Padme Amidala Padme's gold Refugee/travel gown

I want to make the dress Padme wears as she and Anakin are traveling to Naboo, but I am at a loss as to how to make the metal headress that she wears with it. I was looking at some other posts on here and saw where a lady had made this costume for her little girl and it looked spectacular, so I e-mailed her to ask her how she had went about it, but never recieved a reply. :-( I would really apreiciate any help with the dress and/or the headdress. Thanks!!

S_S edit: updated title

 

You mean Nostradamus.

Well, she a little busy but I think you can catch her better in this thread.

Just my opinion; you can try to make it using a system of Metal Wire (12 gauge maybe?), Wire Mesh (aka Chicken Coop Mesh), Paper Marche, and something that is like a skull cap (maybe from some Plastic Bowl Hall?). If going for the one that has the lace on top of it, you will have a chance to just use just something circular under it.

 

Hey there! There is a thread on this dress, but I think it would be several pages back now. Nostradamus made one for Quincy, and she is often online with great tips and info--don't fret, I'm sure she'll get back with you when she has time.

I believe the original was done with piano wire and then had copper sheeting placed on top and the metal has a bettina aged effect. How you can re-create it is really going to depend on what level of accuracy you are wanting to achieve. A lot of lesser unconventional materials can be used to give the same effect, but without dealing in copper and such.

I would recommend looking into creating a rough frame using chicken wire and masking tape. Then cover it with paper mache'. You can then "modge podge" copper and other metallic like materials, or create the illusion of metal with decorative paint.

Have you made the dress yet? I'd love to see your progress.

~Ferd

 

That was what I was thinking too Ferd! I know I read somewhere about Kathy talking about her making the dress. Or was it in one of Amidala's Costume thread or 2002 Project thread? ?

Oh, don't forget Padawans' Guide aka Maggie's write up on this costume!

 

Thanks Darth_Eagle and Ferd! I haven't started on it yet, it's still in the "concept" phase. I am looking for the right material to use (very open to suggestions since I am a novice at this costuming stuff.) I have made a Princess Leia ANH dress (the 1st one she wears,not the award ceremony dress) that turned out rather well, but it was pretty simple patternwise and materialwise.This dress will be more difficult so any tips/hints/suggestions from anyone will be much apreciated!

 

Whoa----sorry I didn't get back to you sooner----I get so many emails everyday that I don't get to respond to them all immediately.
Yes, I am pretty sure I put the information on what I did to make that costume in the 2002 costume projects thread.
I made the solid headpiece out of an assortment of plastic crystal serving ware, styrofoam, papar mache, hot glue, paint and lace trim.

 

I thought I'd put this information here since this thread is listed in the Thread Index.

I was just at the FIDM Dressing a Galaxy exhibit and I observed this costume at length, as promised in the FIDM assignments thread.

Close guesses on the colours is a deep grape, and what I can only describe as a 'dull mustard' for the base fabric, which they had a swatch of on the 'touching wall' at the exhibit, without any embroidery. The green in the embroidery looked like a moss green to me.

I did get very closeup shots in very hi res of the embroideries as they were on the 'touching wall', so I was able to put the camera right beside them. I will have those up in a few days and will add the links here.

The shoulder cape does not have a piping, but an embroidered edge that appears to be the same moss green thread included in the embroidery designs. The cape is lined, with a deep grape (probably silk satin) lining that matches the purple in the embroidery (thanks to Biba-Fett for that information).

 

Unlocked for recent query

 

Thank you, Sister_Sola.

I'm thinking about making this costume in the near future. Well, as soon as I finish my Boushh. Does anyone know what kind of lace is used on the headpiece? I know there are different types of lace, but I don't know what this is. It almost looks like that stretchy pucker lace that tops are sometimes made out of. I'm also thinking of doing the dress pattern in iron-on transfers. I haven't ever used those, so I don't know if that's a good idea or not.

 

Hi Symina. This is a costume I've always really liked but all that embroidery makes it a bit daunting. I'll be interested to see how your iron on idea works. Will you do the iron ons that your can print out yourself to get the same design of the embroidery?

The headdress is described as being made from Maltese Lace in the Dressing a Galaxy book. Here are some links about laces made in the Maltese style:

http://lace.lacefairy.com/Articles/Maltese.htm

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/lace_making_collecting/24937

I don't know how easy it is to come by real Maltese lace though.

 

Thanks, I just read too on Padawan's guide that it was the same lace used on the wedding veil. I did a search on eBay and there are some pieces on there, but much too small and MUCH too expensive for me.

Yes, I'm thinking about scanning the pattern into Photoshop and printing it on as big of pieces of paper as I can. I don't know if that will look cheap or not. The only thing else I can think of is finding as close a pattern as I can, but those vertical designs makes it a bit tricky. You'd almost have to sew the panels in, but that would make extra seams. Hmm.

 

Hey Sonya!

IMO, it might turn out a little cheesy looking. Do a test run and see what you think first; it might look great!

Other option? It's time for another day trip to the Fashion District.

 

I've always loved this dress too! I actually went ahead and picked up the "small bubble" textured mustard fabric for the sleeves in case I ever do this dress. I found it at Walmart for $1 /yard.
Since the flowers were custom embroidered, I knew there was no way myself or my embroidery machine could embroider that much fabric, so at one point I looked at fabric printing by the yard. I found one company that does it and it was surprisingly affordable, but I can't find the address now. It might be http://www.advdigitaltextiles.com/ or this company. I can't wait to see how this dress turns out!

 

Hi Rachel!

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think it'll look bad. It needs dimension. I don't know if I'll just have to try to find something similar. I haven't been to the Fabric District in like, 8 years. That would be fun.

Something I find strange about the RL's costume standards is that the cape is required, when she doesn't wear it in the scene where she and Anakin are eating. I also want to do the version with the lace veil, but does that mean I HAVE to have the headpiece finished and viewable if I only want to wear it with the veil?

Cressie, what type of fabric is it that you picked up? I'm pretty much a novice at costume-making, but it kind of looks like rayon or silk to me.

 

I?ve found out that Maltese lace is a type of guipure (Venise) lace. This type of lace is easier to find and it?s still being made today. The pattern?s not the same, but it has more of the look of the original. Here?s a possibility that I found. I could buy real Maltese trim (easier to get than an allover pattern) and hand-sew it to the edge to get that scalloped look.

 

Talk to Becca or Mary Alice about that. Provide screen caps as well and point it out to them and see if they will make it an optional item.


Also, the lace looks cool. Make sure it's dyable, though!

 

Just an update on my fabric search (boy, I wish I knew where they got those fabrics!!!!) Here's a possibility...

[image=http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e56/sohall/110239.jpg]


Yeah, it's not that close, but I doubt I'd ever find anything very exact.


Man, I tried linking to it, but the website didn't like it at all. It thought I was a spammer. :'(