buttons, this would be a great use for them.<\/p>\n

Although a full suit or dress covered with buttons would certainly be an impressive–not to mention heavy–sight, smaller projects such as a hat, tote bag, or throw pillow decorated with a traditional pattern might be rather less daunting. A Pearly outfit or accessory would be an interesting choice for a Steampunk costume as well.<\/p>\n

You can find historic patterns at sites devoted to the tradition* (search “pearly kings and queens” or “pearlies of London”), but could also adapt simple cross-stitch designs such as skulls<\/a> or spiders<\/a> for something a bit darker.<\/p>\n

If you’re like me, you probably already have a box of random buttons lurking somewhere. If not, look for them in thrift stores or ask crafty friends to share their stash. As a last resort, plain plastic buttons can be purchased fairly cheaply at fabric or craft stores. (If you plan to use a whole<\/em> lot of them, look into buying them wholesale instead; many manufacturers have a minimum wholesale order of only $50 or so.)<\/p>\n

Since there’s a lot of hand-sewing involved (I suppose you could try hot glue for lightly-used items like neckties, but would make no promises about durability) this is a good project if you like to keep your hands busy whilst watching TV. You could start small, perhaps something as simple as a button brooch, and then expand into larger and more elaborate projects as you gain experience. The results are certainly attractive and unique.
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n*Since Pearlies in the UK are associated with charitable organizations, I have no idea whether wearing an “unauthorized” costume there will get you glared at or not. Um, beware, I guess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I ran across Pearlies in Mary Poppins when I was a kid, and sort of assumed they had died out around the same time as dancing chimney sweeps. I was thus somewhat surprised to find this description of modern Pearlies and learn that the tradition is alive and well. Pearlies (you can read about their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doom-it-yourself"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10638"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11316,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10638\/revisions\/11316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}