Taking a Short Break...

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you all know that I will be taking a short break from Star Wars costuming so that I can finish my Halloween costume and possibly one or two more for other people (they still need to let me know if my services are needed).

My next Star Wars project will take a little time, too, so my updates will not be a frequent as they have been. I will probably be tweaking this page with links for fabrics and photos of some of my materials, so please keep checking back. Do not worry, I will return again :D

Remember...The Force Will Be With You...Always!!

Navy Linen Dress and Shawl (ROTS)

Padme' wears this closer to the end of ROTS. In this scene, Anakin asks her why Obi-Wan had visited her earlier that day. He then confesses his doubts about himself, the Jedi Order, and his desire not to lose her.

The dress is described as a simple linen gown with a jet-black necklace and belt. The belt does not go all the way round, but rather stops near the sides, decorating only the front. A black lace shawl is occasionally worn over this dress. This dress also can be seen under the long velvet cloak (Leia Buns cloak) near the beginning of the movie.











PATTERN

Butterick 4018 (B)--pattern is out of print; some modification required

FABRIC

Dress

Italian Linen in Dark Denim, medium weight (Denver Fabrics--site is now in the process of changing owners; not much available in stock at this time)
PPK3 Lace (JoAnn Fabrics)


Shawl

Black Chantilly Lace
Black Cupped Scroll Sequins
4" Black Poly Fringe


ACCESSORIES


Necklace

Czech link chains, 8mm beads in black (#522814; Crystal Freedom)
Silver necklace closure


Belt

50mm Round Faceted Jewel (J21BK; Harmony Glass)
1-1/8" Black Faceted Buttons (LaMode; JoAnn Fabrics)
7/8" Black Faceted Buttons (LaMode; JoAnn Fabrics)
6/0 Czech Glass E-Beads in opaque black (JoAnn Fabrics)
Czech link chains, 8mm beads in black (#522814; Crystal Freedom)
Black Felt
Small silver pin closures

For the dress, I hand-dyed the lace with Navy RIT dye. The linen serves as the under-layer for the dress, and the lace over-lays the linen. The sequins and fringe were hand-stitched to the Chantilly lace, with the fringe on both the front bottom and back bottom to even out the weight distribution on the shawl; the sequins are stitched around the front of the shawl.

The necklace encircles the neckline, and has 8 smaller strands hanging from the center portion. For the belt, I hand stitched the beads to felt cut to fit the buttons/jewels, and then glued the felt to the jewels. The pin closures were also stitched to the felt, and then pinned to the dress.

Here are the pics of the necklace and belt; and the dress with shawl.

"Leia Buns" Cloak (ROTS)

Padme' wears this long velvet cloak when she greets Anakin upon his return to Coruscant. The cloak helps to conceal her secret--her pregnancy--until the moment is right. Upon closer inspection, the under-dress is very similar to a dress she wears later in the film. Her hair is styled after Leia's classic "cinnamon bun" look from ANH, but with a slightly different twist, and this is the only time we see her wearing earrings.

PATTERN

No pattern was used for the cloak. I essentially draped the fabric across my dress-form, and went from there.

FABRIC

Cloak

Bright Crushed Panne Velvet in Navy (JoAnn Fabrics)
Burnout Velvet in Flagstone pattern (Silk Connection--there is still some left as of the writing of this entry; the company is selling out there stock of burn-out velvets)
Country Classics Solid Cotton in copper (JoAnn Fabrics)


Under-Dress

**See information under Navy Linen Dress and Shawl entry for this**

ACCESSORIES

Earrings

Bought these at Wal-Mart--fairly close to what Padme' wears

Pin

Blue Quarter Flat
Blue Felt
Navy Crushed Panne Velvet
Creative Buttons by JHB; 3/4" Navy
6/0 Czech Glass E-beads in Sapphire
Red Heart Fiesta Yarn in Buff
1/8" White Silky Cord
1/16" Twisted Cord in Light blue
1/16" Twisted Cord in White
DMC Traditions Crochet Yarn in white
Royal Metallic Rick Rack


**All materials for the pin were found at JoAnn Fabrics

I hand-dyed the burn-out velvet with Navy RIT dye, and flat-lined it with the copper-colored cotton, and then stitched those layers to the panne. To help the cloak drape across my body and to stay in place better, I used the stronger hook-and-eye closures.

For the center two portions of the pin, I stitched the beads onto the Quarter-Flat fabric, outlined the beads with the fiesta yarn, white cord, and the twisted cords (twisted the blue and white together). For the outer two portions of the pin, I stitched the rick rack, white yarn, and fiesta yarn to the velvet. I then glued the fabrics to cardboard, glued felt to the back of the cardboard, and glued/stitched the pieces together. I then stitched two small pin closures to the back of the cardboard so that it would attach to the cloak.

Here is a pic of the completed pin; here is the completed cloak.