Padme Amidala Padme light blue Tatooine dress/cape

Arrrrgh, I frigging suck! I did the beading with knots in between... Do you know how long that took me?? I stayed up all night the last day of Celebration III trying to get that done! *kills self with blunt object* Well, I always knew I'd have to redo the skirt anyway, the beads need to be more greyish and I didn't sew enough flare into it *sigh*

Does that fabric look slightly velvety to anybody else? I thought it was smooth, satiny (not shiny) stretch fabric, but it looks like it has more texture than that.

And cool, it looks like the wraps are tacked on the sides, and the skirt gather tacked as well. I thought it was actually sewn across on the skirt gather, cool beans.

 

I'm a terrible person! I'm sorry... You're probably not even reading this thread anymore... But I'll scan in my sketches/notes tomorrow.

 

Okay, here we go...

These are my rough sketches of the actual costume. I just did these to get a feel for how it was put together. It's actually a coincidence that I sketched it blue, lol p

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/PrincessofMars/Tatooine.jpg]

What I learned from these sketches is that the hood itself forms part of the criss cross. The undershirt forms horizontal gathering and the part of the cross that goes over her breasts. The top part of the cross is in fact formed by the hood! It's all one piece, the wraps are not seamed onto the hood. You can see (looking at the bottom drawing) that the way it wraps is first the right underwrap, then the right overwrap, then the left underwrap and lastly the left overwrap.

Also you can see that the hood wraps actually fold up and meet at the V of the neck. Once I understood this, I understood how to do the pattern of the hood. I had to draw it backwards, it was very difficult. (very counterintuitive!) Here is my pattern for the hood, it's a very bizarre shape!

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/PrincessofMars/Hoodpattern.jpg]

Here are the important points in my notes

Hood
Forms uppermost wraps.

Cape
Continues around the arms to connect in back.

Shirt
Form fitting long sleeve, forms horizontal gathering and wraps underneath.

Skirt
Skirt is not a wrap. It has a front seam with drape and a back seam, also possible with a drape. The front seam should be straight, the back can flare.


The hood, cape and shirt are all sewn together at the back of the neckline. So at the back of the neckline there should be three thicknesses of fabric (not counting linings). It is all one piece, not separate like many people have made it!

There are tons of other things to talk about, but I want eventually to do a tutorial when I get my costume fixed up where I want it to be p

 

Holy crap! I just had an epiphany! Oh my gosh... Ok, just yesterday I was looking through pictures and I saw one of the more informal ones (no head piece) and peaking from the V or her shirt I saw what looked like the plastic end of a draw string. I was like, what the heck is that???

I'm currently reading the thread from the beginning and somebody said Trisha Biggar said the wrapping around her head we see under the big cloak is in fact the hood of the costume underneath. People said "but how is it so tight around her head then?" Well, there's a draw string in the hood! I don't know yet how it's attached or where exactly it is, or how they hide it, but it's there! Wow... I haven't heard anyone ever suggest that, I must do more research!

 

Another realization... Looking at the close up of the beads on the skirt, previous page. They're not spherical! They're discs. Great, that'll make them harder to find in the proper color... *sigh* I see this shape called 'disc' or 'coin' in my beading catalogue. They're either clear, or clear lt. grey. I can't tell if there's an Aurora Borealis or not... It looks like there might be...

This looks almost perfect [image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/PrincessofMars/CzechglasscrystalAB.jpg] http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H155027MD Here it is without the AB finish [image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/PrincessofMars/Czechglasscrystal.jpg] http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H155000MD You would want it in the 7mm, 10mm is too huge! You need 148 beads, so buy three strands.

The little black beads look like big seed beads in either black or jet, and the thread is black.

These look good http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H154484SB You would only need one package.

 

See the draw string??? It doesn't show enough that I can figure out how it forms what we see under her cloak hood... But that is definitely a draw string. [image=http://www.padawansguide.com/padme/cape/padme_cape_nohood.jpg] http://www.padawansguide.com/padme/cape/padme_cape_nohood.jpg Just in case it's not hi res. This photo is huuuuge.

I am feeling so alooone here... *sniff*

 

You're not alone.
Are you sure that's not her microphone peeking out? You may be right, but I always took that as a mic.

Those bead catologs you referenced before don't happen to have sequins in them, do thay? Particularly four-petaled ones? Always on the look-out for Picnic stuff.

Regards,
M.

 

This is the only thing they have with sequins http://www.firemountaingems.com/search.asp?skw=sequins I mean, I suppose you could take them apart, they look four petaled... but I think they're white

They don't mic people like that in movies. That's what those huge fluffy things they hang over people are for (you know, right outside of the shot) D

 

Thanks for the info on that necklace! I've got a request for more info in to the company.

Oh yeah, boom mics. Forgot about those.

Regards,
M.

 

This costume is SOOOO mysterious ! It has always been my favorite, as I think it reeeeally represents a mix between Luke and Leia's ANH costumes.

But what are we saying as to the Draw String ? I'm not sure to actually get the idea...I'm pretty sure that if the hood is actually worn Under the cloak (have we gotten any official informations, yet ?), the thingy-thing that hangs down the hood is actually there for a reason- perhaps it actually wraps around her neck- creating those pleats at the neck.

It's weird, I always thought the hood was actually very large and very loose when worn on her head, and that back would do a wonderful drape with the thingy-thing hanging in the back- hanging on her buns like Leia's hood in ANH...sigh...we will never actually see her wear it up...SIGH...
I would LOVE to see "Naboo_Girl" wearing the hood though, as I think it's the best reproduction I've ever seen of this costume.

 

The hood is very big and drapey, hence the drawstring. Somehow you pull the drawstring to tighten the hood around the head, and this is my guess... Perhaps the "wrap" around her neck is all the gathering from the hood pulled down. You'll notice that in the photos, the top of the hood is flush with her forehead, no gathering to be seen. Since the hood crisscrosses across her chest, the gathering would look horizontal if it was taken down to her neck.

I'm probably not making any sense... But perhaps eventually I can get a picture with my costume to show you. I don't have the drawstring, but I could make an approximation just for educational purposes D lol

 

Well I suppose I should show you my costume! I spent much of yesterday and today repairing the slapstick finishing I did Sunday morning of CIII! I took out a lot of machine stiching and hand sewed a bunch of stuff. I didn't quite think it through when I was putting it all together so I ended up with raw edges in strange places! For example, I didn't extend the hood lining through the wraps so I had this raw edge just hanging there on my shoulders... Turning it under and sewing it down is not much of an improvement. And I tacked down the wraps at the side seams.

There are so many things wrong with this costume and so many things that went wrong in the sewing process (like where did my skirt gathering go??? lol) And I wrapped it backwards! *dies* I can't fix it because of the underwrap I added (I only did it on one side since I couldn't see one on the other... silly I know) And of course, now I know the beading is all wrong and on and on and on...

I made the headdress yesterday out of sculpey. I mixed in Fimo since someone suggested that in the sculpey thread, and after the silver spraypaint, I painted it with Sculpey Glaze, another tip from the sculpey thread. It got kind of mishapen when I baked it, but it turned out ok.

If I ever run into that perfect fabric, I think I'll invest the money and redo this dress. I've learned a lot since CIII and I hope it would be easier the second time! (growls at anyone who says this outfit is easy *evil glare*)

The pic is also with my brother, I don't know what he is... He wanted a black robe, so I sewed that for him, but didn't have time for anything else. So the rest of it is a turtleneck, sweatpants, cowboy boots and tabards and obi made from a chopped up t-shirt, all in black. Without the robe he looks like ROTJ Luke! But I don't know if he's a Jedi or a Sith, lol.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/PrincessofMars/db267c4b.jpg]

 

Here are my pics from Celebration III. They were taken by Horsehead, a fellow Senator from the GS. (I haven't developed my own CIII pics yet! It's terrible...) You can't really tell a difference between the costumes, I didn't actually change anything structurally, I was just cleaning it up today. But there's the back ;o)

Heh, I got like 2 hours of sleep Saturday night (I did all the beading then, with knots in between! rrrrgh) and on Sunday morning was frantically trying to make it at least wearable. I hardly had time to wash my face before rushing down to the convention, so that's why I look so terrible ;o) And in case anybody's wondering, I had jaw surgery done this August 4th, so that's why my face is different : o)

[image=http://fs4.deviantart.com/i/2005/143/0/1/Padme_Costume_by_HeatherD.jpg]

 

I'm getting back to studying my photos of this costume and unravelling some of it's mysteries

Heather D's Padme Blue Tatooine questions

Is the cape also sewn to the hood and shirt? (I would assume so) It's probably seamed at the back of the neckline, but is it tacked down when it comes around the arms to meet in back?

I know I'm not hands on with these costumes, but I've been studying the photos I took at FIDM and I believe that the way people have been making their fan made versions of the cape is not quite the way it's really constructed. Think of making a big circle skirt that's lop sided (front hem shorter than the back hem.) Your arms go under the side seams of this 'circle skirt' and it just lays over the arms. The shorter hem is close to the body, while the long hem in the back (pointed shape) is the part of the cape we see. I don't think it's tacked down on the sleeves at all (just at the armcycle near the shoulder) and just flows free as the arms move.

Here's a crude diagram highlighting the 'hem' of the circle skirt in hot pink, the side seams of the circle skirt, and the point at which the hole in the middle of this circular piece follows the arm cycle of the fitted sleeve underneath it:

[image=http://kay-dee.net/fidm/pad_tatmid/cape-diagram-low.jpg]
Cape Diagram High Res >

[image=http://kay-dee.net/fidm/pad_tatmid/cape-low.jpg]
Cape High Res >

[image=http://kay-dee.net/fidm/pad_tatmid/pad-tatmid1-low.jpg]Underneath Cape High Res >

I'm only guessing that the cape piece is attached up near the neck somewhere. I'd like confirmation on that as well Then as what I call the 'center hole of the circle skirt' comes down and over the arm, it follows the arm cycle seam of the fittied sleeve underneath. I'm kind of guessing it follows the arm cylce seam part way up the back of the bodice, but I'm also not sure how it is attached and finished off and if the under half of the cape goes all the way back up to the neck or perhaps is tacked on around the shoulderblade area?

This is a confusing costume and I'm sure my description is confusing as well! Hopefully the photos help.

- Kay Dee

 

Heather D, your symbols on the back are so awesome! They look very accurate to the real thing! Looks great!

Here's an updated version of just the cape, it's dark blue instead of light blue, and I beaded the stampings on the back (which aren't the shape of the real ones, but oh well, can't find that shape. *shrugs*)

Back view
Beading
Front (I look a little out of it. )

I'm still trying to figure out how to sew the hood that I have cut out on the cape.

~Spacelady

 

Caitlin, I'm so sorry I missed this post you made a while back.

No, I don't think the fabric on the costume is really velourish. It seems very much like a very soft slinky knit. A soft look to the surface, but not velour.

I found a nice silk knit at Thai Silks, but it still doesn't have that soft finish to it and I think it's just a little thinner than the stuff used on the costume. It's the best I've found so far but I'm still hunting!

I really want to make this costume, but I'm afraid of how the skirt will hug my hips. I suppose if I cut the flair just right I can keep if from being too tight and clingy. Maybe a lining would help too. I'm just not as skinny as Natalie.

- Kay Dee

 

Okay, interesting. It makes sense, though; the fabric looked too thin to really be velour. But what an interesting texture!

And I'm totally with you in the hip-hugging camp. I think if I were to remake it (and I want to-- especially because Kimmerie just bought me the right beads for the skirt), I might go a little bit off with accuracy and give it more of an A-line shape, the better to hide my hips.

Spacelady: it's possible to make your own stamp or stencil for the cape-- you aren't limited to what you can find in the store. I made my own stencil out of a lightweight plastic sheet and then painted the symbols on:

[image=http://queenc.com/midriff/gcsc_back_up.jpg]

 

I've never tried that before. How do you do that?

And I probably won't do another version of the cape until I've finished with the beading... it'll take a long time, but oh well, I think it would look cool.

~Spacelady

 

Oh no, your skirt looks fine Caitlin! It's not hugging in an unflattering way at all. I just have a problem if the knit is too slinky it accentuates my saddle bags But if the fabric isn't too stretchy and has enough flair it just hangs down off of that widest part of my hips and you don't see the lump. Lining usually helps too... so I'd play with that as well. I think hidden modifications to make something look good on your own figure shouldn't be a big deal.

Did you have issues with your stencil? I always worry that the paint would seep under the stencil edge and give an uneven border. How do you avoid that?

- Kay Dee

 

My version used a cotton jersey that was really stiff and not at all slinky, so it didn't really hug my hips very much. Which was good in terms of flattering my figure, but bad in terms of properly recreating the costume. I've since sold the dress, though, so if I want to wear it again I've got to make a new one. Usually when I'm going to wear something that approaches clingy, I use control-top pantyhose or, more drastically, one of those body shaper thingies that are like spandex shorts, but the cut of the top of the skirt doesn't really lend itself to those measures. Alas.

Re: the stencil, yes, the paint did like to creep underneath, so I wiped it clean after every few applications. The paint itself, which was a fabric-specific paint, was pretty thick and gave a fairly crisp edge on each design. I only had a couple of blobby shapes on my cape, and they weren't that bad.

Spacelady, you can make your own stencil quite easily-- just get a sheet of something comparatively sturdy, like thin cardboard or the plastic sheets that quilters use for pattern templates, then draw your shape and cut it out. What I did was take a full-length picture of Natalie in the costume and open it in Photoshop, then cropped the image so it ended at the bottom of her feet and the top of her head, and then enlarged the height of the picture to my height (5' 5"). Then I cropped one of the designs and printed it out. Voila! A me-sized design.

 

Oh my gosh, why is a source for those floral sequins so hard to find! They tease us with chokers, and I've seen fabric in LA using various colors of the same picnic sequin. I just put in a request for information too. I'm desperate to find those. Hopefully someone there will have a heart and get back to us.

- Kay Dee

 

A good way to keep that from happening is a technique called "pouncing". Take a square of foam rubber, and tie the corners together to make almost a little pouch. Hold it by the tied-together part, and tap the pillowy bottom into some paint on a flat dish. Don't get too much paint on it. Then tap it onto yur stencil, using straight up-and-down movement. You can do it in several layers if you want to, and get neat belnding effects quite easily. The foam rubber keeps you from getting brushstroke marks and regulates the flow of the paint, and the up-and-down angle keeps the paint from getting forced under the edge of the stencil.

(and Jaina - glad you like the beads!)

--Kimmerie

 

kay-dee - I forgot to post what I found out from that company. They said that each flower was made with 4 small circular sequins. It sure didn't look like that in the picture.

If anyone can pull off this costume and look lovely doing it, it's you, Kathy! Go for it!

Regards,
M.

 

Wendyhouse - thanks for the 'pouncing' tip. When I get ready to do this dress I'm sure I'll find out all kinds of fun things about fabric paint, stamping, and what not!

Mirax - hum. I think they were wrong. They e-mailed me back saying they don't carry those sequins and don't have a way to find out where the people who make those chokers got them from. Here's what they suggested:

We would suggest referring to a recent copy of Beadwork or Lapidary Journal Magazine. These magazines feature some great advertisements for vendors that may carry what you need.

They suggested stuff like google and local bead stores (which I think all of us have already tried with no luck).

- Kay Dee

 

Before I forget, I wanted to note one more seam I discovered on the cape of this costume. In addition to the one shown on the arm in my above diagram, there is another seam on the very top edge of the arm running up to the shoulder. It's like the circle of the cape has 2 gores or panels on either side at the arm area. Off hand I'd say they were about 8" wide.

When I have time I'll adjust my diagram (probably next week when I get back from LA).

- Kay Dee