Padme Amidala Padme Purple Dress - Loyalist Committee

I'm glad I'm not the only one that can see the bluish side to the dress Mrs_M You do bring up a good point about the hair. It could be tiny braids or just finely dreaded. Think of the amount of time that will take. Not to mention how tired someone's hands will be after doing it. Oh well, I still really want to make this costume anyway. It's absolutely gorgeous.

 

They are a bunch of tiny little braids. Looking at my close-ups from c2 they are like tiny tiny little braids. And about 1000 of them better start now....

 

Thanks amaunet That is going to take a long time to do. I don't know what I'm getting myself into with this costume.

 

It may be better(and possibly cheaper) to buy pre-braided hair.

I was thinking of creating a form to attach the hair and "basket rings" to, shaped like the headress. Any suggestions on what to use for this? I seriously doubt if cardboard would work! P

Also, another interesting question: If you dye that white fabric to the right color, will you still get the two-toned color of Padme's dress? Or will the whole fabric be the same color?

 

I took a whole ton of pictures of this dress at C2, and I've uploaded them here:

C2 Photos

There's a really good closeup picture of the headdress and hair, and I took closeups of every angle I could get. Ofoto reduced the size of the pictures a bit, so if you'd like a copy of the original, just PM me with the picture number(s) and I'll send them to you by email. The color on these pictures is pretty darn true to life.

-Kirsten

 

KirstenSolo: Thank you thank you thank you for posting those pictures! They will definitely be a BIG help! And your pictures of the headdress/hair answer the question of braids once and for all!

afaeryschild: Thanks for posting that link for silkconnection.com. That burnout pattern looks nearly identical. It's perfect! Time to start setting aside money to buy the fabric for this costume, 'cause it's going to take a lot of yardage!

As for dying that white velvet, it'll take some work. I don't think this is something that you can do with cheapy Rit dye. The silk backing will take dye really well, since it's a natural fiber, but the rayon pile is another story. No matter what kind of dye you use, the rayon pile won't dye as well as the silk backing. But maybe that's a good thing, because the pattern will show better. Time to check out the dyes at Dharma Trading Company, methinks!

All good things,
Kelly

 

Thanks for the advice on dyeng the fabric kelbee. It's very much appreciated

kirsten-Those are great pics. Thanks for posting them!

 

Oops, forgot to post the URL for Dharma Trading Company! http://www.dharmatrading.com

I've been browsing through their site myself, and it looks like what we would need to dye rayon/silk devore velvet is the "Procion Liquid H Series Concentrates". The "blue violet" color looks about right. What I am planning to do before I order anything, however, is call up Dharma Trading to talk with one of their reps and make sure that it's the right dye for the job. They are the experts!

And I need to figure out yardage for that velvet from Silk Connection...I'm thinking maybe 6, 7 yards for the outer coat? I guess it depends on how wide the fabric is.

All good things,
Kelly

 

Did I say 6 or 7 yards? I obviously wasn't taking those massive sleeves into account...probably more like 8-10 yards. And I just noticed those bolts are only 45" wide, so maybe even more than that for a tall person like me.

Don't mind me. Just thinking out loud.

All good things,
Kelly

 

8-10 sounds about right kelbee. I need to get a job so I can actually make this dress.

 

It's me again.

Anyone who got the opportunity to see this dress at Celebration II, I'm wondering about the vine detail on the front panel of the dress and the sleeves. Was it embroidered, or was it lace? Looking at the pictures, it looks like it could be either.

All good things,
Kelly

 

Kelly I think I remember someone saying that it is beaded. And from looking at pictures, it looks that way to me too.

Anyone have any thoughts on what to mount the hair one for the headpiece? I had in mind to make some sort of hollow "frame" and then glue the hair on to cover it. Anything other than something hollow would make the thing too heavy! Light is the key here! lol

I was thinking maybe some sort of basket weave....or even paper mache?? I have no clue!!

 

KirstenSolo, those are some amazing CII pics! Too bad that most of them are sideways--I was tempted to upend my monitor while viewing them. Doesn't Ofoto provide a rotate feature?

Kelbee, actually rayon takes dye about as well as cotton. Rayon is a natural cellulose-based material, but it's formed into thread through artificial means, hence its reputation as a man-made fabric. And you needn't worry about the dye obscuring the pattern of the devore velvet--the difference in texture between the velvet parts and the burnout parts is what forms the pattern, not a color difference.

Good luck to anyone attempting this dress! Please do post progress reports occassionally, so that those of us who don't have the time/resources can participate vicariously...

 

This dress is next on my list, but my project has been halted temporarily due to lack of monetary funds. Whenever I get this project started I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I have decided to do this dress. I noticed in the credits of the movie they metion that special beading was done, and they give the name. I did some research and found the address, fax and phone number of the company. It's in Australia, and seems to be a pretty successfull buisness, doing bridal, evening and other works of art.

I'm going to draw out some sketches on how I am doing this. I'll probably hold off on the velvet outer gown for a bit and save up for it. But I'll be working on the hair piece, the undergown and the beading I'm going to do. I'm really going to take my time with this. Also I was thinking without the outer dress it can look like a very normal evening gown, very pretty too.

 

I think the headpiece is KEY to this costume! Having a good headpiece will make or break the accuracy of the costume. I am still debating on how to do it, myself! Especially the "tip" of it...The part you see when looking at it from the back. There appears to be some sort of layers or "waves", if that makes sense...

You can see what I mean in this picture and this one.

Anyone have any ideas?

This headpiece sure has me stumped...

 

It looks to me like the ends of the little braids are just coiled. I bet you could do this if you braid the hair around some wire. That way it will stay in the desired shape. Also concerning the 'basket' part on the hair piece. I'm not sure it's actually a basket. I keep seeing light reflect off of it as if is actually metal of some kind.

What do you all think?

 

I definitely think that it is metal. Sometimes the headpiece looks almost like it's copper color to me. But in some of the pics that I look at it looks more gold. What do you guys think?

 

In the 2 pics provided, the headdress looked like it was a gold color. I think they have a wig insie the "cage" part , weave padme's hair into some of it and secure it w/ bobby pins. I can't tell what material it's made of, it'd HAVE to be some lightweight for Padme's sake. Can't be cloth , maybe aluminum painted gold. I'm guessing. <shrugs shoulders>

Padawan Mynn

 

The two pics provided by Mrs_M definitely look gold. I'll have to search through all of my pics to so I can find one to show what I am talking about.

 

I am planning on making this dress to fit a child--for Halloween. I already bought my materials for the dress and coat--and here's how I plan to make the headpiece. I plan to use embroidery hoops (the wood ones) in different sizes to create the circular part of the frame- they will be etched with a wood burner to create the designs, and I will remove the pin and hinge. I am going to use small small reeds to create the lateral parts of the frame and connect the pieces with small wood tacks. I plan to use gold (or copper?) leaf to give the appearance of metal. The hoops will be placed slightly off center. I was then going to take polyester batting and spray it with sparay adhesive then affix the fake hair to it. I would then slightly roll it (sort of like a cone) and insert it into the frame. For the "tip" of the piece I thinking of taking a circular piece of styrofoam (not a ball--but one that looks like a hamburger patty) and cut out a small hole in the center. I would then take an extra piece of fake hair and secure one end with a rubber band. I would then braid the hair into tiny braids. I would then insert the rubber banned part thru the hole and secure it with a pin--the braided parts would then come out of the hole and cover the styrofoam-I would secure the look with some tiny sequin pins. I would then pull the braids around to the back and make it into a ponytail on the backside around the existing rubber banded portion (Make sense at all?? ) Then to finish I would stitch the hair covered disc to the piece using fake hair. I would then heavily spray the piece with hairspray. I might need to secure sections of the piece to the hair with some glue. To wear this piece--I plan on giving her a high ponytail--with all her hair heavily slicked back. Her ponytail will hide inside the cone made of batting and hair. I would then secure with bobby pins.

Sorry I'm so lenghthy--just trying to explain myself well--and give ya'll the jist of my mind racing a mile a minute. Let me know what you think of my ideas.

P.S. I am arguing myself as to what color all that piping is. I sometimes think it's mauve, and sometimes lavender, and sometimes purple. What do ya'll think???

Thanks for listening!
--Ferd

 

It's okay to be lengthy, FERD You've helped me out a lot. I know you talked about the headpiece, but what are you planning to do for the dress? I want to make it, but I want it to be good. And as for the piping, I would say that it looks more mauve to me than lavender or purple, but the way the light shines on it sometimes it does look to be another color.

 

I found the fabric at this great store in town that has an awesome 4th of July sale (40% off) I got a beautiful midnight purple ( a dead on match to the pictures I had) in a matte satin. I was going to use the silk connection velvet ( but when I called to order it was out of stock until august?) I thought about embossing the velvet--but I found a great deep purple velvet that has an awesome crinkle kinda look to it--and I think it looks an awful lot like the original. I then got a bunch of swaroski crystals in a few different sizes in Jet AB, Bermuda Blue, Capri Blue, Vitrail Med, also some black irredescent sequins and bugle beads to do the center "V" and embellishments of the jacket. I plan to use some middy braid in the color and I plan to do the "celtic" kind of embroidery to the skirt and inner sleeves. I was going to build in a stiff net petticoat in the lining to give the right regal look. I just am trying to decide what color of fabric to use to make all that piping. I plan on posting a picture of the materials--just because they look so pretty just laying there. I would be happy to help explain how I'm constructing it (a tutorial?) the only thing is that my version is going to be very small (a child's size 5) As far as yardage--I bought 6 yards of 48" velvet and 5 yards of 60" wide satin. I bought 25 yards of middy braid, and I think 5 gross of stones, and a bunch of sequins and beads. I just need lining, net and that blessed piping material and cord.
Ferd
By the way---How many days until Halloween???

 

It's a sad testament to what a freak of nature I am when it comes to Halloween that I can tell you without having to consult a calendar that there are 116 days left until Halloween, Ferd.




-sg

 

LOL surly! My parents don't let me trick or treat anymore. So the best I can hope for is to find a party to go to.

I'm still trying to decide on the fabric for the inner dress. I found some cheap fabric bonanza stuff at JoAnns. And the color is pretty close, but it is much too thin. So I think I may need to get satin for this. The only question is if I can find the right color.

Do you think that she wore a hoop skirt underneath? There has to be some kind of support for that heavy velvet.