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Topic:
Padme Purple Dress - Loyalist Committee
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
8/9/05 11:03am
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Thanks for the concern - I've never fainted from wearing a costume before so it was pretty scary feeling when it happened. The last time I fainted was about 5 years ago in Montana when I was smelling/watching cattle branding and castration... a combo of dehydration and pure disgust. I thought it only happened to people who wore the full on body and mask costumes. I remember Obi-Dawn was afraid of what might happen in her Janice costume last year. I don't remember the hotels being too hot, so I'll just keep moving around and try to stay hydrated a bit... although going to the bathroom means I have to run up to my hotel room and disrobe so that's no picnic either! LOL! If everything works out for the MOTF contest I'll just try to explain to whoever's handling it that I can't stand still in the line-up that long on the back wall and I'll need to walk from time to time to keep the blood circulating. I seriously don't know how people handle the more elaborate Amidala costumes! I'm just a weakling 
As for sitting, I take my velvet coat off so as not to crush it and I sit on the edge of a chair. But when I ate lunch at Comic-Con it was just easier for me to stand at a table.
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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kreleia
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
8/9/05 1:29pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Oh kay-dee, the revamp of your "how-to" site looks GREAT!! And you look lovely in the pictures!
And, yeah, like everyone else here has said, take care of yourself while in the costume! Definitely keep hydrated, and maybe loosen the corset just a tiny bit (every millimeter of room helps in those things). And if it ever gets to the point that you can't stand wearing it any longer, DEFINITELY excuse yourself to go change. No one here wants you to get sick in the costume, or find yourself passing out again. And take someone with you to make sure that people don't stop you for photos while you're on your way. Other than that, it looks wonderful!!
-----signature-----
 all ur base... i haz dem.
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Obi-Dawn Kenobi
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
8/9/05 2:01pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
- Date Edited:
8/9/05 2:02pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Obi-Dawn Kenobi
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You know, as I was thinking about it after my last post, I remembered how long I had to stand around in the MOTF contest a few years back. I think your plan of letting the people in charge know that you will need to walk around every once in a while througout the waiting time is a really good idea. And having a friend around who can have water available to you is great too! 
Wow, I do recall being really worried that I would faint last year in my Janice costume because of the heat. But luckily the adrenaline kicked into overdrive and I never felt faint once that entire night. So maybe the fun and excitement of being at the con and in the contest will keep you going a bit longer too.
I think the changes to your website look fantastic!
-----signature-----
http://makingmischief.net/ "In this interdependent world, war is outdated." -The Dalai Lama
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Sister_Sola
Title: Manager, Costuming & Props
Registered:
Nov '02
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Date Posted:
8/9/05 5:58pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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kay_dee, your new pictures look so beautiful!
Sorry to hear you were fainting! I didn't find it too hot indoors last year in the layers of velvet etc., it was just hard standing waiting for that long. Once you've been on the stage and are just waiting for the rest of the contestants to take their turns and the judges to complete, you should be able to grab a nearby chair (maybe Maggie can save one at the back row for you) and take your coat off until the end of the contest is approaching, and sit down. Maybe they can let you go near the beginning, so you can sit most of the time.
-----signature-----
Dragon*Con '08 pics: http://www.sistersola.com/dcon08/dcon08.html --------------------------------------------------------
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SWCostumer
Registered:
Jan '05
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Date Posted:
8/11/05 12:28pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Kay-Dee: Having vast experience in wearing velvets, stays and hoops in extremely hot conditions, I can definitely agree with the suggestions given to you. Be sure that your corset is not too tight over your kidneys. If you can feel pressure at that point, tell whoever is lacing you to loosen it just a smidge.
As for staying hydrated, drink small amounts of water but frequently. And get to know your inner body. You can get to a point where you can tell that any more fluids will require a visit to the privies, so that is when you should stop drinking for a short while. I was able to go from 9:30 am until 7pm without ever visiting the restroom but stayed hydrated even during days with temps above
90 F.
By the way, that is a very pretty dress and it should definitely be seen by as many people as possible.
Stay well!
-----signature-----
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FERDALUMP
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
8/11/05 3:57pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Kay_dee-- I just had to say that I think your dress is absolutely breathtaking, and you should be so proud of your amazing accomplishment. It does seem like a lot of us have been on a long journey with this costume, and it is so neat to see you finally come across the finish line. I cannot wait to see it in person--hopefully I'll see you at Dragon Con.
BTW--Kudos on the amazing pictures. The details photographed beautifully. I love that you recreated the poses.
-----signature-----
See! Monkeys Can Sew!!  http://www.ferdalump.com "I intend to be great all by myself." ~Lex Luthor "The Suspense is Killing me...I hope it lasts!" ~Willy Wonka
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
8/11/05 6:49pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Thanks for the addtional hydrating tips SWCostumer I paced myself pretty well at Comic-con so I hope I can do the same at D*con.
Ferd! Yes, I'm sure we'll run into eachother at D*Con! You know it's the adorable recreation you made for Sydney that made me think "Hey, I'd like to give this one a try." It's often seeing what others have done that makes me think "Ok, this is possible." You know, I tried to recreate the pose from the back and the pose with the arm showing the embroidery. The rest of the stuff was just random, and I couldn't get a good serious one from the front because I just looked angry. No big deal though, it's OK for Padme to smile in this costume
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
9/20/05 9:11am
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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I just got back from FIDM and here are a few additional observations on this costume. Note, it was in the back row and I did my best to look at details with binoculars, but I would have had a better look if it was in the front row.
1) Embroidery - It looked like cording with fine flecks of metallic bits in it - almost like glitter. It diddn't seem to be pure metallic though. I've never seen cording with metallic flecks in it, so I suppose couching a satin cord with a mettllic thread is the next best thing (And there is still a slight chance that's how the real thing was done, but I lean toward it being a cord with metallic flecks worked in).
2) The fabric was not as shiny as a typical taffeta. This was more matte and with the binoculars you could see there was a slight texture to the weave. Perhaps it was a matte taffeta. It was not a smooth and satiny looking as charmeuse.
I tried to eyeball a close pantone color on the skirt and bodice fabric. One of these days I'll make a trip to the hardware store to give people a corresponding paint chip color.
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
9/20/05 6:51pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
- Date Edited:
9/20/05 7:15pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
kay_dee
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Ah, I finally cracked open my Dressing a Galaxy book and there is a nice close up of the embroidery. It looks similar to some of the emroidery that was on the touchy feely wall of the exhibit. A very tight satin stitching done over a cord base to kind of raise it up and give it more texture. It almost seems like they satin stitched over a thick cord (maybe silvery metallic in tone), and where there are gaps in the satin stitching you get glimpses of the metallic cord underneath? It's just a theory, the book didn't seem to have any notes on the exact technique used.
Another more likely theory is that they somehow were able to work in flecks of glitter and get them stuck into the embroidery. I believe there are flosses with flecks of glitter worked into them. Perhaps something like this glitter floss.
The book also mentions that the headdress is made of gold circular coils over a cage base. Bit it's not clear to me if if it is solid metal pattern wire strips or if it is a synthetic material (such as styrene used on another headdress) plated in gold. I guess I'll never know?
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
10/13/05 12:39pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
- Date Edited:
10/13/05 2:05pm (3 edits total)
Edited By:
kay_dee
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Here is more info about the Purple Senate Dress provided by Biba-Girl when we met her during "Fan Day" at FIDM. This is all information she was nice enough to check on for me and her recollections from preparing for the exhibit:
1) The Skirt Support - There is a dark purple hoop skirt or Farthingale under the Senate Dress. But why does it lay so flat in front? The Hoop channels are filled with something much more flimsy than steel hoop wire - perhaps something like Rigilene or plastic boning. It actually collapses under the weight of the skirt.
2) Corset She said there is a corset built just under the bodice, but it is built into it (not a seperate piece that can be removed). I believe she said it was "Cotton" like a coutile - but I could be wrong about this because we were also talking about the black corset gown which has a cotton corset under the leather outer piece. This was one of the manequins that was shipped pre-dressed in costume, but the bodice had shifted sideways during shipment and they had to undress her a little to get it straightned back into the correct position.
3) The Tabard and Sleeve Embroidery - The tight satin stitching over cording was done using a rare embroidery machine. It would take forever to replicate this by hand, but if you do a very tightly couched satin stitch over a cord you can. Most of the embroidery is done with purple thread (perhaps a rayon or viscose?) but at random intervals a metallic thread is worked into the satin stitching to give it "sparkle". In the end, I think the easiest way to cheat this look by hand is by using bourdon cord (cord wrapped with rayon) and couching it down with metallic floss.
4) Back closure of the bodice - According to biba-girl, the bodice actually laces up the back!
I really wish I had thought to have her take a look at the neckline of the bodice since it's covered by the coat.
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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PadawansGuide
Registered:
Sep '02
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Date Posted:
10/13/05 1:23pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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I *think* the kind of machine used on the cording is a Cornely embroidery machine. I know it was mentioned in conjunction with the cording on the wedding gown. I thought it was mentioned for the senate gown too...
-----signature-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Padawan's Guide: http://www.padawansguide.com The Costumer's Guide: http://www.costumersguide.com My Costume Page: http://www.costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
10/13/05 3:05pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Ha - I started doing research on 'chain stitch embroidery machine' and found this:
Cornelly industrial embroidery machines
I'm afraid to find out what these machines cost!
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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PadawansGuide
Registered:
Sep '02
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Date Posted:
10/13/05 8:43pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Oh, good! I thought it was Cornelly - I just spelled it wrong! :-)
-----signature-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Padawan's Guide: http://www.padawansguide.com The Costumer's Guide: http://www.costumersguide.com My Costume Page: http://www.costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Benae_Quee
Title: FanForce CR, New York City, NY
Registered:
Nov '02
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Date Posted:
12/7/05 5:02pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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So tonight I spent an hour dye testing samples of the flame fabric I found on sale. Well, I really hate Polyester lol. The pile took the color beautifully without any traces of the original tan color, the back however... it decided to stay tan 
I made the dye bath according the instructions and used three colors. I used Navy Blue, Purple, and an equal mix of Purple and Navy Blue. I cut the samples into two and left one in for 30 minutes and the other for 60. After 30 minutes the color of the pile was great, I found the navy blue to be more what I was looking for, though the mixed one was nice too. The purple came out way too red toned for me, tough it would a nice color for something else. At 60 minutes the color was the same, but some of the pile fibers looked ratty and as if they were missing (I guess they disintegrated).
I'm doing research into what I can use on a polyester fiber that won't destroy the natural pile fibers. My fabric was cheap ($4/yd), so if if nothing works I can make great curtains or something from it 
I'd take pictures, but I'm cameraless at the moment
On a side note: I decided not to waste the dye and tie-dyed tee shirts for my fiance and I (I hope he likes purple lol). I also took some scraps of silk and ombre dyed them, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, I think I may try to tackle the Flame Handmaiden costume in the future
-----signature-----
 ObiWill and BenaeQuee Happily Married Geeks since May 28, 2006 - My Etsy Shop - http://www.BenaeQuee.etsy.com
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kay_dee
Title: SFFF VIP
Council Member & Webmaster
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
12/7/05 8:45pm
Subject:
RE: Padme Purple Dress
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Oh, I had no idea this velvet was now being made in polyester. Did you use Rit dye? Rit is supposed to work on some polyesters - but I guess the results can vary.
- Kay Dee
-----signature-----
Kay Dee's Costumes: http://kay-dee.net/costume The San Francisco Fan Force: http://www.sffanforce.com Rebel Legion - Endor Base: http://www.endorbase.org
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