Confessions of a Seamstress

Monday, May 13, 2013

Padme Wedding Ensemble - Part 1

Well, having gotten the okay from the bride, the time has come to share the complete saga of the Padme Wedding Dress recreation in photo form.

I started work on this project at the end of March and completed it mid-May. It took over 60 hours to complete, and because it was such a delicate, detailed piece, I didn't delegate any of it to my assistants. Considering that my former title holder for 'most hours invested in a project' was just over 30 hours, this was arguably double the work of anything I've made before.

It was awesome.

I've done beadwork before, although not on this scale. Here you can see the beginnings of the circle design radiating out from the top of the crown.

We went online and found a vintage chantilly lace veil which I then beaded to match the film version as closely as possible. More photos of the veil in Part 2...

For the dress, I didn't want to start from scratch. Turns out Simplicity 1909 was reasonably close to the lines of Padme's dress. 1909 is of course a replica of Princess Kate's wedding gown... hmmm, Kate, are you a Star Wars fan?

Padme's gown is a full princess seam, so I taped the bodice pieces to the skirt pieces.

This required a bit of finegaling, as there were more bodice pieces than skirt pieces!

We ordered the satin for the underdress from Dharma Trading Company. It was a gorgeously soft silk/rayon weave, but notoriously slippery to work with!

I had ordered 7 yards... we used less than 6.

The outershell of the underdress, not ironed or fine-tuned.

Prior to beginning work, I had padded out one of my dress forms to match my client's measurements exactly. This isn't a perfect method when sleeves are involved, but for sleeveless dresses it works beautifully. I was able to so perfectly adjust the dress on the form, that my client told me it could not have fitted her perfectly if she'd been present for alterations.

I basted down the adjusted seams with colored thread while still on the dress form to ensure perfect fit. I then removed the fabric and sewed the seams properly on the machine. From there it was a simple matter to pull out the colored basting thread, and the alterations were perfect!

I then laid down the pattern pieces over the altered seams and made note of the changes. After adjusting the pattern pieces to match, I used them to cut out the lining.

Outer shell of underdress, complete!

Continue on to Part 2!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Roarin' 20's Homage

With "The Great Gatsby" hitting theaters this weekend, it's the perfect time to do a 1920's themed photoshoot. And with spring finally hitting the Midwest, we had enough light and warmth to actually conduct one!

Photographer: My Sister

Model: Elizabeth Hausladen (Me)

Skirt: Original Creation

Cloche Hat: Target

Pumps: Target

Blouse: JCPenneys

Pearls (fake): Great-Grandmother's

Editor: Elizabeth Hausladen (Me)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Happy 200th Post! (A Look Back)

Well I am sitting down to write my 200th post here... wow. What a journey this blog has taken me on! I started it just 20 months ago, when I was embarking on a new college adventure that was supposed to lead me to a degree in fashion design. Health issues intervened, and I ended up back home and too ill to get much sewing done, so I turned to blogging about costumes I loved. To my surprise, these posts got readers who found my thoughts on costuming really interesting... and that encouraged me to write more! Then one day I got an inquiry about recreating Regina's Seafoam Riding Coat from "Once Upon a Time" and as I documented that project, the internet suddenly seemed to decide that I was the go-to person for costume commissions of a "Once Upon a Time" flavor. Before I quite knew what was happening, I had a full time job on my hands and blog posts getting 10,000+ hits.

To say I was not prepared would be an understatement.

I just finished doing my most detailed recreation yet... Padme's wedding dress from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. It was over 60 hours of labor and I cannot wait to show you all of the photos from the project. It was frankly rather surreal. Here I am, making a living doing what I love best, and not because I planned it. I am so very, very blessed.

So this post is both a look back and a major thank you to everyone who has clicked on this page, whether you ordered a costume, left a comment, or just were another viewer to lift me up on the Google search engine. I am so grateful to you all, and hope to continue providing enjoyable, informative and inspirational content for a long time to come. Here's to another 200 posts... and more!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Homestuck - Witch of Life

It's always an interesting challenge when I get a commission for a costume in a fandom I am not apart of. Then I really have to rely on my customer to tell me what details are important or not.

I'd heard of the Homestuck fandom, but didn't know much about it. However when my client sent me the above pictures and asked if I could create this costume, I had to say yes! The jacket alone is beyond cool, and I loved the combination of ruffles and beads.

Finding the tan fabric was a bit tricky, but I did find this (sateen, I think) in the home decor department of JoAnn's.

To create the pattern, I modified an existing pattern that I got for $1 on sale. My customer happened to be local, so she was able to come for two fittings, which was very helpful for creating a plus-sized costume. After marking my changes on the lining, I cut, trimmed, picked apart, and laid out the pieces on the sateen to cut the actual outside of the jacket.

Sharp and snazzy, no?

I'd purchased three yards of the tan fabric so that I would have enough for all of the ruffles on both the jacket and dress. They required different widths, so I cut them and labeled them with sticky notes to keep all the pieces organized while I assembled them.

At this point I came down sick again, but was able to still attach the ruffles and beads.

We had a bit of a trial getting fabric for the dress. Originally we had a gorgeous purple and gold striped piece that we wanted to use, but I didn't order it fast enough due to the migraine attacks in March, and so we had to settle for a plain purple. Thankfully my client was extremely gracious and understanding about this!

I just adore the combination of beads and ruffles!

At this point we were down to the 11th hour, and both my assistant and I were working frantically to get the dress done in time for my client's convention. Again, this was due to the migraine attacks screwing up my work schedule. We did get it done, however, but there aren't many pictures from the later half of the construction!

I was quite happy to be able to install grommets rather than eyelets. There is also a piece of boning on each edge to keep the lacing flat.

Despite the rush at the end, I think the costume turned out well and my client was happy with it. She's allowing me to share these pictures of the finished cosplay. Unfortunately I don't know who the photographers are - if one of these is yours, please let me know and I'll credit them properly!