Author Topic: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
kay_dee  3795 posts
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22190_Padme
Date Posted: 2/10/04 11:28am Subject: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0 - Date Edited: 8/6/06 8:51pm (13 edits total) Edited By: Sister_Sola


This is a continuation of the Padme's Picnic Dress v2.0 thread and the original Padme's Gold Flower Outfit thread. The purpose for making this new thread is to consolidate all of the knowledge and suggestions spread throughout the lengthy original threads (A total of 77 pages consolidated and organized into one). There are new people interested and/or intending on making this beautiful costume joining us all the time, and we want to make the information already gathered easier for everyone to access.


Our ongoing conversations can also continue here. happy
Forgive us if we overlooked anything or missed crediting anyone with their suggestions. There was a lot of information to sort through! grin

-Kay Dee & Obi-Dawn






- RESOURCE PHOTOS -

Promotional ShotsSites



- COSTUME OVERVIEW -

Padme's Gold Picnic costume, officially titled "P-19" during production, was originally made from 50 yards of embroidered silk. This is Trisha Biggar's description of the costume from People Magazine:

"It's a dress you can fall in love in" says costume designer Trisha Biggar. In 50 yards of hand embroidered silk Natalie Portman does just that on a picnic with Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen). "We wanted a sense of movement and romance, the skirt flowing in the breeze" Explained Biggar. What's with the ear gear though? Biggar insists Portman is not wearing training buns for the iconic hairstyle worn by Anakin and Amidala's future daughter Princess Leia. "No one mentioned it" she says. "I just liked the style." -Courtesy of the Padawan's Guide


The costume is comprised of several pieces, with detailed information on fabrics, patterns, and construction tips below.

  • Corset
  • Blouse
  • Skirt
  • Shawl (or Cape)
  • Bun Covers
  • Headband
  • Brooch
  • Shoes




- CORSET -

The embroidered corset is made from crinkled silk and consists of 11 panels. The crinkled silk seems to have small square cutouts which reveal an underlining of gold toned matte fabric (presumably silk). It is believed the corset is boned for added support and shaping. According the Trisha Biggar, the back is fastened with hook and eye tape. The rose embroidered shoulder straps appear to be made from the same fabric that underlines the crinkled outer layer of silk on the corset (a fabric that seems to also match the blouse and skirt).

REFERENCE PHOTOS

PATTERN SUGGESTIONS

Laughing Moon Patterns
  • Corsets suggested by Judy & Koshka-the-Cat


Simplicity Patterns
  • 9180 suggested by Jedi Girl of Corellia
  • 9769 suggested by kay_dee
  • 8715 suggested by liannb
  • 7009 suggested by Obi-Dawn View B. It requires some modification and the overlap deleted.
  • 5843 view A has recently been released for Halloween of 2002. It consists of an underdress with a corset over it. This is a simplified version of the actual costume and would require modifying to be accurate. It is a great pattern for anyone wanting to make a costume that *looks* like the dress but it is not exact.


McCall's Patterns
  • 3315 suggested by kay_dee & liannb
  • 2799 suggested by MiraxTHorn
  • 3109 view B suggested by kay_dee


Vogue Patterns
  • 7427 suggested by Obi-Dawn


FABRIC SUGGESTIONS

Outer Layer

  • Crinkled Habotai Silk from Thai Silks - According to kay_dee, the crinkled pattern in this silk is nearly an exact match to that of the real costume photos. It would have to be dyed, and it is fairly thin so it would need to be underlined/flatlined with golden toned fabric (silk or cotton).
  • Crinkled Silk in gold from Britex Fabrics - This fabric is $34.99 per yard, but for those who are unable to dye their own fabric this is a nice option. See Britex's mail order service.
  • Metallic Crunch Gold home deco fabric from JoAnn's (sku#5894373) or Hobby Lobby - This semi-sheer polyester would need to be underlined/flatlined with golden toned fabric. It is an affordable option at under $10.00 a yard.
  • Satin/crinkle satin (silk or poly)
  • Siam
  • silk Dupioni
Underlining, Flatlining, or Mounting (The layer directly under the outer layer of silk)

  • Gold colored silk (most likely used on the movie costume)
  • Silk Crepe De Chine 16mm
  • Silk Fuji Broadcloth
  • Cotton Sateen
  • Coutil (for those who have an opaque outer layer) - "Coutil is a fabric that has been designed specifically for building corsets. It is high in cotton content, tightly woven to inhibit penetration of bones/stays and is not inclined to stretch. It has a smooth finish and is comfortable when worn close to the skin though the wearing of a chemise is always recommended. Coutil comes in plain, satin or brocade and we stock primarily black, white and flesh; the white is dyeable." - farthingales.on.ca
  • Interfacing (for those who have an opaque outer layer)
  • Stabilizer - used for embroidery
Interlining (Middle layer of lining giving support to the garment)

  • Coutil - "if you want it to truly 'suck you in' like a corset you will need coutil" - Ferdalump
  • Cotton Duck Cloth
  • Canvas
Lining (the layer next to the body)

  • Golden silk matching the outer layer of fabric appears to have been used on the movie costume
  • China silk
  • Cotton
  • Polyester lining
CONSTRUCTION TIPS

Layers of the Corset

Depending on the pattern you choose and the look you want, there are several different ways you can construct the layers of your corset - no one way is correct. Here are some of the layering methods that were used by the costumers on this message board:

  • Outer crinkle or silk layer (not sheer), Interfacing for embroidery, Cotton Duck or Coutil for strength and support, thin layer of lining near the body.
  • Metallic gold crunch fabric, yellow cotton, interfacing, coutil, metallic crunch gold lining - Obi-Dawn
  • "Two layers of coutil and a decorative layer of embroidered dupioni lined with cotton sateen." - Koshka-the-Cat
  • "I used a sheer crinkle for the outermost layer, the duck, and then a lining. The duck works well for giving the bodice a great stiff body." - Ferdalump
  • Silk Dupioni flatlined with Coutil, a second interlayer of Coutil, and matching Silk Dupioni lining. "You may consider doing the inner lining that faces your skin out of the same fabric you are using on the outside of your corset (it can have a tendency to show - this is even seen in photos of the *real* costume)" - kay_dee
  • "The top layer will be gold crinkle fabric, underneath that will be a layer of gold satin and underneath that will be a layer of crinella to add some stiffness to the corset. Then I will line the inside of the corset with another layer of satin." - liannb
The outer decorative layer of fabric can be Mounted or Flatlined with any of the fabrics suggested above. It is the process of putting two or more layers of fabric together to be treated as one in order to support and give body to the fine decorative fabric when making a bodice. "Flatlining is easy. All you do is cut your fabric and your lining, edge stitch them together and treat them as one piece." - Ferdalump

Boning

Boning is the stiffening material used to give definition and shape to a corset. The type of boning you choose will depend on how much cinching you want your corset to do.

"If you want it to truly 'suck you in' like a corset you will need coutil and a steel boning or something a little heavier than featherweight--you will also need to work from a true corset pattern (laughing moon has one, the civil war simplicity costume pattern, etc.) [If] you are limited on time-and not going for a screen worn version--I would suggest using featherweight boning (nylabone or such) on every seam and heavily underline it with a nice study fabric (coutil--or duck would work)" -Ferdalump

Some of the commercial patterns call for the boning to stop at the waistline instead of the bottom of the corset. It's recommended to deviate from the pattern instructions and run the boning the full length of the corset to prevent 'rolling' and give a smooth, flat look. . "If you make a tight fitting garment that is not heavily reinforced and sturdy-when worn it will get that bent kind of wrinkle along the waistline." - Ferdalump

For examples of different types of boning go to Farthingales.on.ca/bones.html.

The Nylon, Polyester and Plastic boning is coiled when it is purchased. "It irons flat quite nicely. Just remember to use a low temperature on your iron!" -Koshka-the-Cat
"You need to lay the boning between two pieces of cotton, or even better in the boning channels of the corset and you simply iron over them. If you lay them so the ends touch the board but the middle curves up from it it is better. What does help is if you are able to lift one end off the board to reverse the curve and iron too." -Neimhaille
"Once the ends are cut to length on nylon boning, they can be passed through a candle flame to keep them from fraying." -kay_dee

Here is a list of some of the boning used by the seamstresses on this message board:

  • Rigiline (A trade name for Nylon Boning) -"Rigiline on the other hand is a pain to work with *if* you are making a long corset like this. I've heard good reports of it for conical corsets like in the 16th-18thCs but that is because they are not pulled in twists and curves like in a long corset. I had to iron a corset practically every night for a fellow actor who had to put up with a long corset made from the stuff... Mind you if you zig zag two layers of rigiline it will work too. That is if you are in a rush and cannot get the other stuff, it is possible to use it well that way. " -Neimhaille

  • Nylabone (A brand name of Nylon Boning) - "It all made for a pretty sturdy corset [but] I was using a dress type pattern. It is also much more light weight and comfortable than steel boning - it can easily be cut to length with scissors." -kay_dee

  • Plastic Boning (German Plastic and Plastic Whale Bone) - "Plastic boning is fine. In fact with the sheer number of costumes needed to be made you'd be surprised how much it is used in the film industry:) Just make sure you use a good brand, and use as much as you need to. I use a good 6m in my corsets... I use a mix of excellent white German imitation whale bone, I think farthingales or Grannd garb stock it, and a cheaper quality polyboning that is clear and ridged (*not* Rigiline). Used properly plastic boning is the best substitute for whale bone there is as it behaves very much like it. There is a certain degree of molding to the body with it, but it is very easy to simply iron it flat again if needed." -Neimhaille
    "I also really like the artificial whalebone from Farthingales. I think Grannd Garb has it too. It's thin and flexible, and really does feel similar to the real whalebone in some antique bodices I have. The artificial whalebone is plastic. It's very thin and it's not ridged like featherweight boning... It's nice, since you can cut it to length." -Koshka-the-Cat

  • Poly Boning - "Poly boning will work for the look and to give it the fitted look and structure. Poly boning is used on most formal wear and bridal gowns that imitate the corset look. They will work well--but will not be strong enough to give the real "cinch" of a waist cinching corset. For sewing in poly boning--some of it comes in a casing in which you remove the "bone" stitch down the casing-then reinsert the bone. If there is not a casing-you can use twill tape or bias tape as a casing. Sew the channels to the underlining layers." -Ferdalump
    "In my opinion the poly boning is so easy to work with and it's strong enough for this type of decorative corset." -kay_dee

  • Spring Steel Boning - "If you want it to truly "suck you in" like a corset you will need coutil and a steel boning or something a little heavier than featherweight" -Ferdalump
    "I'm not a huge fan of spring steel boning unless you have to make a true cinching style of corset (I recently made a renaissance style Elizabethan corset and the steel was a must for this kind of corset. It was a totally different animal.). First of all, you have to worry about ordering predetermined lengths of steel. Some steel can be cut, (not as easily as the poly boning) and then you have to fuss with putting on protective ends - etc. That's not to say spring steel won't work - I just think it's a bit more of a hassle and not really needed. If you want to use the steels, I would stick with the 6mm width. [For this type of corset] you have to have boning that is flexible enough to curve at your waist... but I'm not sure how flexible the 6mm X .014 " spring steel is." -kay_dee
    "I did use steel boning for my corset. However, I'm not happy with the steel boning I used. It's from Farthingales and twice as thick as most. That's great if you need a lot of support, but I don't. I'm quite the shrimp. So the corset doesn't pull in my waist the way I wanted it to." -Koshka-the-Cat

  • Spiral Boning (Made of Steel) - "You have to have boning that is flexible enough to curve at your waist. The 6mm spiral boning will work...Spiral boning can be cut with heavy duty cable cutters and you can get replacement tips from Lacis" -kay_dee
Back Closure Options

  • Hook and Eye Tape (Used on the real costume) - "It is a tape with hooks on one side and eyes on the other. You can get it w/various distances." -Ferdalump
  • Hooks and Eyes
  • Grommet Eyelets and Lace
  • Lacing rings and Lace
Modesty Panel or Inlay

A Modesty Panel or Inlay can be added as a separate strip of fabric behind the corset closure. It acts as a backing to prevent the skin or chemise from showing through gaps in the closure of the bodice. It is often made from the same decorative outer fabric as the corset or bodice.

Pattern Alterations

  • Some patterns need to have the center front seam removed (Place center front pattern piece on the fold, 5/8" in from the original edge of the pattern piece).
  • It is highly advisable to make a muslin, or cheap fabric version of your corset first. This way you can play with altering the height of the top edge, rounding out or extending the bottom edge, removing or adding seams - etc. You can also alter the seams to get a perfect snug fit before cutting your good fabric.
  • Some seamstresses use a duct tape body double or adjustable dress form to aid in fitting. But be sure to do a final fitting on your own body.
Supply Sources

  • Lacis - Carries hook and eye tape, eyelets, lacing rings, spiral and spring steel boning (stays), coutil, duck cloth and more. (Look under Millinery > Costume)
  • Farthingales - Wide variety of Boning, Coutil, fabric, eyelets, grommets and more.
  • Grannd Garb - Boning, fabrics (duck and coutil), findings (hook and eye tape, grommets, eyelets, O-rings) and more.
  • Amazon Dry Goods - corset and costume supplies
SQUARE CUT OUTS

It's debatable whether or not the square cutouts were originally part of the way the silk was woven (with open holes) or if they were added after the fact for embellishment. (Some people are still not sure they see them)

"I tend to think the fabric was cut into an X , then the flaps folded under to make a square. It looks like the crinkled shiny silk is on top of a layer of the same silk used to make the blouse and skirt (the color and texture looks the same as her sleeve)... I think you can stop the fraying by turning the raw edge under and fusing the fabric together with no-sew hem tape. Or, the corners can be reinforced by machine or hand stitching them before turning the edges under." -Kay_Dee

X CUT OUTS - sketch by afaeryschild 'with a little fray check and some tiny hand done stitches they look identical...'


EMBROIDERY

The corset is embellished heavily with embroidery. The front panel is done in an intricate design of yellow and gold 'flames', 45 light and dark pink roses, green leaf motifs, and light yellow daisies. Fine gold stitching outlines the flame motifs and swirls throughout the pattern.

Be sure to allot plenty of time if you choose to use this method of embellishment.

  • Kay_Dee - "It took me 3 weeks, and I'd say in the neighborhood of 100 hours. (I spent 35 - 40 hours a week on it) Each rose cluster took me almost 2 hours to do"
  • Liannb - "It took me about a month to embroider my corset"
  • Obi-Dawn - "I worked on it daily for about a month. Usually anywhere from six to twelve hours a day."
Embroidery Pattern Interpretations

Embroidery Stitches

The Roses - The roses on the corset, headband, and shawl are a 3 dimensional embroidery created by overlapping simple satin stitches to make a 5 sided shape. The stitches build up layer upon layer and seem to be done with at least 3 varying shades of pink (or rose) colored floss. Kay_Dee dissected the roses that came embroidered on her shawl fabric to create a tutorial. It is also possible to carefully cut out the roses from the cape fabric and baste them to the corset. This may have been done on the real costume, but in order to achieve a clean look it is advisable to finish off the roses using floss in a matching color to build up and cover the raw edges. (This is actually how Kay_Dee did hers).
  • Kay_Dee's Rose Tutorial "I also find that I like to use floss three to four strands thick when I do mine" -Obi-Dawn
  • Spider Web or Cabbage stitch - Suggested by Jenny-LaFleur & Ferdalump. Ferd's instructions appear on page 14 of the Padmé's Gold flower outfit thread.
  • Wool Rose (although not done with wool in this case) "She suggested the book A-Z of WOOL embroidery which describes this rose in detail on page 57" -Ferdalump
  • Eyelet Rose (but not a bullion rose) 3-d looking


The Flames - It is believed that the yellow and gold flames are made by using a Long and Short Satin Stitch. (Here is a photo of one of the flames from the original corset). "This stitch allows you to give the different colors of floss the illusion of subtly changing colors." - kay_dee

Green Leaves and Daisies - A Satin Stitch was used for these elements."I just used a satin stitch for my daisies. I begin each petal in its center with a long stitch and then radiate out to both sides with successively shorter stitches. Looking at them it looks like I used between five and seven stitches for each petal and my floss was three strands thick. With the stitches on the outside edge of each petal I did sort of tuck them under the middle stitches at their bases. In other words, the base of each petal is narrower than the top. The center of each daisy is just the same, a satin stitch with the longest in the middle and then they get progressively shorter out to the sides, but these are all side by side, no tucking under. I did these first and then added the petals one at a time." -Obi-Dawn


Green Stems - A Stem Stitch could be used.

Fine Gold Outlines and Swirls - A back stitch."[It's] easier to add it on after the other embroidery (BY HAND)" -Mrs_M

Transferring Your Pattern

  • Wax Free Transfer Paper - You can trace the pattern directly onto your decorative fabric. However, you may experience the patter rubbing away as you work on your piece. Also, after handling it for a month the fabric may begin to get dirty. "I had that problem with my purple Senate Dress. The solution for me was to cover my fabric (after the pattern was traced on) with a sheet of the clear Solvy stabilizer. That way it protected the fabric and markings - I just cut away a little Solvy at a time as I was ready to work on a new section. A less expensive solution would be covering your fabric with plastic wrap (saran wrap) or tissue paper that you can cut away as you work." -kay_dee
  • Solvy Original Lightweight Water Soluble Stabilizer - "[For] my picnic corset I never traced on the fabric itself. Instead, I traced the pattern onto the solvy with an ink pen, then placed my solvy with the pattern on top of my corset. I had to pin it on very carefully to make sure it stayed centered as I worked on it. You actually embroider through the layer of solvy and your fabric, and you can tear it away when you are done if you don't want to wet your fabric to dissolve it. The sulky web site has the information on the solvy stabilizer I used as well - sulky.com " -kay_dee Here are example photos of kay_dee's embroidery in progress.
Floss Suggestions

Obi-Dawn - DMC flosses used
  • Yellow and Gold Flames: 742,743,727. Or rayon flosses from DMC "I like them better because they're shinier. I did compare them to some silk floss and ended up liking the rayon better. There are three colors I'm using, from dark to light: 30742, 30676, 30744."
  • Greens: 731, 734 "I had major trauma deciding which greens to use. I don't think these are 100% accurate, but I like the way they look so I'm using them."
  • Roses: 3685, 3687, 778, 3713
  • Gold swirlies and scroll outlines: 5282 (I LOVE this color!)
  • Daisies and highlights on stems/leaves: 746, 745


Kay_Dee - Anchor flosses 100 % Cotton
  • Yellow and Gold Flames: 295 LIGHT TOPAZ (yellow), 303 LIGHT TANGERINE "I should have used a second lighter shade of orange between the 295 and 303"
  • Yellow arches (top and bottom center of design): 295 LIGHT TOPAZ (yellow), 292 VARY LT GOLDEN YELLOW
  • Green leaves by the roses: 280 MEDIUM OLIVE GREEN, 845 DARK KHAKI GREEN
  • Larger Green leaves and stems: 1216 VARIEGATED LIGHT TO DARK OLIVE GREEN
  • Roses: 77 MAUVE, 76 MAUVE, 074 VARY LIGHT CRANBERRY
  • Daisies: 292 VARY LT GOLDEN YELLOW, 303 LIGHT TANGERINE
  • Gold swirls and outlines: Kreinik Metallic Very Fine Braid #4 002J (Gold)


Embroidery Tips

  • Stripping Floss - "When you get your floss-you will cut a strand the length you are going to work with. Then you will run your fingers down the floss both ways. One way will feel a little smoother (slightly) if you embroider with the smoothness going through the fabric it will glide better through. When you strip the floss--you pull the strands out one-at-a-time (VERY important or they will knot up) You pull out the threads and then put them back when you thread your needle with however many threads you are going to use for whichever stitch you are doing. Stripping your floss rids it of static cling and allows the individual threads to cover a little better." -Ferdalump
  • Beeswax - "It works to help the thread glide through the fabric, and keeps it from knotting up and tangling. I highly recommend getting some... Running the threads through it before embroidering has helped me tremendously in keeping my embroidery flat and in keeping unraveling to a minimum. You can get it at JoAnn's in the sewing notions section. It's made by Dritz and get the one in the clear plastic container. They sell the wax separately as a 'refill', but the container is awesome and has openings in it where you run the floss through to coat it with wax." -Ferdalump
  • Embroidery Hoops - "I recommend using an embroidery hoop (Dawn has done hers with and without) Using a hoop will ensure your fabric remains flat and unpuckered looking. Don't worry about it smashing finished parts, just cover it with some cloth at the edge." -kay_dee
  • Stabilizer - It is recommended that something is used to stabilize your decorative fabric before you start to embroider it. Some costumers (such as kay_dee) flatlined the silk with coutil and embroidered through both layers (the coutil also acting as a stabilizer). Others, like Obi-Dawn, placed a layer of interfacing underneath the cotton mounted metallic crinkle fabric and embroidered through the 3 layers.
EMBROIDERY REFERENCES

Online Resources:

Books

  • A-Z of Embroidery Stitches by Sue Garner
  • Reader's Digest Complete Book of Embroidery by Melinda Coss
  • A Beginner's Guide to Crewel Embroidery by Jane Rainbow
OTHER EMBELLISHMENT OPTIONS





- BLOUSE AND SKIRT-

Padme wears an off the shoulder silk peasant blouse with billowing gathered sleeves underneath the corset. The sleeves are finished off with 2 sets of long silk pastel ribbons which pick up the colors of the corset embroidery. When Natalie wore the costume for the Vanity Fair shoot, a hint of an off-white under garment could be seen at her wrist. Perhaps this was added for warmth or for opacity.

She also wears a full length silk skirt with a very wide hem circumference. It can be seen in the P-19 screen captures that there is a yoke at the waist and little to no gathering where the skirt panels attach to the yoke. An off-white lining or slip can also be seen underneath the skirt when Natalie falls off the shaak in the AOTC DVD outtake reel.

The blouse and skirt are made from the same embroidered gold silk - it appears to be light weight and crinkled in texture (exact fabric type is unknown). Because the silk is fairly light weight (although it does not seem as sheer as a typical chiffon) there could easily be two layers of this fabric used. The silk is embellished with what appear to be over 1,000 small white 4 petal sequins (approx. 1/4" - 5/16" wide). Freeform light green vines are embroidered to join the white flowers together, with larger green flowers embroidered throughout the design.

BLOUSE PATTERN SUGGESTIONS

Simplicity
  • 9966 suggested by Obi-Dawn view A (for bodice).
  • 9125 suggested by Mrs_Mayimnaar
  • 5843 view A


McCall's Patterns
  • 3535 suggested by MiraxTHorn
  • 3797 suggested by Obi-Dawn (for the sleeves)


Butterick Patterns
  • 6198 suggested by kay_dee
  • 6196 suggested by kay_dee


SKIRT PATTERN SUGGESTIONS

Simplicity
  • 8715 suggested by liannb
  • 8943 suggested by Obi-Dawn view C ("It is not yoked or as full as the original skirt")
  • 9825 suggested by Jenny-LaFleur (for the yoke)


McCall's Patterns
  • 3109 suggested by kay_dee (no gathers at the waist)
  • 3315 suggested by kay_dee & liannb (this skirt is not like original due to pleated waist)


Butterick Patterns
  • 4025 suggested by kay_dee view B (this circle skirt has a wide circumference with no gathers)
  • 6198 suggested by kay_dee (this skirt is not like the original due to gathered waist)
  • 6196 suggested by kay_dee (this skirt is not like the original due to gathered waist)


FABRIC SUGGESTIONS

Outer Embroidered Layer - light weight fabric. Some used two to three layers of this on their skirt, only embroidering the outermost layer. Golden fabric can sometimes be difficult to find, so several costumers dyed their own silk (See Dye Tips Below).

  • Crinkled Chiffon/Crepe silk Georgette (or Polyester - here's a sample of the Polyester crinkled chiffon kay_dee found at Britex)
  • Chiffon/Crepe Georgette 12mm - Silk Connection
  • Silk Gauze (or 90% silk 10% Wool from Silk Connection) According to Obi-Dawn the silk gauze sold by Dharma is too thin.
  • Silk Charmeuse - light weight (8mm) Dharma Trading - 2 layers used by Obi-Dawn, matte side placed outward
  • Silk Crepe De Chine (approx 12mm weight) - can be found at Silk Connection
  • Chiffon, silk or polyester (a heavy weight to stand up to embroidery is preferable) Koshka-the-Cat used 2 layers of silk chiffon from Dharma Trading (perhaps 10mm would stand up to embroidery).
Inner Layer - adds opacity to skirt and blouse so you can't see through them. Some people used only one light weight outer layer and one opaque gold inner layer on the skirt and blouse. Others used two light weight outer layers and an opaque cream colored inner layer as a slip.

  • Silk Charmeuse - just heavy enough to prevent light from shining through
  • Silk Crepe De Chine - perhaps 16mm weight
  • Silk Double Crepe Georgette - perhaps 18mm weight
  • Satin silk or polyester - Kay_Dee used a light weight polyester satin with the matte side facing outward. "Although this had a nice drape to it, it was just a bit too heavy for this costume. The elastic on my arms kept falling down due to the weight of the fabric."
  • White poly charmeuse - Obi-Dawn used this as a slip under her two layers of Gold Silk Charmeuse.
  • White cotton voil Dharma Trading- used by Koshka-the-Cat for her skirt under two layers of gold chiffon.
BLOUSE CONSTRUCTION TIPS

Sleeves

The sleeves on this blouse are actually very long and some of the patterns suggested above must be lengthened to account for the extra sleeve puffs. They appear to have two or three(?) bands of elastic running through them to help create the puffs. The casing or binding at the wrist is not elasticized. The fabric at the wrist is gathered and covered by a binding made from the same fabric as the blouse.

Ribbons

Two sets pastel ribbons tie at the upper arm just above the elbow and cris cross down the lower arm tying at the wrists. Judging by the way the ribbons flow when Padme moves they are probably 100% silk. The Ribbonerie carries a nice selection of silk ribbons.

"I used 4 satin ribbons that were 5/8" wide. The ribbon colors look different in so many of the photos. The indoor photo of Padme's hair clearly has green ribbon, but in some outdoor photos the green ribbon on the arms looks bluish. I happened to use a light green (a color to match the vines in the skirt and blouse.) Light yellow, pale icy pink and a medium pink. (In some photos it's the medium pink that can sometimes look purplish). If I were to do this again I'd look for silk ribbon instead. I think silk has a better flow to it." -Kay_Dee


"For the ribbons I use about 7 yards of each color (1 1/2 yards for both places on each arm, and then a piece for the hair)" -Ferdalump

"My advice for the ribbons is to only tack them on at the top. When I made my first one, I tacked them on at the top and at all the crisscross points. It made the sleeves look horrible" -Obi-Dawn

Neckline

The neckline appears to be finished with a binding - but no elastic. Instead, the blouse fabric appears to be gathered or pleated along the shoulder (http://www.angelfire.com/art/kathys/flowers_blownup.jpg) and the back before it is attached to the binding.


"I modified my pattern (Butterick 6196) to make a casing (binding) that fit comfortably around my shoulders (I should have made it tighter though!). I first hand pleated several tucks at the top of the raw edges of the sleeve shoulders and a few along the back of the blouse. These pleats were then covered by attaching the casing (binding) at the raw edges of the blouse neckline.

I measured the circumference needed for my neckline/shoulder casing by taking a tape measure and putting it around my shoulders. I then based my casing into a circle and put it around my shoulders to make sure it fit.

You can roughly calculate how much extra fabric you need at the raw edge neckline of your blouse to make all of your pleats. (But if you are using a peasant blouse pattern, I'll bet the pattern already allows for gathering/pleating) It really helps to play around with a muslin mockup before you make your final version though. For example, if you put in about 4 tucks at each shoulder, and 8 tucks along the back... 16 x 0.5" = an extra 8 inches of fabric around the shoulder to pleat.

In the end, I think the key to getting that perfect fit at the shoulders (not too tight, not too droopy) is basting in your pleats, basting on your casing - then putting the blouse on adjusting the fit (size or number of pleats, let out or take in the casing) as needed." -kay_dee

SKIRT CONSTRUCTION TIPS

  • A yoke was used on the waistline of the original skirt. If you'd like to make a yoke Jenny-LaFleur suggests Simplicity 9825. Kay_Dee has a page with notes about yokes as well.
  • In order to minimize or eliminate gathering at the waist, a "gored skirt with lots of circumference as it graduates out toward the bottom" would work. A circle skirt might work as well.
WHITE FLOWERS

The white flowers on the skirt and blouse appear to be small flat 4 petal sequins (approx. 1/4" - 5/16" wide). Although some costumers have seen fabric with these kinds of sequins on them, no one has been able to find these sequins to purchase. If you are using sequins, you can first tack them in place with Fabri-Tac glue. According to Obi-Dawn, "The Fabri-tack glue works great to secure the sequins in place. I'm finding that by applying the flowers first, I really have to plot out where the vines go because they have to intersect the flowers right through their middles, so in essence, I'm plotting them out with the sequins."

  • Obi-Dawn made her own sequins by using a butterfly hole punch purchased at JoAnn's"The butterfly punch is made by a company called Provo Craft (#34-0069). Here's a pic of my results so far: White Flower Trials the butterfly shape is a 1/4" across." Ferdalump suggested punching the shapes out of "mylar sheets I have found at specialty scrapbook supply stores. A name brand for it is called "Shimmer Sheetz" They are going to be around 4x6". Obi-Dawn added, "I can get 200 butterflies out of each sheet of mylar. I've gone through eight sheets so far (1600 sequins) and I think that is all I will need. I also suggest that when you apply the sequins do so in distinct individual lines. I start by sewing on my green flowers first, by hand, and then my first lines of sequins begin from each green flower. I then add lines of flowers all over until there are enough."
  • Liannb made her sequins. "I used round Pearlescent sequins, I cut out the four corners on each sequin to get the four petal shape."
  • Artemisia_Rossetti found a 4 petal flower hole puncher from M.C. Mieth Manufacturing's web site: www.holepunch.com . "They are on the small side (3/16" across) but do have four petals. I asked for the No. 45 all purpose punch with design number 291. They have lots of design choices. http://www.holepunch.com/supplement.htm. It was a bit spendy at $36, but I saw the same thing advertised on another site for $89. I suppose it would be possible to get a custom die made for their large die punches so the flower is more like 3/8" across, but I'm not sure how much that would cost."
  • Obi-Ann found small 0.5 cm applique flowers in the fabric catalog by Stoff&Stil "Unfortunately I don't think they ship anything overseas, they didn't even ask for country where you have to write your address in order to get the catalogue. I also just love these flowers, but they are quite expensive, you get 6 of them for around $3.00. They are described as mother-of-pearl, but I don't know if that's just the outer coat of paint on them."
  • Obi-Dawn used cut up 5 petal flower trim from JoAnn's for her first picnic dress.
  • Kay_Dee hand embroidered white flowers on her fabric using white Rayon Patina and a small detached chain stitch or daisy chain stitch. See a scan of her skirt embroidery at http://www.angelfire.com/art/kathys/skirt_emb.jpg
  • MiraxTHorn used "4 oblong beads into an x shape. It looks really nice, but it makes the skirt way too heavy, imo."
  • Others suggested a "1\4" flat bead that looks like four petaled baby's breath." But these may also get heavy and weigh the skirt and blouse down.
LARGE GREEN FLOWERS


The skirt and blouse embellishments are punctuated with larger green embroidered 5 petal flowers (although some think they may be gold flowers). Kay_Dee believed that the flowers are embroidered with the same green colored floss used to make the green vines. They may have a light blue center to them as well.

  • kay_dee hand embroidered her green flowers using a satin stitch with Anchor Floss 264 Light Yellow Green and 158 Very Light Baby Blue. See her embroidery at http://www.angelfire.com/art/kathys/skirt_emb.jpg
  • Obi-Dawn used white flowers cut from a trim purchased from Hancock Fabrics."I dyed them with Dylon Cold Water dye in Spring Green." See her photos here.
EMBROIDERED GREEN VINES

Light green freeform embroidered vines wind their way throughout the fabric connecting the white sequins. The stitches actually run through the center of each sequin. It is unknown if the original embroidery was done by machine or by hand. Here are some of the methods seamstresses here used:

Machine Stitching

  • Kirana T - "I did the vines by machine, and it turned out very nicely. I did most of it before I sewed the pieces together, so I didn't have to deal with so much fabric in the machine at once. Definitely do a test piece first, and go slow, so your fabric doesn't pucker."
  • Kay_Dee - "Light weight fabrics like chiffon may tend to pucker when attempting to top stitch vines to the fabric. Placing a tear away or wash away stabilizer under the fabric might help reduce the puckering. The skirt and blouse vines are a sort of mint or mossy green. Before I had to abandon the vines [due to puckering caused by the sewing machine] I was going to use Sulky Silk thread in color 942 1209."
  • Obi-Dawn - "I would warn you about the vining because it tends to change the original shape of your fabric piece/panel. It tugs and pulls it up and down, lengthening and/or shortening it in places. So I always make my skirt panels longer and a little wider than they need to be to compensate for the distortion the vining can cause. For instance, my skirt that I'm currently working on has yet to be hemmed and the bottom line is REALLY distorted. If you saw it in its current state you'd be slightly horrified. All will be sorted when its done though. (edit: I should add that I do my vining by using a tight zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine.)"
    "I also suggest that when you apply the sequins do so in distinct individual lines. I start by sewing on my green flowers first, by hand, and then my first lines of sequins begin from each green flower. I then add lines of flowers all over until there are enough. This way, when you sew through them with your vines, it's just like sewing by connecting the dots. I usually glued on between eight or ten lines of sequins, vined them, then glued more lines on, etc.
    I've studied all the pics of Padme's dress that I've been able to get a hold of and can't really pin down a distinct 'pattern' to the vines. I just free-form the lines of flowers to my own taste. It's fun and swirly."
    "As for my chemise (yes, it's done.) I took a few precautions against the distortion the vining can cause. I cut each pattern piece a little bigger than needed and on the bodice pieces I do not vine down their entire lengths. So much of the chemise bodice is covered up with the corset, most of it actually, so I don't vine the whole thing. The sleeves are fully vined, but by cutting them a little larger than they need to be helps a lot. If you are doing two layers of fabric then the under layer can remain the right shape and act as your guide for the embellished layer. In fact, for the sleeves I basted the two layers together once I was done with embellishing and then assembled them. (I did not do that for the skirt though! Those layers are only attached together at the waist.)"
  • Liannb - "I machine embroidered with green vining using the button hole stitch on the sewing machine. I did it in a crisscross cross pattern."
Hand Embroidery

  • kay_dee experimented with hand embroidering her vines using a chain stitch, an embroidery hoop, and solvy stabilizer. The results were turning out nice with no distortion to the fabric. Unfortunately it was taking far too long and she had to go without vines. "A decorative topstitch with the sewing machine is the fastest way to go."
DYE TIPS

Silk (or Polyester) fabric in that perfect shade of gold can be difficult to find. Many of the seamstresses here resorted to dying their own fabric. Even first timers achieved beautiful results! Just be sure to dye your fabric before you start to embellish it. Also take the time to test dye swatches of your actual fabric (another fabric made of the same or different fiber can take dye differently) and adjust color concentrations, color mixes, dye time, etc. to come up with a formula that works for your fabric.

Dyes Used

  • RIT 2 parts Rit Gold/Yellow and 1 part Tan
  • RIT Gold/Yellow - Used by Ferdalump "The Rit Golden Yellow didn't work. It was too yellow for my dress." -MiraxTHorn
  • Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes from Dharma Trading in Marigold and Camel used by Obi-Dawn on silk Charmeuse. See her dye results here. "I think the procion dyes are easy to use if you have to do a large batch because they don't require heat." -Kay_Dee
How To's

  • Polyester - "RIT dye Will dye polyester. Yes--everyone says (including the box of Rit) says poly will not dye--But it will. I have done it 100s of times. My entire Pastel lake dress replica is done out of Poly and was dyed 4 colors using only RIT. I have also dyed the poly Meijer tablecloth using RIT dye and also tea. make sure you use the stove top method and HOT water let it dye for a long time (45 mins)." -ferdalump
  • Glues and Fraycheck - Add any glue and embellishments AFTER dying. Glued areas take dye differently, sometimes turning a darker color.
  • Shrinking - Be sure to dye more fabric than you plan on using because it usually shrinks in the dye bath. It's usually best to purchase extra yardage and dye the fabric whole - cutting your pattern pieces afterward.
  • Dye it all at once - In order to have all of your fabric match it should be dyed at the same time in the same dye bath. (Dye, salt and water measurements are never precise enough to replicate exactly. There is also the time factor and temperatures that can change)
  • Procion Dyes - Refer to Dharma's Web Site for specifics on dye use. kay_dee has some additional step by step advise for tub dying in the Fabric Dying thread. "Procion dye can have really funny, unpredictable color reactions with silk. They will work, but you have to test your colors first... The trick with dyeing in the bathtub was putting another container in there - an 18 gallon Rubbermaid tub. If you have tile with grout be careful of that - it will stain the grout. (I had to scrub it out the second a drop got on - next time I will tape up a plastic sheet to protect the tile grout). The dye rinses out of the tub perfectly fine. It won't stain it. I also have one of those detachable shower heads with a hose and that really helped with clean up." - kay_dee
  • Drying - "As far as drying--as long as you rinse it OK, and the fabric can tolerate it I usually just use my dryer. When I was dyeing the Pastel dress I used a clothes line drying system because I didn't want to colors to touch until they were dry. If you use the dryer just make sure you clean it out after wards or you might have yellow/gold underwear and socks. Basically you want it to dry evenly so go with your gut." -Ferd




- SHAWL or CAPE -

Padme wears a shawl (or cape) with this costume which is made from an embroidered tulle or netting. The medium to dark pink rose clusters are alternating groups of 3 and 1 rose connected by green vines. The embroidered fabric is commercially available, but it is easier to find organza with this embroidery than the tulle. The front of the shawl is closed with a brooch, and it is helpful to add a few bars and hooks or small snaps along the back of the cape to keep it in place along the back of the blouse.

REFERENCE PHOTOS

PATTERN SUGGESTIONS

There does not appear to be a commercial pattern that matches this shawl. Most costumers drafted their own after experimenting with muslin or cheap fabric.

  • Butterick 3345 view E - Suggested by Kay-Dee "This is the closest pattern I've seen that can be adapted for the picnic shawl. Just enlarge the neckline and add a scalloped cut to the edges."
  • McCall's 3033 view A - Suggested by Kay_Dee"This pattern required a lot of altering - changing it at least 4 times until I had drafted an entirely new pattern. At least it gave me a starting point."
  • Koshka-the-cat drafted her own shawl pattern
  • Kay_Dee drafted her own cape pattern as well.
FABRIC SUGGESTIONS

Most of the fabrics that have been found for the cape must be dyed. See Dye Tips below.

  • Home Trends One Sheer Panel (curtain) called Rose Traditions in the 55x84in. size, sold at Wal*Mart. Has the correct embroidery with roses in clusters of three and comes on a base netting that is off-white in color.

  • Silk Organza with pink rose clusters - used by Koshka-the-cat. It can be purchased in white at Buttons n Bolts Fabrics (SH-4) or at ThaiSilks.com (23EW). For ThaiSilks cut and paste: "http://www.thaisilks.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TS&Product_Code=23EW#%20"

  • Liannb found this organza with medium/dark pink rose clusters at MacCulloch and Wallis Ltd "it is 33.19 pounds a metre about $61 US, $80 cdn. code number is 24914 rose/green embroidered organza."

  • Nylon one-way stretch netting with rose cluster embroidery - used by kay_dee and dyed yellow. See photo here: http://www.angelfire.com/art/kathys/capeemb2.jpg
  • Embroidered Tulle - scan by Liannb
  • Meijer tablecloth 'Antique Rose' - used by Obi-Dawn & Ferdalump
  • Bed Bath And Beyond 'Vintage Window Panel' (also sold at Linen's & Things) - "Bed, Bath & Beyond curtain and the Meijer tablecloth 'Antique Rose' are in fact the same pattern. However, the tablecloth fabric seems a bit stiffer."
  • JCPenny Curtain
  • Target curtains 'Embroidered Window Panel in Merlot'
  • Rose Cluster Polyester embroidered organza from Hancock's Fabrics - Hyman Hendler & Sons, Inc.
    Patt. #205 (reportedly discontinued)
  • Nylon Rose Cluster Embroidered Organza from Fabrics R Us San Jose, CA. (See kay_dee's Swatch)
  • plain golden/yellow tulle or netting

  • ecila found this embroidered organza at LaceCo.com. It is listed as pattern 3941.


EMBELLISHMENT SUGGESTIONS

Scalloped Edging

  • Use a tight zig-zag or satin stitch on your machine to finish off the edges.
  • Use Sulky variegated thread #'s 2114, 2115, or 932
  • When doing the edging on a sewing machine, use tear-away stabilizer. Thanks to MiraxTHorn for that idea! It works!
Adding Your Own Flowers

  • The vining can be done by hand or machine.
  • Some people have used the Offray ribbon roses made to decorate the cape.
  • Some have used rose cluster appliques purchased from Cheeptrims.com (Suggested by Christine)
DYE TIPS

Dyes Used

  • Tea - Used by Ferdalump
  • Orange pekoe tea - Liannb
  • RIT dye in "Golden Yellow" - Used by Ferdalump
  • Tan liquid RIT - Used by Petite_Padme, Liannb & Obi-Dawn
  • 2 parts Rit Gold/Yellow and 1 part Tan
  • Acid Jacquard dye in Aztec Gold and Olive from Dharma - Used by kay_dee
  • DecoArt, So Soft Fabric Paint in Shimmering Pearls/Golden Yellow) - Used by Obi-Dawn
  • Jones Tones Fabric Paint
How To's

  • Will the dye effect the embroidery? The thread used to embroider many of the fabrics suggested above are more resistant to dying than the fabric. The roses either will not change color at all, or they will warm up slightly.
  • RIT tan liquid dye - "I ended up using liquid RIT tan dye with HUGE success... my cape is exactly the color of the real cape. I used the stovetop method with a half-recipe of dye, a half cup of salt, and enough water to fill a 6-quart pot 2 inches. Allow the dye bath to simmer while dying the cloth. When using a dye concentration this high, it only takes about 40 SECONDS (not minutes!) for the netting to dye the right color. The tan RIT dye did dye the roses as well--mostly just the two lightest shades of pink. The darker pinks warmed up a little, but the light pink turned kinda brownish-peachy pink. I decided that I didn't mind that a whole lot". - Petite Padme "The colour is perfect. I used the tan liquid rit dye. I used half a cup of dye and half a cup of salt and only put the fabric in for about 20 seconds. I'm very pleased with the results." -Liannb
  • RIT golden yellow - "If memory serves I think I did not use the dye at full strength. " -Ferdalump
  • DecoArt, So Soft Fabric Paint - "It didn't stiffen the fabric and I didn't dilute it because I really liked the color. I can tell you the Tulip Pearl fabric paint did not work at all for me when I tested it on the same fabric. Ugh." - Obi-Dawn
  • Polyester - "RIT dye Will dye polyester. Yes--everyone says (including the box of Rit) says poly will not dye--But it will. I have done it 100s of times. My entire Pastel lake dress replica is done out of Poly and was dyed 4 colors using only RIT. I have also dyed the poly Meijer tablecloth using RIT dye and also tea. make sure you use the stove top method and HOT water let it dye for a long time (45 mins)." -ferdalump
  • Glues and Fraycheck - Add any glue and embellishments AFTER dying. Glued areas take dye differently, sometimes turning a darker color.
  • Shrinking - Be sure to dye more fabric than you plan on using because it usually shrinks in the dye bath. It's usually best to purchase extra yardage and dye the fabric whole - cutting your pattern pieces afterward.
  • Procion Dyes - Refer to Dharma's Web Site for specifics on dye use. kay_dee has some additional step by step advise for tub dying in the Fabric Dying thread. "Procion dye can have really funny, unpredictable color reactions with silk. They will work, but you have to test your colors first... The trick with dyeing in the bathtub was putting another container in there - an 18 gallon Rubbermaid tub. If you have tile with grout be careful of that - it will stain the grout. (I had to scrub it out the second a drop got on - next time I will tape up a plastic sheet to protect the tile grout). The dye rinses out of the tub perfectly fine. It won't stain it. I also have one of those detachable shower heads with a hose and that really helped with clean up." - kay_dee
  • Drying - "As far as drying--as long as you rinse it OK, and the fabric can tolerate it I usually just use my dryer. When I was dyeing the Pastel dress I used a clothes line drying system because I didn't want to colors to touch until they were dry. If you use the dryer just make sure you clean it out after wards or you might have yellow/gold underwear and socks. Basically you want it to dry evenly so go with your gut." -Ferd






- BROOCH -

After watching the P-19 video, Obi-Dawn confirmed that a brooch is used to fasten Padme's shawl, "You know the part where Trisha unpins a piece of paper and what looks like a plastic bag from the skirt? Well, I could read what it said on the piece of paper and it says 'P-19 Broach'." Unfortunately there are not any clear shots of the design. Some have speculated that it may be a dragonfly, butterfly, a rose with leaves, or some sort of antique silver bar pin. Kay_Dee scaled the Vanity Fair image and estimates that the pin is only about an inch across.

REFERENCE PHOTOS

SUGGESTED OPTIONS





- HAIR STYLE & MAKEUP-

This information about Padme's hair and makeup was taken from InStyle Magazine (it was in reference to the Nightgown Costume, but many of the same hair and makeup techniques are used for the Picnic Costume as well):

IN STYLE JUNE 2002 pg 264

Hair - Love wanted to achieve a "romantic, gypsy" look. So after Portman's just shampooed hair had dried naturally, Love added waist-length extensions to the actress's shoulder-length strands and set half-inch sections in heated rubber rollers for 15 minutes. She skipped brushing the hair in order to keep the ringlets intact. To open up Portman's face she swept back side sections above the ears and secured them with tortoiseshell hairpins.

Skin - Vanderwalt started with Lancome Maqui-Libre foundation in Beige Naturel III. "I wanted a light base that would even out the skin tone but was sheer," she explains. To add a "peachy tone" to Portman's cheeks Vanderwalt applied Stila Convertible Color in Camellia on the apples of the cheeks. She finished with a dusting of Shu Uemera Loose Colorless powder.

Eyes - Vanderwalt brushed MAC Bark eye shadow on the lids and MAC shadow in Quarry on the brow bones before applying one coat of Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara in black-brown to top lashes.


Lips - Wanting a shade similar to Portman's own lip color, Vanderwalt went with the obvious choice: a sheer Stila shade inspired by the star and called, appropriately, Natalie

REFERENCE PHOTOS

HEADBAND

The headband is made from two pieces of 1/2" yellow-green ribbon edged in metallic gold. It is embroidered with the same roses seen on the corset and the cape fabric.

Ribbon

Kay_Dee found the same ribbon used in the movie at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco (she was told by several sales people that the costume designers had shopped a bit in Britex.) Here is a scan of the original ribbon. Unfortunately Britex is now sold out of this ribbon and it can not be reordered. Kay_Dee recently found the same style of ribbon in a slightly darker shade at the Ribbonerie in San Francisco. They are now sold out as well, and she was told that the supplier in France is no longer making this ribbon. It is worth checking shops specializing in ribbons and trims to see if you can find remaining spools of this ribbon. Here is the information from the spool purchased at the Ribbonerie:

PON: 40714
COL: 05 (this color is a bit darker than the original)
Made in France

Construction

  • Obi-Dawn has instructions on how she put her headband together. She recommends taking time to embroider your own roses over cutting out roses from fabric and gluing them on.
  • Kay_Dee has a tutorial on how to embroider your own roses.
  • Kay_Dee says, "I just overlapped the gold part of the ribbon in the middle so I'd have one visible strip of gold rather than two when I joined my two strips together. I also used Sulky metallic gold thread to sew the strips together by hand in the center so the stitching wouldn't show."
  • Rose appliques or offray ribbon roses could also be used to embellish the headband.
GOLD BUN COVERS (SNOODS)

Where To Get Them

Suggestions For Filling The Buns With Hair

  • Two small pony tail extensions purchased from a beauty supply - the clips removed. Example photo here. Kay_Dee
  • Curly Hair scrunchies purchased at Sally's. MiraxTHorn
  • Synthetic weaving hair, $4.99 per pack purchased at a wig store. It was braided, wrapped into a bun shape and inserted into the bun covers. Photos can be seen here. Kay_Dee
  • Doll hair from craft stores
Attaching Buns To Your Hair

  • Obi-Dawn suggests, "With my second costume I kept the snoods and the headband separate and had much better results. I put the headband on first and then the snoods. To attach the snoods I used A LOT of bobby pins and clips. Of course, I was wearing a wig which really gave the pins something substantial to attach to. I think this was a huge plus for me because I have relatively thin hair. They stayed on, close fitted to my head, all day with no problems."
  • Kay_Dee suggests, "The wig I wore helped give me a little extra hair to put the bobby pins into. Also, curling my own hair before hand gave it extra body so the pins didn't slip right out. I put one or two bobby pins at the top through the head band."
  • Katherine suggested making small pin curls on the side of your head in order to give the bobby pins something to grab onto.
  • Liannb suggests using flexible clips that snap shut tight and completely flat.
WIG SUGGESTIONS

  • Obi-Dawn purchased a full wig without bangs from wowwigs.com (style: Visage) Here are some photos of her hairstyle.
  • Kay Dee has used a 3/4 synthetic fall (by Envy Hollywood) matching her own hair color to get the desired length in back with a natural look in front. The Saphire wig from wowwigs.com is very similar to the one she used. A photo of her hairstyle can be seen here at Padawan's Guide.
  • Kay Dee has also used a full synthetic wig purchased from The Wig Factory in San Francisco (style: Cassie by Mona Lisa) Here are some photos of the hairstyle.
  • MiraxTHorn used a long curly ponytail clip by Revlon purchased from Sally's (Many beauty supplies carry these). Examples of this kind of clip can be seen at wowwigs.com. Something like the Mirage Finger Clip or the Billie Finger Clip would work well.
STYLING SUGGESTIONS

Tenyon's Hair Tutorial - Tenyon has an excellent detailed write up on creating this picnic hairstyle. See her step by step instructions with photos on page 50 of the Padme's Picnic Dress v2.0 thread.

  • MiraxThorn styled her hair by using, "two curly hair scrunchies and a clip of long curly hair from Sally's that matches my own. (I think all three items are by Revlon.) I put one scrunchie in each snood and tied them closed. Then, any time I'm doing Padme, I curl my real hair (, I wear sponge curlers the night before for volume), put the clip near the base of my neck, pile all my real hair on top to cover the clip and approximate the style, ratting and pinning as necessary. Then, the last step is to attach the bun covers (with the scrunchies already inside) using bobby pins." Here is a photo of the back of her hair and another photo that appeared in Star Wars Insider.
  • Liannb suggests, "Those buns are very hard to attach. I used about 4 barrettes on each. Those ones that flex to open and snap shut, kind of triangular shaped. They worked really well. It helps if you have someone to do it for you. My friend did mine when I went to the renaissance festival and they held all day. I pin curled my hair overnight the night before and it turned out nice and curly, and my hair doesn't curl well. liannb."
  • Kay Dee's styling suggestions, "I purchased a 3/4 wig that's long an wavy. The wig attaches at the top center of the head, and I had to put my own hair into rollers to get it curled like the wig. This way your own bangs and hair framing your face still shows. After I put on the wig, I attached the headband and I pinned some of my own front/side hair back behind my head so it drapes above the buns and the headband. I filled my snoods with hair from those fake ponytail clips you can get at most beauty supplies. I used bobby pins to secure the buns to my hair and I also found it helpful to put one of the bobby pins through the headband." She also suggests, "If you are using a synthetic wig with some wave to it, you can uses small plastic hot rollers to curl the front pieces that frame the face. Don't use Velcro rollers though, these tend to get tangled in the synthetic hair. Metal curling irons should be avoided because they melt the synthetic hair."
RIBBONS

It appears that 3 silk ribbons (approx. 5/8" wide) matching the color and style used on the blouse sleeves are tied into a bow at the base of the neck. From this photo they appear to be pink, yellow-green, and yellow.





- SHOES -

Padme wears a flat Mary Jane or ballet style slipper with a very short heel. In some photos it appears that there is some kind of ribbon or lace added that wraps around the ankle. In many of the photos the shoes appear to be a cream or off-white color, but one person who worked on the set and saw the shoes in person thought they were a pale pistachio green. These notes are from Padawan's Guide "Padme's shoes for that costume are actually a very pale pistachio green! They also said that their colour matched very well with the gown (they were approximately the shade of the ribbons = see sleeves and headdress). They estimated a 1cm heel." In some photos the heel looks like it might be a gold color.

REFERENCE PHOTOS

SOURCES FOR SHOES

  • Bridal Satin Ballet Flats (can be dyed green)
  • "Shag" shoe from Tic Tac Toes - Kay_Dee
  • Payless Mary Janes- Obi-Dawn

  • To see Aaerosoles "Gelly Bean" style cut and paste: 'http://store.aerosoles.com/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=aerosoles&bc=aerosoles&clist=01398032209d:0139803220a1&pc=GELLY+BEAN&ret=Cas ual+All' - Padawans Guide




- FAN MADE COSTUME SITES AND PHOTOS -




Special thanks to everyone mentioned above for all they have contributed! happy A very special thank you to afaeryschild for first proposing the idea of indexing all the information. A big thank you to Obi-Dawn as well for creating the first index in version 2.0. Let's all continue to add our experiences and insights about this gorgeous gown and make this thread into another 50 pages!

-Kay Dee


 

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Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Obi-Dawn Kenobi  4725 posts
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered: Jan '00
51970_Satine (205107)
Date Posted: 2/10/04 11:35am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Absolutely incredible! Thank you so much for taking the time to update and improve the summary, kay_dee! grin

 

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liannb  7327 posts
Registered: Jun '02
48569_Padme (60609)
Date Posted: 2/10/04 11:54am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
HOly cow, what and incredible job kay_dee. you've covered every possible angle for each aspect of the dress. liann

 

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MiraxTHorn  1497 posts
Registered: Aug '00
6509_Mirax Terrik
Date Posted: 2/10/04 11:54am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
kay_dee - This is absolutely fantastic!!!! THANK YOU so much for taking all the time and effort to compile everything!

Don't you wish Trisha could see this! happy happy

Regards,
M.

 

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kay_dee  3795 posts
Title: SFFF VIP
Counc il Member & Webmaster

Registered: Jun '02
22190_Padme
Date Posted: 2/10/04 11:56am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Hi - Just to let you all know, I really do appreiciate how much knowledge everyone has shared about this costume.

Please, if someone feels I explained something incorrectly (I did my best to use direct quotes and refer to my costuming books for definitions) please let us know and I'm sure Obi-Dawn can help us edit it.

If I left any information out, or did not credit someone appropriatly let us know and I'm sure we can fix that too happy

I know it's a lengthy summary, but there was so much great information that I tried not to leave anything out. I figure one page is much easier to scan through than 51 pages for a newbie happy

Thanks everyone!

-Kay Dee

 

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iycis  768 posts
Registered: Jan '02
20242_Padme
Date Posted: 2/10/04 12:45pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
I'm not even making this costume but I think its fantastic that you compiled all that information. I wish someone in each of the major Padme dress threads would get it together and do that happy

 

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Obi-Dawn Kenobi  4725 posts
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered: Jan '00
51970_Satine (205107)
Date Posted: 2/10/04 3:12pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
As kay_dee and I can attest to, a summary like this takes a very long time to compile. Gathering the info and writing it up is a lot of work in itself. But doing all the mark-up coding on top of that, and then checking and double checking all the links, makes it a really big project.

So, I just want to thank kay_dee again for volunteering her time to do this for all of us. grin




So, Mirax, I like the possibility of using the embroidered organza or tulle in a different color scheme for a part of your wedding ensemble. It's such a pretty fabric in any color.
And, if I may say, I'm delighted to know that I did meet your fiancé. I thought the two of you looked like you belonged together! wink


 

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Jayne  332 posts
Registered: Oct '02
17268_Padme
Date Posted: 2/10/04 3:15pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Didn't JoAnn's have the almost-embroidery chiffon in purple and white? That might be nice to look into.

 

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Jedi_Dajuan  16738 posts
Title: Admin exhausted from CV!
Registered: Dec '02
52742_Allston Face Palm
Date Posted: 2/10/04 7:51pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
NICE!!

 

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FERDALUMP  827 posts
Registered: May '02
16482_Anakin
Date Posted: 2/11/04 8:10am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Wow! Kay_dee Thanks so much for organizing the list! It is so comprehensive! It's amazing, and great that we all still love this dress so much that we are still talking about it. I think everyone is just like me, and fall in love with this gown all over again everytime I see the Vanity Fair cover. I'm sure the newbies will be SO grateful for everyone's contributions, and your hard work! Now, If we could just do this for all of Padme's lovely costumes happy


Mirax Congrats!! love I think a Picnic like gown would be lovely for your wedding. I think infusing a little bit of color in the form of the embroidered shawl would be great. The famous curtains also come in lavender, blue, and a sort of taupe. I have also seen rose cluster emboidered organza in peach, pale pink, yellow and light blue. If you were up to embroidering your own, or using the offray ribbon roses I think Rum Pink would be a lovely accent color for a wedding.

In regards to incorporating the rose motif in the veil--I love that idea! A cute spin might also be to have a snood made of white and maybe a big one in the back under the veil, instead of two bun covers.

~Ferd happy

 

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MiraxTHorn  1497 posts
Registered: Aug '00
6509_Mirax Terrik
Date Posted: 2/11/04 9:50am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Lots of good suggestions to consider. Thank you all!

I've got my muslin top and skirt on my dress form and I attached the picnic dress cape. It really looks nice. I'm SO SO tempted. I'm fairly certain I won't be wearing a veil, and that if I go for the cape it will be for the ceremony and pictures only. I like the idea of doing some test photos to see how it turns out. I may try that.

And, Ferd - I hadn't thought about the bun covers! A snood in the back is such a cool idea. I actually used to wear one back in high school. I'm going to keep that in mind!

Dawn - I'm excited you got to meet him, too! Pretty cool that SW led to both of us meeting our hubbys! happy happy Long term goal - MR costume for him! wink

Regards,
M.

 

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jadedknights  109 posts
Registered: Nov '02
19252_I Love SW!
Date Posted: 2/11/04 10:31am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Kaydee, you have done a wonderful job with this thread. I am making one for a little girl and the way this is set up is so easy to reference. Thank you!

Jen

 

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PadawansGuide  866 posts
Registered: Sep '02
22673_Padmé
Date Posted: 2/11/04 12:33pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Yes - great job kay_dee! I linked back to it on my Padme pages. Looks like you did a really comprehensive job - but not only that, it's very well organized and easy to read!

One of these days I'll get out of middle earth and back to my picnic plans. I'd like to get this costume and the Leia Bespin one done for CIII. We'll see! :-)

Maggie

 

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ecila  379 posts
Registered: Jul '02
6385_Aayla Secura
Date Posted: 2/11/04 9:26pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0 - Date Edited: 2/11/04 10:19pm (1 edits total) Edited By: ecila
Thank you so much, Kay_dee!

Here is another resource I found tonight for the cape material at Lace and Company (LaceCo.com) under pattern 3941:

Pink and Green Organza

The overall pattern looks similar, but the flowers are only one shade of pink. Its $15.95 a yard.

happy
ecila

 

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Decoupage 
Registered: Jan '03
Date Posted: 2/12/04 7:50am Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Congrats on your up coming nuptials Mirax! To follow up on FERD's snood suggestion for altering the bun covers, I draw your attention to this picture from Maggie's (Padawan's Guide) Ever After costume site. The main url for that page on Maggie's site is http://www.everaftercostumes.com/wine.html

It is of Danielle in the wine red dress when she meets Henri at the ruins. She wears a snood-like net over only the upper part of the back of her head. She has a braid of hair covering the front and side edges of the net, and an arrangement of braids covering the bottom edge. The rest of her hair streams loosely down her back. (Danielle's is kept straight, but think how beautiful it would look with loose full curls!!)

I don't know how long your hair is (or will be at your wedding), but for longer hair, I've loved this style since I saw it. Just make the net in gold (or whatever your accent color will be) and instead of pearls at the intersections, you could leave it plain, or put roses, or do roses on some and pearls on the rest.

And in lieu of the braid of hair around the net, you could edge it with the rose decorated ribbon that Padme has across her forehead. I would still suggest some sort of hair arrangement covering the bottom edge of the snood, though. Either swirls of braids like Danielle wears, or clusters of curls, and you could pin additional roses into either hair arrangement. It would seem to be a better transition to the loose hair beneath the net than just a ribbon.

ok.... I have way too much time on my hands to analyze this so thoroughly!! *lol* Good luck.
--Decoupage

 

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CrimsonVision  467 posts
Registered: Sep '02
23035_Mara Jade
Date Posted: 2/12/04 3:19pm Subject: RE: Padme's Gold Picnic Dress v3.0
Wow. Amazing compilation of information. Great job!

I keep meaning to mention that I found some picnic skirt fabric at a local store here. The adrn thing even has the correct vining and 4 petalted sequin-ish flowers.

Only problem is its in all dark shades like burgundy and brown. tongue I've been going back every time I go to the store to see if they got some with the correct colors (it's a 'closeout' type store; they can't order anything and never know what they will get next).

I was thinking maybe getting a swatch to try and bleach it out then re-dye it to the correct color. The flower things are white so thought it could work.

I have no intentions of making this dress at all but I figured it would save you ladies some time! happy

 

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