Padme Amidala Padme Purple Dress - Loyalist Committee

Kay Dee: I used the same pattern for this corset as I used for the picnic corset. Here it is:

click

I couldn't link direct to the pattern, so you have to scroll the page down a bit. The corsets model number is J22938 and then I used V22942 for the skirt, but I'm not really happy about the skirt. I could have done it without the pattern because I had to modify It so heavily.


I'm glad you guys liked my dress so far

 

Thanks Madeline,

It looks like you just had to add the v shaped bottom to the corset yourself. I guess I could do that huh? Now to figure out how in the world I can work on this w/o hubby finding out!!! (told me last night I'm forbidden to sew ever again) Why can't he travel on business to Europe for a few weeks like he used to? EEEK! I have a seroius delima here, as I've already purchased my beautiful velevet

-Kay Dee

 

Kay Dee -- have you dyed your velvet yet? I am seriously considering getting some but I'm not sure about the whole dyeing process. Sounds like it would be hard to get all the velvet evenly dyed.. Any thoughts anyone?

 

Master Kiona- No, I have not dyed my velvet yet. I want to get swatches of potential dress fabric that I'm going to use so I can make sure my purples compliment eachother well.

I'm also concerned about dying that much yardage of velvet evenly. The dress/coat patterns called for 8.5 yards, and I got 4 extra yards because this costume has MUCH bigger sleeves. I've got about 12.5 yards to dye! I figured I'd have to get a HUGE plastic container (We have a store called Organized Living that sells ones that are as big as a bathtub). I haven't done my calculations yet though to know if this will hold enough water per weight of fabric. I'd hate to have to do two seperate batches, the colors could turn out different

Ferd, I take it you have done quite a bit of dying. Any advice?

-Kay Dee

 

Kay_dee I can suggest a few options for dying such a large amount of fabric. The clear plastic tubs are great for being able to "swish" the fabric around and get it evenly coated. When dying there is always the fear of using seperate batches and getting different shades. If the original concentrated dye is the same lot--and it is carefully measured and mixed the same color can be achieved over and over again. I would suggest using a boiling water dye to achieve a dark shade like this dress. You will use at least double the amount of dye for a dark shade.
You can pre cut your pattern pieces and allow for slight shrinking from the hot dye process, I would also serge the edges to prevent fraying from handling. The pieces will be smaller and rid you of the excess weight and space in your dye tub. Once they are dyed and dried you can re fit them to your original pattern pieces. Some people construct the garment and then dye it--but I would personally not do that. If you attempt to dye a great deal of yardage the dye can make puddles and you can have darker sections. This isn't as common with a dark color because once it is dyed dark--especially with a burn out like this fabric is--the coverage will be easy to control. With a velvet be careful not to "wring it out" and crush the velvet nap. Also hang it so that the dye cannot run down the fabric and cause an ombre type look. I would use a quick dry method (like a clothes line or hand made type of system like that with fans and fresh air to dry it quickly and evenly) Then I would fluff the nap in the dryer on a permenant press setting.
Also make sure you keep the material in the dye bath at least 30 minutes. If you do the fabric/pieces in "shifts" make sure you accurately time each dye bath session.

I hope that helps you out a little! Ferd

 

Ferd thanks for all the great dye suggestions

From the reading I've done I thought I could use a cool water bath for the fiber reactive dyes recommended for rayon (cellulose) and silk. It's OK with me if the silk doesn't take the dye as strongly so I can get the two tone look. I have extra yardage to experiment with, just in case I need to do a warm bath instead.

Gosh, I'd never thought of having to lay the fabric out flat! I don't think I have that much space. My book recommends rinsing the fabric several times until the rinse water is clear. I wonder if that would help eliminate the 'running' effect when it dries?

I also like the idea of cutting out large pattern sections to minimize bulk. I still have a feeling with so much fabric I may have to do two batches. I will have to measure carefully and certainly use the same stock solution.

I probably won't have time to dye my fabric until late December/early January. I've got a lot of projects going on right now. I'm also still waiting for my Spanish Coat pattern - it's on back order!!! I'll let you all know my results once I get it done though.

-Kay Dee

 

I've moved my photos from webphotos, so now I got them on a better place. Some of my photos (the corset-picture) you can now view in a almost hi-resolution version. It's really detailed

new photoalbum

I really have to work on my dress this weekend! The school has taken too much of my time lately. Actually, this weekend is the first homework-free in a long time. Yay!!

 

Great work on the dress so far _Madeleine_ !

I found an almost perfect midnight blue burn-out velvet with a flame pattern. The only reason it isn't sitting here in my living room is that the "flame" pattern is not as small in scale as the original material. The flames in this material create a diagonal pattern that is not quite as random looking as the original. However, the color is perfect.
I am going to have to think about this for a little while to consider whether or not I can work around this before I sink a lot of money into this fabric. It is about $6 per yard and will need a lot of supportive material behind it to get and keep the right shape. The material is about the weight of a fashion scarf.
I better not wait too long, because the velvet season will be over soon.

I am at one of those major forks in the costuming road.
I know either this purple Senator dress or the wedding dress will involve a lot of $$ and work and time.
If I buy the fabric, I am going to have to commit the time to make the costume.
I think it will boil down to finding the right material or settling for something that has a 80% chance of working.

 

Nostradamus,

It sounds like the burn-out velvet you found is the same weight as the stuff I got at Silk Connection. I was also surprised by how light it was, but I figure if you use a good lining for the coat (not something totally thin and flimsy, but a nice satin) it should work fine. And light weight fabrics will be more comfortable once all of those layers are put together!

I think I saw a burn-out pattern similar to what you are describing at Britex in San Francisco (but the store only had it in black). I almost think if you found it in Purple for only 6 dollars a yard you should go for it!

Let us know what you decide. I'm still waiting on my back ordered Spanish Coat pattern... I emailed them to ask what the status of my order was and got no reply. Grrrr...

-Kay Dee

 

Oh man.. looking at that wonderful big image of the fabric and the brooch.. there is the exact fabric in a store here. That same purple, but if I'm remembering correctly the actual colour IRL is more blue?

And as mentioned it was near a lot of fabrics imported from Sydney....

 

Neimhaille - No way - Lucky YOU! You have the velevet fabric in purple at a fabric store near you? If I hadn't already ordered mine in white I'd ask you for the phone number. It might be worth posting, someone may want to order it huh?

I'm still stressing about how I'm going to dye this much yardage evenly. Even if I can get a tub big enough I don't know if I can prevent it from getting tangled and turning into tye-dyed velvet . I'm starting to think I may have to do two very carefully measured batches.

-kay dee

 

I'll call them tomorrow. I actually live in New Zealand so it's pretty fr way But if it as cheap as I think I rememebr it being then shipping it might just be worthwhile after all. Especially as $NZ1= 50c US

I need to get some more fabric for my own costume project (Eowyn's white dress... less fabric consumptive ) so I can make it a full out fabric day tomorrow

Oh and as for dying in batches I did that for my blue dress but it was more like lets put the skirt pieces in together and then the drapes together and finally all the little bits to make the pleatings. That meant that is there was a slight difference it wound up being symetrical and in layers.

I just find that if I use smaller amounts of fabric that it does cover more evenly The ideal would actually to buy more dye than I think and have a nice big bath sized dye pot then all the fibres would get evenly covered due to being able to move about through the dye easily

 

Okay, i am pretty new here but not to making SW costumes. I have made The White Tattonie Dress and the picnic dress is in the works. Can anyone tell me what are good patterns to use to make this dress? Thanks and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tahiri

 

Tahiri,

I found a pretty good pattern for the Spanish Over Coat portion of the costume. However, the online store I ordered it from says it's on back order and they don't reply to my email when I enquire about my order.

It's called the Spanish Loose Gown by the Mantua Makers.

I suggest if you want the pattern you should order it directly from them. Here is the link to the pattern and order info

Spanish Loose Gown Pattern

[image=http://www.alleycatscratch.com/NewProducts/SpanishGown/SpanishLooseGown.jpg]

As for the top and skirt (the dress) I haven't quite decided which pattern to use. I think I'm combining a few.

For the Skirt I'm either using McCall's Bridal Pattern 3109 or 3449. Both patterns show a full skirt without pleating or gathering around the waist.

McCall's 3449
[image=http://www.mccallspatterns.com/bridal00/3449/3449a.jpg]

McCall's 3109
[image=http://www.mccallspatterns.com/bridal00/3109/3109b.jpg]

For the top I may use McCall's 3282

[image=http://www.mccallspatterns.com/renai/3315/3315a.jpg]

or

McCall's 3282 (the neckline needs to be higher)
[image=http://www.mccallspatterns.com/renai/3282/3282a.jpg]

I alomst think that 3282 might be easier to alter because it's meant to stand alone as a top.

I started looking for the rest of my fabric today, and noticed something interesting! The fabric that is used on the inner most sleeve is the same fabric used to line the coat.

[image=http://www.padawansguide.com/padme/purple/imageattack.jpg]
If you look at the far left you will see the same ripple texture purple fabric on the inside lining of the coat sleeve that's around her wrist.

-Kay Dee

 

Ferd, I have a hair question for you. Where did you get the hair to fill Sydney's head piece? I don't know if I need to purchase a wig and *gulp* cut the hair off! I thought you mentioned a bag of hair. That sounds better to me

Thanks,

Kay Dee

 

For my hair, I'm going to use braided yarn and glue it inside the headpiece. I think that should work if I can find yarn in my own hair colour...

 

Kay_dee Yes, I did use "bags of hair". I found it at a Sally's Beauty Supply store (beautician's supply store) It was pretty inexpensive and I used 2 bags for the "mini-me" version. It was a little difficult to find a color other than black-but I did. They do sell it already finely braided but I could only find that in black. I used it unbraided and once it was sprayed in and pinned it looked just fine.

Ferd

 

Thanks Ferd. I know there were Sally Beauty Supplies in Southern California, but I haven't seen them where I live now. I think I'm going to have to try to locate a wig supplier and special order something.

-kay dee

 

Well, I thought I'd post an update on my Purple Senate Gown adventure.

I've gotten just about all of the fabric I need for the dress - I'm just waiting for some skirt lining to come in at JoAnn's.

I searched far and wide, and could not find a purple taffeta that even came close to the correct shade of purple. So, I had to settle for satin polyester. I've put up a scan and diagram of all of the fabrics I've collected if anyone wants to check it out:

Purple Senate Fabric and Sequins

I also made my way out to Dharma Trading to ask advice and purchase the dye for my velvet. One interesting thing to note, the woman said that Rayon Velvet takes dye darker than most fibers. She even showed me some sample swatches and I was amazed at how much darker the rayon velvet was compared to the cotton swatches. She also explained that the silk fibers take up red dye first, so when trying to dye silk purple you will get a redder color than you expect. (Sometimes to avoid this red color her customers have used an overdying technique - using a blue bath first, then a purple bath)

I purchased Fiber Reactive Procion Dye in 18A Ultra Violet. I will have to test it first to make sure I don't get the 'red' problem on the silk backing. (I chose ultra violet because it's more of a blue violet) The two women I spoke with also suggested that I cut my bolt of fabric into sections so I can move each piece through the bath without having them tangle up (similar to what Ferd had suggested). I'll have to hold off on cutting up my fabric until I am able to make a successful prototype of my coat pattern out of muslin.

Once I have a chance to test dye a swatch of my velvet I'll let you all know how the color turned out (too blue, too red -etc)

I also spoke with a woman at Britex who studied the costume photos with me. She suggested I use horsehair on the hem of the skirt, as well as on the edges of the coat and the bell sleeves of the blouse. I read the pattern for my skirt and sure enough, it also calls for horsehair on the hem. She also thought I'd need interfacing for the coat on the front and back of the upper body.

Well - that's it for now. I hope the information I've gathered helps

-kay dee

 

VELVET DYE RESULTS - TRIAL 1

Last night I dyed a small test swatch of my velvet flame fabric with the Fiber Reactive Procion Dye in Ultra Violet from Dahrma Trading. You can view the results at the link below.

VELVET DYE RESULTS

The woman at Dahrma was correct, the silk backing turned very red because silk likes to bond with red dye more than blue. I'm afraid I will have to try the second technique she recomended. I'll try an overdye using some sort of navy blue dye bath first, then the purple dye bath. I just hope it doesn't turn my fabric too blue! I guess it's better than red violet.

-Kay Dee

 

kay_dee Looks like you're making some progress. You are doing great! I know it will turn out beautifully. The great thing about buying more fabric and being able to test test test is that you can keep going until it's perfect (unless you're on a deadline )

I actually lucked out today and got some velvet for a steal (don't you just love sales??) Anyways--The only colors they had were bright blue, black and rust. I got the blue and am going to be dyeing it to a deep eggplant like purple for the other Senate dress. Mine is not silk velvet though.

Glad to see your progress--I just LOVE this dress!

Ferd

 

Hooray! I'm not the only one working on a Senate Dress now Are you making this new dress for yourself or for a client Ferd?

My only deadline is Halloween. I hope I can get my fabric to look blue-violet rather than this darn Fuscha! The Rayon nap turned out purple, but the Fuscha silk backing just isn't working. I hope to go out to Dahrma tomorrow to get one of the navy dyes and ask for more expert advise. I really hope that dying the velvet navy first, then overdying with the Ultra Violet will work.

If only Trisha were around to ask her just what dye recipe was used to make this dress (in my dreams!)

-Kay Dee

 

Kay_dee Gosh, I think we could all use Trisha now and again-- Oh well, I think most of us do pretty good just figuring it out on our own (Well, I think LOL! )

The Other Senate dress I'm making is the deleted scene dress.The one with the gold moire' and black venice lace. I am on this personal quest to make all of Padme's dresses--so this one will add to that list. I will probably sell it once it's done-I don't think it is one I would wear, but am just dying to tackle it.

I do want to make a "Big Girl's" version of This Senate dress--but I think I will do some other things first. I do plan on making a version of this dress in Barbie size though to take advantage of my Sydney scraps. Now, if I can just figure out how to do the headpiece that small....hmmm...

Ferd

 

Ah - now I see what you mean by the other senate dress. Oh well, I'm sure someone else will get started on this dress in the year ahead.

Right now I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to make a pattern for the bell sleeves on the blouse. (I just got finished drawing a slightly altered pattern for the bodice) I just have't found a pattern that has the right bell shape to it and I know it will take me forever to make the pattern myself.

Has anyone here come up with a good pattern for the sleeve on the blouse? (not the inner sleeve, the outer sleeve)

-Kay Dee

 

Oh Ferd, I would LOVE to see that dress once you're done! That's my "someday when I'm a better sewer I'll make it" dress. I just love it! I think I've got strange taste in dresses...the rainbow dress, then the light blue Tatooine, then the deleted Senate!

Caitlin