• full length
• full length #2
• back
• hi res head shot
• hi res photo (sitting)
• Vanity Fair cover

• kay_dee’s Exhibit Photos(Padme)

• Padawan's Guide Picnic Dress Page
• StarWars.com P-19 making of video
• NataliePortman.com

"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

“Silk cloqué bodice with seven-color computerized filigree embroidery with bled stitching. The roses were taken from the tulle and appliquéd on top to unite the two fabrics. The bodice is worn over an old-gold silk organza* blouse [and skirt] with multicolored ribbon detail around the lower sleeves.”

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

Cloqué - French word for ‘blistered’. A soft fabric that drapes well into elaborate styles; a fabric with a figured blister effect on the surface, brought about by the use of yarns of different character. These will respond in different ways to finishing treatments, e.g. two yarns of uneven shrinkage potentials are woven together. The fabric is then relaxed, when one yarn shrinks more than the other and the excess material is left to form a design. The raised figures may be regular or in irregular lines. Once a popular silk fabric for gowns and hats, it was superseded by artificial silk imitations. Now it is produced mainly from acetate and polyester yarns, and the advantage of this development is that the blistering is permanent. Used for evening and cocktail wear, some millinery, and negligées. Does not crease.

• Standing in Meadow
• P-19 screencaps
• FIDM exhibit Embroidery Close-up (hi-res)

• Victorian Corsets suggested by Mirax. The Dore view needs some modifications and redrafting of seam lines, but works well. The top edge of this pattern extends only just underneath the bust line as the real corset does on Natalie. Don’t forget to factor that into decisions about underpinnings and sheerness of the chemise for modesty’s sake.

• 9769 suggested by kay_dee
• 7009 suggested by Obi-Dawn View B It requires some modification and the overlap deleted. (discontinued pattern)
• 5843 View A This pattern was released for Halloween 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. (discontinued pattern)

• 3315 suggested by kay_dee & liannb
• 3109 view B suggested by kay_dee (discontinued pattern)

• 7427 suggested by Obi-Dawn. She reports that the pieces required several modifications and redrafting of seam lines until she was happy with the results. (discontinued pattern)

• PadawansGuide drafted her own corset pattern using these instructions written by Koshka-the-cat.

• Crinkle Decorator Sheer from HouseFabric.com suggested by Obi-Dawn. It would probably require underlining because it is described as “sheer”. The photo of this fabric looks very similar to the home-dec fabric used by Mirax.
• 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). Both Mirax and PadawansGuide experimented with this fabric, but decided it was “too poofy” for their liking. kay_dee feels that even though it gets puffy, it is easy to block press it out flat again. And once it's flatlined she thinks it will retain its shape well. She will very likely use this in her next version.
• 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.
• Silk Chiffon Gauze - kay_dee pointed out the woven squares in this fabric. If this silk could be crinkled, it might be a good option.
• Crushed Habotai – kay_dee experimented with this fabric and felt it might work well. Here is a photo where she ironed the left side to see how the crinkle would be changed.
• Satin/crinkle satin (silk or poly)

• 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

• Coutil - "If you want it to truly ‘suck you in' like a corset, you will need coutil." - Ferdalump
• Cotton Duck Cloth
• Canvas

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

• 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
• “For the corset I used Metallic Gold Crunch, layered with gold china silk, white duck cloth, and more china silk.” – PadawansGuide
• "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 is gold crinkle fabric, beneath that is gold satin, then a layer of crinela, and then the inside is lined with satin." - liannb

• "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

• 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



• Nylon Cable Ties – “I came across an unusual but effective boning method on a Ren Fair site – nylon cable ties. Although Home Depot sells short, thin ties, they aren’t sturdy enough or long enough for corsets. Instead, I ordered 36” heavy duty ties (175lb) from an online retailer (Next time I would get 120lb ties, though. These were almost overkill.) They can be cut with scissors and the ends rounded with a dremel. And, I can hand wash my corset without fear of rust from steel boning.” – Mirax

• 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 Laces
• Lacing rings and Laces

• Some patterns need to have the center front seam removed. To do this, place center front pattern piece on the fold, 5/8" in from the original edge of the pattern piece.
• Most corset patterns are only comprised of 9 panels (once the front seam is removed). The actual garment has 11 panels, so it will be necessary to redraft seam lines if a totally screen accurate look is desired.
• It is highly advisable to make a muslin, or cheap fabric version (or several) 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. Boning placement can be tested on the muslin. 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.

• 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

”The one thing I was most interested in upon seeing it in person was the embroidery on the corset. I had long pondered just how thick or 'chunky' the individual stitches were in the yellow scroll designs. But prior to the exhibit photos and the hi-res shot in the Dressing a Galaxy book, I could never tell for certain. It was the screencaps from the P-19 documentary that first got me wondering long ago, "How many threads were used in each stitch? And how long are the stitches?" It was in those screencaps that I started to think maybe the embroidery was much chunkier, for lack of a better word, than I had been doing. And it appeared to be.

I know I'd been using my embroidery floss one strand at a time and made many many short stitches to fill in my yellow 'flames'. Looking at the real thing, I could tell there were not as many stitches per flame as I made on mine because the real stitches were thicker and longer. I can't really discern which I prefer, but I know I went in to the exhibit expecting to be let down if the stitching was less delicate than I wanted it to be. It was still gorgeous, so I'm not sure if it disappointed me or not. Maybe a little.
But the way the stems and leaves and daisies were embroidered was just as I'd always imagined.

I feel like a nitpick for even mentioning it, but the embroidery has always been my favorite aspect/detail, so it was important to me to look at the individual stitches.”

• 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."

• Obi-Dawn's Embroidery Sketch
• Afaeryschild's Sketch
• Kay_Dee's Embroidery Scanned
• Obi-Dawn's Finished Embroidery
• liann’s Completed Embroidery (Scroll down)
• PadawansGuide’s Embroidery
• Mirax’s Corset Embroidery

• 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

• "This stitch allows you to give the different colors of floss the illusion of subtly changing colors." - kay_dee
• ”I had a hard time making the stitch lengths even, so I drew 1/8 inch gridlines across each flame. For the flames that are curved nearly into a circle, the gridlines were drawn like a fan, rather than parallel.” – Mirax

• 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.
• Golden Threads quilting paper - Mirax used a water soluble pencil to trace the design onto this paper and stitched right through it. It was very easy to tear off and pull out from under each shape once it was completed.
• PadawansGuide tried the white fibrous type of RinsAway dissolvable stabilizer and found that it did not dissolve at all. Instead, it left lots of white fuzz that had to be picked out with tweezers. She would recommend you steer away from this product.

• 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

• 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)

• Yellow and Gold Flames: 1238, 1024, 1124 (from dark to light). “If I were doing it again, I think I would use 1024 as the darkest, then 1124, and pick a new lightest shade. 1238 may be too orange compared to the real corset.”
• Green leaves and stems: 1175, 630 “These were chosen to blend with the greens on the shawl fabric roses.”
• Yellow arches and daisies: 1066, 1061
• Gold swirls and outlines: Sulky Metallic 7004 “I highly recommend metallic sewing thread over embroidery floss. It seems to have more strength and doesn’t get fuzzy or separate from the filler thread as easily.”
• Roses: - no thread, cut out from shawl fabric

• 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.

• Prettyimpressivestuff.com
• Embroiderersguild.com
[li ]Sharon b's Stitch Dictionary[/li]

• 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

• Offray Ribbon Roses - Tutorial
• Ribbon Roses - From Cheeptrims.com
• Rose Appliques - From Cheeptrims.com
• Paint a design - Tutorial by Ferdalump

”OK Everyone...the question that everyone wants to know. I looked at the under skirt of the Meadow Dress today!!! I was very surprised at what I found. It is out of chiffon (and is sheer!) and it's very similar to the fabric used in the rainbow lake dress (same colors!) that unfortunately we don't have in the exhibition (I was fortunate to see it at the fashion show!). It's all different colors...(red included!) It's lightly dyed so it doesn't show through.

And - I don't think it's ombre dyed like the rainbow dress...it's more like random colors all-over the skirt...but lightly dyed.”

• 9966 suggested by Obi-Dawn View A (for bodice).
• 9125 suggested by Mrs_Mayimnaar (discontinued pattern)
• 5843 View A (the Halloween costume version)

• 3535 suggested by liannb (discontinued pattern)
• 3797 suggested by Obi-Dawn, PadawansGuide & Mirax for the sleeves. “Although, I started with 3793 for the sleeve, my actual pattern looks quite different. I will likely modify this slightly for my third version because of details revealed in FIDM photos.” – Mirax (discontinued pattern)

• 6198 suggested by kay_dee (discontinued pattern)
• 6196 suggested by kay_dee (discontinued pattern)
• 6200 suggested by Mirax for the bodice. Here are Mirax’s modified Front and Back pattern pieces. (discontinued pattern)

• Basic Circle Skirt – Kay_dee found these instructions which detail the complete process of measuring and making a circle skirt. The “Scant Skirt” with one more ¼ circle added is probably very close to Padme’s skirt. A muslin mock-up is highly recommended before cutting into your good fabric! Also, please carefully read the section on “Shift Management”. Fabric cut on the bias (diagonal) will shift over time, resulting un uneven hems if not taken into account.
• Jayne described her skirt construction this way: “- I didn't use a pattern for the skirt. Just a marking chalk pen, pin, and string. I just measured how long I wanted the skirt and added a hem and 3" to the measurement. Then I folded the fabric into a large square, selvedges together with the fabric folded on itself over and over. I pinned it to the floor at the corners, then tied the pin to the string. I measured the string to the length of the measurement from before, then marked that point and pinned it to a corner. Then just mark the circle with the chalk pen, you've made a compass. Do it again at 3" for the waistband, then cut on both lines through all thicknesses. Sew each piece to the next at the sides, then gathered the top to a ribbon waistband and hemmed the bottom. If you're using fewer circles you'll have to do some math to figure out if 3" to the waistband is big enough for you, but it's not too difficult.”
• A Google search for “circle skirt” will return numerous sites with similar instructions.

• McCall’s 4109 suggested by Mirax
• Simplicity 9825 suggested by Jenny-LaFleur & PadawansGuide

• 8715 suggested by liannb. This skirt is not like the original due to a gathered waist. (discontinued pattern)
• 8943 suggested by Obi-Dawn. View C "It is not yoked or as full as the original skirt." Dawn later
  added another panel to create more fullness in her skirt with very nice results. (discontinued pattern)

• 4109 suggested by Mirax. View D This skirt is not as full as the original, but is yoked and has no gathers.
• 3109 suggested by kay_dee . There are no gathers at the waist, but it may have a short train. (discontinued pattern)
• 3315 suggested by kay_dee & liannb. This skirt is not like original due to pleated waist. (discontinued pattern)

• 4025 suggested by kay_dee & PadawansGuide view B This circle skirt has a wide circumference with no gathers, but is not quite as full as the original skirt. (discontinued pattern)
• 6198 suggested by kay_dee . This skirt is not like the original due to gathered waist. (discontinued pattern)
• 6196 suggested by kay_dee . This skirt is not like the original due to gathered waist. (discontinued pattern)

• Crinkled Silk Chiffon
• Crinkled Silk Georgette, both from from Thai Silks
• Crinkled Poly Chiffon found by kay_dee at Britex
• Chiffon/Crepe Georgette 12mm from Silk Connection
• Silk Gauze (or 90% silk 10% Wool, also from Silk Connection) According to Obi-Dawn, the silk gauze sold by Dharma is too thin.
• Silk Charmeuse (light weight, 8mm?) from Dharma Trading - 2 layers used by Obi-Dawn, matte side placed outward
• Silk Crepe De Chine (approx 12mm weight) from Silk Connection
• Uncrinkled Chiffon, either silk or polyester, in a weight heavy enough to stand up to embroidery. Koshka-the-Cat used 2 layers of silk chiffon from Dharma Trading (perhaps 10mm would stand up to embroidery).

• 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 voile from Dharma Trading- used by Koshka-the-Cat for her skirt under two layers of gold chiffon.

• RIT 2 parts Rit Gold/Yellow and 1 part Tan
• RIT Gold/Yellow - Used by Ferdalump
• 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

• 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 afterwards or you might have yellow/gold underwear and socks. Basically you want it to dry evenly so go with your gut." -Ferd
  

• Reference photo #1
• Reference photo #2 - by kay_dee
• Reference photo #3 - by kay_dee

“The ribbons are silk, but not the typical double-faced satin silk ribbon that is often sold in fabric stores. The ribbon is a very thin hand dyed type of ribbon. I compared it to a sample card of hand dyed ribbon I ordered from Treenway Silks. However, most of the hand dyed silk ribbon I'm finding thus far is only 13mm in width and I'd say the picnic ribbon appears to be closer to 18mm or 5/8" in width (like the satin or silk ribbons most of us have been using). The hunt is on for a source of hand dyed silk ribbon at a 5/8" width that is not made by sewing bias strips together. (Some places make it this way and you end up having ugly seams along the ribbon).

I did my best from a distance to come up with rough Pantone matches to the ribbons on the arms.

• Golden Yellow ribbon - 129C (The real ribbon is a little more muted in tone.)
• Darker Avacado Green - Between 384C and 391C
• Ligther Blue-Green – 558
• Lighter Pink - 698C (The real ribbon a little lighter though.)
• Darker Pink - Between 182c & 183c

Below I'm providing color matches for YLI 13mm silk ribbon and 5/8" Satin Silk ribbon. The YLI is the right type of silk, but it's quite a bit narrower than what's used on the costume (I believe that the costume uses the discontinued 18mm ribbon). 5/8" ribbon is close to the correct width, but the satin is heavier and shinier. It's a toss up, at the moment if I can't find more 18mm ribbon some place I will probably get the satin because at least it's visually the right width.

YLI 13mm Silk Ribbon - Matches based on stock on hand at Lacis. (The [link= http://www.discountneedlework.com/images/silkribbonchart.gif ]printed sample card[/link] is useless for color matching.)

• Light Green = 031
• Dark Green = 20 seemed close, but I have a feeling all of the colors weren't in stock and there may be something closer.
• Yellow = 35
• Light Pink = 005
• Dark Pink = 112

Satin Silk Ribbon - Color Chart

• Green = #31
• Dark Green = #136 is close and more on the green side, #134 is also close but a little more of a blue-green
• Yellow = Nothing was a good match. #76 was too yellow, #128 was too dark of a gold.
• Light Pink = #11 looked closest leaning on the peachy pink side, but #03 is close too (a tad pinker)
• Dark Pink = #69 is closest, but quite a bit lighter. The other pinks were either too dark or too bright.”

- Kay_dee

• Photos of kay_dee's neckline construction.

• 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.
• As discussed above, a circle skirt made from 3 panels is the most accurate option.
• ”After embellishing the outer layer, I assembled each skirt layer, using French seams and leaving the back center partially open for zipper installation. I then basted both layers together along the top and the zipper opening. I attached the skirt layers as one unit to the inside of the yoke, put in the zipper and then sewed the outside of the yoke down to enclose the seam. For the many yards of hem, I sewed YLI Fusible Thread a ¼” below the hemline, folded on the stitches and ironed it to fuse a very smooth line. After trimming, I turned the hem up another ¼” and stitched it in place with regular thread. It gives you a tidy narrow hem without the hassle of a hem foot.” – Mirax

“I brought several spools of rayon & Viscose embroidery thread with me, and Gutermann 8910 was the closest match to the green vines. It may have been a little darker than the real vines. Or, it may have been a dead on match and the vines on the skirt just optically appeared slightly lighter because of the way I was seeing the thread on the chiffon, rather than on a solid spool. Gutermann 8595 in not a match, and Sulky 1209 Light Avacado has too much blue in it, but it is about the right tint as far as lightness of color goes.”

• 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."
• Obi-Dawn does her vining with a tight zig-zag stitch. "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. As for my chemise, 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 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 the green vining using the button hole stitch on the sewing machine. I did it in a crisscross cross pattern."
• Mirax used the Triple Stitch on her machine to create the vines.

• kay_dee experimented with hand embroidering her vines using a chain stitch, an embroidery hoop, and Solvy stabilizer. The results were turning out nicely 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."

• Obi-Dawn made her own sequins by using a butterfly hole punch purchased at JoAnn's. The butterfly punch is made by Provo Craft (#34-0069). She punched the butterflies from a product called Shimmer Sheetz. Obi-Dawn added, "I can get 200 butterflies out of each sheet of mylar. I've gone through eight sheets so far (1600 sequins).
• Liannb also 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. #7 is the correct shape. It was a bit spendy at $36." Mirax used this punch with Shimmer Sheetz for her second version.
• Obi-Anne 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. (cut and paste link)
• 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.

• Obi-Dawn glued on her sequins in free formed lines and then played 'connect the sequins' on her sewing machine to add the vining. 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. 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."
• Mirax drew her vines right on the silk with a water-soluble blue marking pen (from JoAnns) which she had pretested!! She then glued down the sequins along the blue lines and sewed the vines through each sequin. The ink disappeared once the silk was