Bespin Escape Jumpsuit (ESB)

Leia wears this simple white jumpsuit while imprisoned on and escaping from Bespin. This particular jumpsuit is also worn earlier in Episode V on the planet Hoth. However, this time Leia does not wear the vest, keeps the hairstyle she had when in her more elegant cloak ensemble, and wears white boots.


PATTERN

Green Pepper 141: required slight modifications to achieve the right look.

FABRIC

DWR Supplex in white (Seattle Fabrics)--for the outer layer
Cotton Broadcloth in white (Silk Connection)--for the lining
White cording (JoAnn Fabrics)


The jumpsuit consists of a quilted area around the mid-section of the top portion, as well as quilted patches to the upper/lower arms and thighs. The quilted portions are also piped, as is th collar. I had to draft the pattern for the top portion out of muslin, where I drew lines as to where I needed to cut to give it the right look. Once I did this, it was fairly easy to put together.

I found my boots on ebay--using the following "code" in the search bar: women's white size (whatever size you need) leather boots. They have 3 inch, chunky heels, but they were the closest I could find to what I needed--cheerleading GoGo boots.

I am doing something brave here...the photos of my costume will be of the costume on me. I did not look right on the dress form, so I did not even try to take the photos. Without further ado...here are a few pics of the finished costume (please excuse the glare of the light on the white fabric...I needed these photos quickly for something else).

Blue Tatooine Poncho (AOTC)

Padme' wears this outfit while staying at the Lars homestead on Tatooine. The scene where this one makes its appearance is one of sadness...Anakin returns from the Tusken camp with his mother's now-lifeless body. Anakin admits to Padme' that he had slaughtered the entire tribe of Tuskens...admitting that he was a Jedi and knew he was better than that. Padme' tries to comfort Anakin during this difficult time the only way she knew how...by offering food and drink and a helpful ear.

The costume consists of a bluish slightly off the shoulder under-dress with a plunging neckline and a dark royal blue poncho. The African and "space nouveau" design on the front of the poncho demonstrates a more casual feel to this costume.



PATTERN

Simplicity 7964 (F): for the under-dress. This is a very relaxed, casual dress that tends to run slightly large. I probably could have gone with a smaller size with this one.

Simplicity 5153: essentially used as a base only for the poncho. I ended up with an entirely new pattern when finished with the modifications.

FABRIC

Under-Dress

Cotton Gauze (#6099421; Silk Connection)

Poncho

Wool Coating in Royal Blue (from Denver Fabrics, which is still selling out their stock with the change in ownership)
Cornflower Casa Satin for the lining (JoAnn Fabrics)

BEADS

African Krobo Glass Trade Beads (SKU TR40; Afrodesign Studio)

RIBBONS

**All Offray brand found at JoAnn Fabrics

TORORG
YELGLD
LTORCH


EMBROIDERY THREAD

**All Sulky brand

1296 = Hyacinth
1235 = Deep Purple
1242 = Nassau Blue
1226 = Dark Periwinkle Blue
1024 = Goldenrod
1168 = True Orange
1187 = Mimosa Yellow
1193 = Lavender

Bobbin lt Poly = white (882-0010)

Traditions White Crochet Yarn (DMC; #4522116): color B5200; Lot 156981; size 10; for white stitching around neckline, sleeve hems, and in lower circle.

I dyed the cotton gauze in Evening Blue RIT dye. The fabric is naturally crinkled, so no further crinkling was required. As I mentioned above, the dress is loose-fitting and comfortable to wear. For the poncho, I essentially had to draft my own pattern, using the Simplicity one as a base. The colored design on the sleeves and bottom front were machine embroidered with satin stitch. The fleur-di-lis and smaller designs on the circle were also machine embroidered, but were done so on separate pieces of fabric that were then hand-stitched onto the poncho. I lined the poncho and then attached the ribbons and beads with hooks and eyes, to make taking it to the dry-cleaners easier.

Here are the pics of the finished costume.

Sorry for the Long Absence

I just want to apologize for my extended absence from posting and updating this site. As everyone knows, real life sometimes gets in the way of things, and other things must be put on the back burner...and for me that has included this site. I have completed another costume, but just have not had the time to write things up here. I will hopefully have that completed soon...sometime within the next couple of weeks.

I just wanted to give you all a quick update here. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a wonderful New Year!! May the Force Be With You All.

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.

Classic Princess Leia (ANH)

Whenever I think of Princess Leia, I think of this dress. This is the classic white dress she wears throughout Episode IV. There are actually two versions of this gown...the Alderaan Princess Gown (worn at the beginning) and the Yavin 4 Gown (worn during the Battle of Yavin). According to sources (namely the Padawan's Guide), the main difference between these two gowns is in the sleeves...where the Yavin version has larger sleeves. This costume really is comfortable...and I now wonder why I waited so long to make it ;)

The basic design of this gown is a T-tunic dress, with no shoulder seams. There are slits up the bottom (sides) of the dress that stop at/around the knee. The hood falls to just below the waist, and is not a full hood (i.e. is open at the bottom, not closed). She wears the classic "cinnamon buns" hairstyle that made this character famous.


PATTERN

McCall's 2339 (H) --**see below for information on alterations**


FABRIC

Dress:

Poly Jet Set in white (joann.com)

Belt:

Pioneer Vinyl in white for main belt (joann.com)
Aluminum sheet for metal pieces (Home Depot...left over from Ceremonial Gown belt)
Approximately 1" silver button blanks (JoAnn Fabrics)
Heavy Duty Snaps in white (JoAnn Fabrics)
White velcro to close belt (JoAnn Fabrics)
Quick Grip All-Purpose Permanent Adhesive


For the belt, I again referred to Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy for instructions, and used the pattern I traced for the metal parts on the Ceremonial belt for this one (since they are the same). I used the adhesive to attach the metal parts, button blanks, and snaps. The velcro was used to help hold the belt closed, since I had problems punching the snaps through the vinyl.

For the dress, I used the McCall's pattern as a base, as it has shoulder seams and cannot be used for the screen-accurate costume replication. I first stitched the pieces together using muslin, and then pinned the muslin to the jet set fabric so that the sleeves would not have seams at the shoulders. The dress is lined with the same jet set fabric, and has elastic attached to the inner layer to help hold the dress in place when worn. The hood is attached under the collar, both of which were drafted by me.

I bought white boots from JC Penney, as I was not willing to pay almost $500 for a pair of exact replica boots from here (maybe I will one of these days). I did buy a toy blaster off of e-bay, and I am planning to re-paint it black so that it is more accurate (a tip I picked up on from Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy).

Here are the pics of the dress, my boots, and the blaster. I will post new pics of the blaster once I have the re-paint job completed.


EDIT (8/31/07):

I have finished re-painting the blaster!! I used Krylon Fusion (for plastic) spray paint in black. I bought the "flat" sheen and realized I should have bought the "satin" sheen. I went back and bought Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating (1303) to coat the blaster, and it now has a nice shine to it. Here are a couple of pics of the painted blaster.