Padme Amidala Ep.III Padme costumers... how do you make the pregnant belly?

I'm making a couple of Padme costumes from Ep.III. I was wondering, what did everybody use for their fake pregnant bellies if you weren't pregant? Did you all just use a pillow? Because I think that would be too lumpy and wouldn't stay right. Does anyone know where I could get a really good one, like they use in the movies?

Thank you
Lady S.

 

You wanna make a pregnant belly but don't know how... well... your parents really should have had this talk with you... when a man and a woman love each other or get really drunk... oh you mean create the illusion... I'd just use pillow stuffing and some nylon to eliminate the lumpiness. Of course I've never done it before so I'm just making a guess.

 

We had a thread on it somewhere here if look try searching past a couple of pages.

Anyhow, ya, we made an Oval or Rounded Pillow around the size of our tummy and this is attached to our tummy using straps or with an expandable/elastic panty or tube over it so it'll be more naturally rounded.

 

A buddy of mine just drinks a lot of beer. Seems to be workin' great for him..........

 

I made a belly the day that I needed one back when Ep III was coming out on DVD. It's rough, it ain't pretty, but it held together incredibly well, and looked convincing enough that a guy at Best Buy brought me a chair and insisted that I sit down as I'd been on my feet for three hours. lol Imagine his shock when I changed back to street clothes at the end of the night!

Belly image

Ultimately I just took swimsuit material, made a sheath to go around my body (sew a tube), then cut out a sort of oblong shape. I stitched 3/4 of the oblong to the sheath, but left it a little loose for stuffing. Stuff with polyfil, then stitch the rest closed. From there, it can be shaped, and molded. Remember, that the belly should be worn low. I've seen so many women wear a faux belly that is worn right under the breasts, and it's painfully obvious that it's fake. Look at it this way, if you were really pregnant, the baby would be weighing on the bladder, centered right over the hips.

 

Thanks! That helps a lot (and I'm not talking about the beer!)

 

I just made an oval pillow and stuffed it into body-shaper shorts like these: check it out, they even have a maternity one!

 

I have a very slow metabolism and a lust for Little Debbies and other forms of sweet treats. That does the belly trick for me!

Heh heh. Yeah, bad...I know.
Swiss Cake Rolls are SO good, though! AAAGGH!

When I played a pregnant role onstage, the costume director had me wear their pregancy belly which was basically a crotchless pair of maternity girdle underwear, similar fabric to Sister Sola's Spanx suggestion.
The belly was created by a large, graded oval shaped piece of upholstery foam, sandwiched between the Spanx-like things and a cotton lining.
It was a bit warm at times, but very lightweight. The spandex did support my back a little, so, you know, that was nice.

This made me laugh...because I totally remember this Lifetime movie!!
http://www.oregoncoast.com/chimera/pregnant.html

 

Well, I may not be qualified to answer this, I know one thing. If any of you have seen the tv show Full House, there is one episode where Beckie gives this thing to jessie so he knows how it feels to be pregent. Apparently some instructor or someone gave it to her for a while. Thats my two cents

 

BruceM: That's exactly what I was talking about! It was even shown in that movie Ten Things I Hate About You.

SisterSola, I think I'm going to go with your plan. Those maternity shorts looks perfect and I found a pillow that's made to go on a manquin to make i tlook pregant!It's on ebay, so I can put it in the shorts.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

 

these are some funny replies!

Remember, Padme's pregnant belly is not very big. (I don't know how she delivered full term twins from it!)

If it's the action outfit, we just plan on putting a small pillow in her leggins.

 

just caught this thread, what you can do is get a pattern for a kids ball...simplicity and all those have toy patterns.

You could just make half a ball and then attach it to a long camisole so that it hits your lower abdomen.

we also have to keep in mind that natalie portman is only 5'2' and any baby belly looks huge on her.

 

If you have a friend or relative who's very patient and very pregnant, you could ask to wrap their torso from just under the bust to hip in strapping tape or duct tape over an old t-shirt or plastic garbage bag. You could just wrap from the sides across the front because what you're aiming for is an impression of the belly... and it will be easier to interrupt and let the woman go to the bathroom if necessary.

You can take the mold you've just made and use it in several ways. You can cut it flat to use to make a pattern for a pillow to insert into materity shorts. You can get spray-foam from the hardware store and fill the mold with it, remove it, cover it, and wear it. I'm sure there are more ways.

The one thing: You want to really pack in the stuffing no matter what you do. Pregnant bellies aren't like Santa-fat bellies. They are not so squishy and a lot more firm. So be careful when you walk around and lean into counters, or your stomach will give in ways that will immediately reveal it's fake.

 

I know you've already found your solution, but if anyone else is still looking.. I've made a preggers belly before! lol It was for a dance show (weird weird show...), so it had to be very stable.

The base was a fitted heavyweight lycra tube top that went from underbust to mid hip. It fastened in the back with a sports zipper. We put that on a manniquin and layered oval shaped pieces of quilt batting on top. Lots and lots and lots of layers, pad stiched in place. Using lots of layers helps ensure its stability/shape retention, and using oval shapes keeps the over all form smooth. After putting together a bazillion smallerish layers (easy to figure out once you get going) we stiched a piece of mid-weight lycra over the top to keep everything tidy.

Worked beautiful! Sorry I don't have pictures.

 

I actually did this once. I had to make up a SW character to go to a costume party as, and frankly ... I am a plus-size woman. (Read: FAT.)

Most SW heroines are young, pretty, and thin, but I couldn't go as a pretty young thing, so I made up a character who was pregnant. What I did was use a pair of VERY stretchy nylon-spandex underwear. I made a pad, relatively flat shaped against the body but rounder in the front, out of a heavy weight cotton material and stuffed it with fiberfill. The thickness and elasticity of the undies created good firmness. It worked pretty well.

 

There was a friend at my Halloween party, she went as a pregnant hippie.

Basically, she had one of those little smiley face round pillows and stuffed it under her shirt. Someone came up to her and said "should you be drinking?", so I think it worked rather well.

-Vaportrail

 

I LOVE Spanx! I wear them under just about every costume I have! WEaring them tomorrow in the parade as a matter of fact!