Padme Amidala Padme AOTC Battle Outfit

There's a nice, big wallpaper on the official site that features Padmé in her battle outfit. You can see the texture of the fabric, so I'm guessing a knowledgeable person should be able to identify it (which I'm not Looks like some sort of cotton blend, but I'm not sure.)

 

I found a fabric that is about 95% accurate for the cape/shawl yesterday. Bought it.
Still looking for 'rainbow' dress material. I asked one of my fabric store buddies and showed him the picture of the 'rainbow' dress.
He said that he had just had some sort-of a lot like that.
He gets loads of interesting samples from time to time.

Belt/holster/pouches: I am going to use leather. I bought a bag of assorted color scraps this summer.
I bought it for the green leather, but I did notice some winterwhite leather in there too.

Blaster: I think the EP I super-soaker toy will work fine for this.







And just when I think I have all of my costume projects organised........ I GOT ARMOR!!!!

 

Saw the shirt at Target that Nostradamus and Bant were talking about. That looks like a *really* good way to go, actually. Didn't get one for myself, though. Still gotta do more sit-ups... heh heh.

Anyway, I went searching high and low for any info I could find on "shelf bras," and (despite finding all kinds of exotic lingerie) there's where I'd seen it before - workout clothes and swimsuits! Leotards, one-piece suits and lycra tanks have them frequently now, as do just regular ol' tank tops. Here is a really good example of what I'm talking about. They're also popping up all over the place in t-shirts and camisoles.

It seems that, in all of my searching, the best thing to do is construct the bra from a swimsuit pattern - unless you can find another really good shirt that already has one in it, or you swipe one from a swimsuit. To find a swimsuit pattern, you can either dig through the books at the fabric store, or do a 'net search for "shelf bra pattern -lingerie" (the -lingerie part keeps the skanky sites from showing up).

I hope that's a usable idea to someone!
kreleia ^.^

 

Since this one is going to be for Quincy, I don't need to worry about the bra..... :/

I washed all of the fabric for this last night. Soon, soon.....very soon.

 

Well, yeah, I was thinking maybe that would help Bant out a little. Quincy is somewhat young yet, isn't she? **grin**

I can't wait to see these costumes...

kreleia ^.^

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

If the shelf-bra is anything like sports bras, I think I may still have a problem. <blush> I'll work on it, though.

The mock-neck top is good, but the sleeves are too long. I'll have to shorten them. (They go past my fingertips!)
Also, I saw some stretch-khaki type pants at Mervyn's....very light tannish-off white color. Can this type of material be successfully bleached? The waist and all are correct. (Don't know about the fit...I didn't see any smaller than a 4.) and...if I can bleach it, will it ruin the fabric?

 

You might be able to bleach it - it depends on the fabric content. If it's all synthetic (all poly/rayon/lycra, etc), then no, it won't bleach at all. (strange, eh?) If it's mostly cotton or natural fibers, like some stretch fabrics are (95% cotton, 5%lycra), then you'll be able to bleach it no problem.

As for ruining the fabric, well, it depends on how strong your bleach content is. I wouldn't go dumping the pants into a bucket of straight bleach unless you want holes within a week. But if you use maybe 1/4 cup (or even less) in a small wash load, the fabric should be okay. There are bleach alternatives you can try too - Rit makes a color remover that might work, and would be more gentle on the fabric. It's in a white box located with all the other dye boxes. (I don't know how well it will work, though, since I've never used it.)

Good luck!
kreleia ^.^

 

Thanks, krleia, for the suggestions. :~) I might try the Rit color remover (I'd forgotten about that!)....I believe the pair I was looking at was a 97% cotton/3% lycra blend, but I'm not certain.

Hope you had a nice holiday!

 

Okeedokey---I finally started on this one last night....

I sewed the cape-thing for the battle costume last night. Does anyone have any idea how the cape is supposed to be secured in the back? I was playing around with it on Quincy last night. I was getting it to look somewhat like it is supposed to by tying the ends together behind her neck and then tucking them under the back part of the cape. I will figure out something besides a knot in the fabric for the final closure. A knot is too bulky, maybe just a loop..........and after I got as much sewed on that as it needed, I started on the belt.

I sewed the pants lest night too, but I am having a big problem with the fabric running. I decided to stop and get some fabric advice to day before the fabric gets totally ruined. I did make the pants fit Quincy quite tightly and I plan to make the top fit her quite tightly as well. It will run, unless I do something about it. I wanted to use a material that has enough substance, the she didn't need to wear anything else under it.
Hmmmmm.

 

My problem was solved today. Two words.

Ballpoint needles.

I took the first pair of leggings with me and I took the box of needles that I had in my machines along and then went to the masters. I knew source of the problem wsa the needles I was using.

Then I got to work on Quincy's Amidala Episode II battle costume. I have the cape, top and bottom done. I made the belt and armbands. I need to make the belt pouches, holster and shin guards. I am taking a little break to check my mail. I am working on the shin guards right now.

I made the top way too tight. She could bearily put it on. So, to make it a bit roomier, and more accurate, I made a larger gusset under the arms and continued it down the length of the sleeve.
She has been wearing it all afternoon now.

I think it worked.
I will take some pictures soon.

 

Nostradamus--thanks for the updates. I'm looking forward to seeing those pictures!

and...could you explain what the problem you had was for me? I'm a bit of a dunce when it comes to needle types, etc.....any bit of wisdom I can gather is helpful.

(Thanks!)

 

When the needles were going through the fabric, the points were cutting & tearing the threads. You couldn't tell at first, until you took the fabric and tried to pull the pieces apart. Then it started to run like cheap nylons. The ballpoint needles are ever-so-slightly rounded, so they move the sewing thread between the threads of the fabric.
I used a swimming suit type material from part of the Queen Amidala black gown last year and I did not have this problem, even though it was a similar fabric. Maybe the needle I was using was just so dull, it had become a ballpoint.
Oh well. I learn something new every day.

Tomorrow I am going to work on the shin guards some more. I feel they should be padded. I need to get some sheet foam tomorrow. My design seems to work fine on paper, but how well it will translate to 3 dimensions and leather could be an other story.

 

Here we go:

Padme/Amidala battle costume pictures

LMK what you think, and I know the shoes are wrong. Quincy's feet seem to be growing at the rate of one size per month, so I am going to wait to get her new ones for this, or if I find the perfect ones, I will get them 2 sizes bigger so she can still wear them at Celebration II.

Now onto the next costume!

 

AAAHHHHH!!! Quincy is SO CUTE!!! **wants to pinch her cheeks** The costume turned out fabulous, Nostradamus!!! VERY VERY nice indeed! My only critique is being able to see her shirt tucked into the pants, but I understand that she needs it longer for the growth factor. So, CONGRATS!! WOOHOOO!!!

kreleia ^.^

 

Thanks kreleia!

Quincy does have a visible line there......and she was not too co-operative when I took the pictures. She said the sun was in her eyes, and it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside yesterday morning. I had to get everything set to shoot and straighten her out and then walk backwards down our icy front stairs......and then she was complaining that it was cold. We were only outside for about 5 minutes total.

I still may have to re-do the shirt and leggings. The fabric is still running a little at the seams. I will have to get new fabric, because I ran out of the white.
I could look for a sturdier fabric then too.

 

Neato pictures, Nostradamus! Does Quincy know how fortunate she is? Her own personal costumer! :~)

I have a new thought on the top for the battle costume....high-neck leotard. I'm looking into them....the only problem might be the lines from it showing through the pants.

 

After seeing the new Insider scans, I noticed that the top seems to be more of a mock-neck, and there is some tucking around the collar---thoughts?

 

Maybe the tucking is what created the pattern on the front of the shirt? It's kinda looks like tucks or some sewed foldings for the pattern.

Arrgghh, I can't find any White Cotton Lycra and white/ivory vinyl around now and the other alternative are too thin for me and my brown skin. Really want to get over with this costume ASAP as it suppose to be the easiest of this batch of my costumes.

 

I have the same problem with skin tone, Darth Eagle. I may end up just wearing tights underneath. Also, I'm waiting just a bit longer on finding the pants (I have leggings that would do in a pinch) because the spring collections and their lighter-colored pants are just making an appearance, it would seem

A big gigantic thank you to Reka for helping me pin my shirt this weekend! :~) It's almost impossible to pin-fit something on yourself, so I am extremely grateful for her help as well as her advice on this.

 

Hi!

I was just wondering if you guys had seen this picture yet? It shows the top really well.

[image=http://theforce.net/collecting/toyfair2002/tcg_display_photo1.jpg]

 

My next generation of the costume will look more like that then. That is a really good picture!

 

Cool! Wish I can stand in front of the Stand right now and absorb all the things about the Battle Suit . . .

 

I am loving this outfit more and more. What I love is the simplicity of the bodysuit. No complicated patterns or embroidery.

 

You can use a shiny silver tape at Home Depot or Lowes. It is as wide as ducttape. Tape it to some thin flimsy plastic and put it on your arm with velcro possibly.

 

Hey! Very nice pic Obi-Dawn Kenobi!! Yes, the one good thing about this costume is the simpleness, but I'm worried because of how well fitted it is... I'm not sure if you guys have already discussed it... or what, but what do you guys think???

Oh, and are any of you attempting to do the cape thingy with this outfit??

-~Dorme~-