Padme Amidala Padme's Picnic Dress v2.0

Oh no no no! I was in no way planning to pay that ridiculous amount. I was just appalled by the store. Working at Joanns, (ei! ^_^ I made a big special order today for 500 bucks, I got showered in praise.. whee) I find it hard to believe that it'd be so hard to order a piece of fabric or ribbon directly from the manufacturer ... since we can call our warehouse and tell them exactly how much we need, whether it be small or large, and they can get it to me in as soon as a day, depending on where I get it from and how much I want to pay for shipping. While Britex was impressive for selection, I was kind of disgusted that people would pay ridiculous prices for stuff we sell at my store for a much smaller fraction of the price.

In short, I think Britex is evil.

But if anyone wants to go back and get info on that ribbon, It's directly adjacent from the cash register on the 4th floor behind a jewelry case display or something on the wall.. The one with the hunter green in the center was the easiest to find for me..

-Van

 

Wow Van, I'm sorry you had such a strong negative opinion about Britex "Britex is Evil"

I think Britex and JoAnns have their pros and cons. At Britex you pay for the large assortment and the outstanding service (part of those high prices go to the sales person's commission). As much as I like Jo-Anns, I honestly have never gotten that level of service there. Sure, I wish I could have paid $3.00 a yard for my fabric instead of $11.00, but I looked in about 15 fabric stores all over the bay area and could not find it anywhere else. So, it was my choice to pay the evil high price

When I asked about ordering more fabric that Britex was running low on, I was told that they get some of their fabric from "fly by night" vendors. Here one day, gone the next. They are not a large chain like JoAnns with a warehouse full of stock - etc.

In short, they are just two different kinds of businesses. Each with pros and cons I can't tell you how many times I go to Jo-Anns and they are out of thread. They keep promising me they will get it in, then 2 weeks later I have to special order it. THEN they never call me to tell me they got it in. If I were on a tight deadline with this costume I would have been much more upset.

-Kay Dee

 

Kay_dee I think you hit the nail on the head! I totally agree with you. Large retailers such as Wal-mart and Joann's get volume discounts because they buy in such a quantity to spread over hundreds of stores and can stock a warehouse. Higher end stores that prefer to stock according to quality and fashion and seasons go for a different type of clientele entirely. If you truly compare the fabrics and trims from a place of quality to a volume discount fabric store (Joann's, Hancocks) you will NOT find the same quality. I used to manage a high end store and do the ordering. I went to fabric shoes and know a lot of manufacturers and distributer's. I know that the printed cottons and such that Wal-Mart sells for $3.99 a yard and quilt shops sell for $8.00 yard IS NOT the same fabric. The design may look the same but the thread count is different. The feel and durability is where the difference comes in. Joann's Discount fabrics and Wal-mart's bargain table are all seconds. Meaning they are purchased in bulk for a discount because of their flaws and defects. I too, have worked for Joann's, and still shop there a lot. I would not go as far as to call them "evil" but I speak from experience from both ends of the quality barometer. When comparing fabric prices make sure you are comparing apples to apples Also, your smaller "mom and pop" stores are something to be cherished. Larger chain stores will lower prices to take over the market and put the smaller stores out of business and then drive their prices back up, when you have no choice of where to shop.
Your specialty stores will always have the unique trims and fabrics. Imagine how boring movie costumes would be only working from Joann's fabrics.

Sorry to be so long winded...I just feel strongly about this...I'll get off my soap box now Ferd

 

I still wouldn't pay $100 for a yard n a third of ribbon

Well, maybe if it was spun gold or something....

 

What style of Ribbon?!?!?

OJ.

 

Ferd - I don't blame you for getting on the soap box I managed a retail women's clothing store for several years, so sometimes I get on the soap box too when it comes to these retail oriented things.

Just for clarification though, Britex does not charge 100 dollars for ribbon. The headband trim was a fairly steep price of about 7 dollars a yard, and I was just so thrilled to find the same trim used for the real costume that I didn't mind paying it. Maybe she meant a hundred dollars for an entire spool of it?

OK, on another note I'm just about done putting the final stitches on my blouse! I've just got to sew the hem on the bottom. I'll try to get my photos of the blouse developed next week. It's not identical to the real costume, but it will work for me.

-Kay Dee

 

Ooooh... that makes ME mad, too... (the ribbon thing). I have a second house in SF on Nob Hill and was planning on visiting Britex while there next time (prob this next weekend). Too bad... I will see if I can get info though.

-Khan

 

Eek! o_o that sounds like one awful Joanns - -; ::mutters:: Some of our stores just suck, I can imagine. It is a large chain. With me, I will go excessively out of my way for a customer, even if it mean staying on shift an extra hour to call around looking for a fabric that may or may not exist(yah that was an example) I apologize on behalf of my company.

In the mean while. Dragon Con is in a week ladies! Anyone going? I don't think I have the time or bucks to redo my corset for the con, because I've been working on my Boba costume. I'm only going to be there on Saturday, but we should still all try to meet up and get an Amidala photoshoot or something going! ^_^

-Van

 

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been working on a complete Picnic Dress tutorial overhaul.

All the information has outgrown its original berth on my website, so I had to start it over completely. The link on my main site has been updated, and the corset tutorial has been updated.

Mind you, this is a work-in-progress tutorial, so it's not even close to being finished yet! So please be kind!

New Picnic Site -- it's geocities, so don't everyone go at once!

 

Wow. It looks good so far!

 

Thanks!

Here's a new pic. Well, new to me anyways...

[image=http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/feature/20020827/img/11_bg.jpg]

There's a new feature on the OS. It's kind of cool to read through with some neat, really clear pics. Check it out here.

 

Your site looks nice Mrs_M.

 

Thank you very much!

And welcome back Obi-Dawn! I missed your opinions and thoughts around here!

 

MrsMayim Your site does look great
Thanks for the link

I like your and Obi-Dawn's new pics-now I have to find myself a new on
Hmmmm.....

Oh I had a moment of what I call Oohh-Naghey (remember that episode of Friends? ) Anyways, a lightbulb! I was watching Shakepheare In Love, and at the end of the "play" where she is playing Juliet and is laying there dead, check out her shoes!!!! They look like the ones Padme wears with this dress.
What do ya'll think? Ferd
Sorry about spelling-on Bad monitor

 

"Oh I had a moment of what I call Oohh-Naghey (remember that episode of Friends? )"
LOL! Yes, I remember that one! Could it be any funnier?

I don't remember what Gyn's shoes looked like. Describe for us! Do they look like 'space keds'? tee-hee....

 

I haven't actually changed my icon since I first chose one. I've had the same one forever! But I thought this one was soooo cute! Had to have it. I'm still in newlywed mode, so lovey-dovey stuff totally appeals to me right now ;o)

LOL -- and Friends is my absolute favorite show! Thursday is the one night of the week where Colin and I go to separate rooms of the house: me to watch Friends in the living room and him to watch wrestling (blech!) in the bedroom!

 

I found another source for the bun covers, and they're almost perfect. They're from Jane's Treasures. I bought two of the large bun covers, and they work really well. I say "almost" perfect because they're made from a mix of metallic and matte thread (unlike the all metallic ones used in the actual costume), but they're close enough for me. And (I'm guessing here) you could contact Jane and see if she'd make you a set of all metallic ones. And even if you don't go for them, take a look at the other things she has, some really pretty stuff there.

 

Where have all the picnic people gone?

I have been seriously lacking in time to devote to my costume lately. My husband and I are getting ready to move in about 2 weeks and it's craziness all around! The cool thing is that the new house will have a 'sewing room' to call my own! Yippee!

I did start punching out little white flower sequins a few weeks ago. I bought one of those hole punchers that is shaped like a flower and am using round white sequins to punch them out of. Talk about tedious.....

How's everyone else?

 

Where did you get the hole punch from?

 

Yay! Someone is here!

I got it from good old Wal*Mart.
It's not exact, it makes six petaled flowers instead of four. And, in all honesty, they might be a bit too small. *sigh*

 

I'm still trying to figure out the least time consuming way to do the white flowers on the dres. I have kind of thrown that one onto the back burner until I'm absolutly stuck with figuring it out! LOL -- I am such a procrastinator.

And Obi-Dawn I'm like you. I've been too busy to devote much time at all to my dress. I'm still working on the corset!

 

I know! My corset embroidery is about...well, a little over half way done. How is your's? DId you start on the embroidery bits? I hope it's all going smoothly for you.

I bought the punch thing just because I happened to see it when I was visiting at my parent's house and didn't have anything else to work on out there. My Dad thought I was nuts...sitting there punching out hundreds of flowers! tee-hee....

 

I haven't even started the embroidery! Aack! I am too scared to ruin my beautiful fabric! I have, however been practicing the flowers on spare fabric. They're starting to turn out good!

But my picnic dress fund (which is supported by selling my other sewing projects) has recently run dry, so I have been focusing on other projects to try and replenish it. I have a Purple Senate Padme doll that is almost finished and as soon as it's done I'll be selling it. Then I'm planning on biting the bullet and just diving headfirst into the embroidery!

What color flosses did you use?

 

Mrs_M, I'm sure you'll do great with it and you won't ruin your fabric! Just take your time with it and it'll be beautiful.

DMC flosses I'm using:

For the yellow scrolls: 742,743,727

For the green bits: 731, 734 (I had major trauma deciding which greens to use. I don't think these are 100% accurate, but I like the way they look so I'm using them)

For the roses: 3685, 3687, 778, 3713

For the gold swirlies and scroll outlines: 5282 (I LOVE this color!)

For the daisies and highlights on stems/leaves: 746, 745

And, I highly recommend getting some beeswax for your flosses too. Running the threads through it before embroidering has helped me tremendoulsy in keeping my embroidery flat and in keeping unravelling to a minimum. You can get it at JoAnn's in the sewing notions section. It's made by Dritz and get the one in the clear plastic container. They sell the wax separately as a 'refill', but the container is awesome and has openings in it where you run the floss through to coat it with wax.

 

wo, Dawn thanks for the advice! I'm copying every word of that down to take with me to the fabric store, the next time I go!

However, I plan on practicing at least one of the designs separatly on a piece of scrap fabric first, before I even think about touching my corset fabric!

Do you use embroidery hoops when you work on yours?