Ceremonial Leia questions/fabric input needed

[SassenachSkywalker ()]

Hello all! I'm planning out Leia's ceremonial/throne room outfit and have a few questions and would also love input on the fabrics I've been looking at.

I'll start with questions. 1. Is the tuck in front in the bust section that runs parallel to the triangular empire waist seam required for approval? 2. Is there actually a waist seam that gets hidden by the belt? 3. Are the skirt overlay and lining sewn together one piece, or are they separate from each other? Worrying about the train on convention floors is all. 4. Are the hook and eyes on the shoulder on the left side, since the zipper is in the left side seam of the dress as well? 5. Does it matter what the belt closure is in the back? Snaps seem lovely and secure, but elastic seems comfier. I wonder if there's a way to have both somehow..
I think these are all I have for now, but if I think of any more or run into roadblocks, I'll post a reply with another batch lol

Onto the fabrics! I had my eye on quite a load of fabrics since I wasn't sure what to go for. I wanted to stay as close to the original silk jersey knit as I could.
But I found this really nice fabric at Joann Fabrics! It's a casa collection sanded satin, I thought bright white would be best. I bought a bit to play around with and a bit of casa collection chiffon in white - I was hoping to practice making the entire dress in a smaller scale, that way I could practice the sleeve overlay as well.




First image is in the store - bolt tag, showing off the fabric opacity, then how it drapes off the bolt.
Second image is at home - outdoor (winter) natural lighting from a window, decent warm indoor lighting of folded sanded satin on top and chiffon on bottom, flash of chiffon on top of satin, a better shot of the chiffon on satin with flash, and a better indoor warm lighting of chiffon on satin.

The sanded satin has the flow and lightweighted-ness of a knit, but does not have stretch except for usual bias stretch. It's incredibly soft to the touch and has no shine/sheen.
The chiffon is nice, but I'm not sure if I should go with this brand of chiffon. I just want to make sure my choices look lovely together.

I'm still thinking on what to use as an underlining. I might self-line it or line it in the snow white sanded satin perhaps? I would love suggestions for that as well.

Thank you all for your time! MTFBWYA

[naberrie ()]

Hi there, beautiful choice! It's a lovely costume.

Replying partly to boost the post so you can get a more thorough answer, and because there's 2 out of 5 of your questions I can answer!

I haven't made this costume myself so I am not an expert and can't give extremely thorough feedback, however your second question around the waist seam. Whatever is more comfortable for you and attains a better fit will be allowed, as long as your belt covers the seam if it is there It's the same concept with Leia's white senatorial gown, people have cleared both with and without a waist seam/gathering, as long as the belt covers it, and looks like the references, you should be golden

Onto question no.5! I believe the closure is most often
presented as the 4 snaps, like on the senatorial belt. To my knowledge that is what has cleared most consistently in recent years (edited to add: elastic is allowed too, as clarified below )

Hopefully someone who has completed this costume will be able to answer your other questions and give a little feedback on fabric types

Can't wait to see your build progress!
_________________
Beth Mitchell (Naberrie)
RLGS XO - www.senate.rebellegion.com
Esk Besh Union DCO
Member; RAID, UCGR, KJO, RLGS.
they/them/she/her

[bekahsoka ()]

Hi! I love this costume so cant wait to see your progress

I haven't made this one myself, but am fairly familiar with it and got to see the dress in person at a convention so saw some neat things!

What tuck do you mean on the dress? Any references to explain?

I believe this dress didn't need a waist seam as it fairly fitted to the body, but as Beth said it can be done as long as its not visible when you have the belt on!

For the skirt/lining, they are separate having only the skirt as the train.

Yes there is a hook & eye on the left shoulder! hard to see unless you're looking directly on top and at the right angle!

Her belt actually was elastic for this one! The back of the one on display didn't have any snaps, just an opening of elastic to help with movement I assume. Both can work honestly!

The fabric you have seems great! The drape and color look nice. Excited for more

Hope all this helps!!
_________________



RLGS DCO: 2020-2021
Legion Costume Judge

[SassenachSkywalker ()]

Thank you Naberrie and Bekahsoka, I'm grateful for your help no matter how small!

[Lora Skywalker ()]

Hi. I have made this costume, so I'll try and answer your questions as best I can.

Okay.
1)Yes, you need the diagonal tuck in the overlay fabric. We're pretty sure it's there to hide the seam where the two 'wings' are connected to one another. And yes, it's only on the overlay, not the inner gown.
2)There can be, but I'll be honest and say it's easier to hide in the back than in the front where the belt curves more. Unlike the senatorial gown you don't have the blousing to help hide the seam and the ceremonial belt is also curved more than the senatorial belt. (Not that most people take notice of this, but still). So if you go for a waist seam be very sure of your placement.
3)Yes, they are sewn together along the neckline and armscye, otherwise not.
4) You already got the answer for this, but yes, on the left side. It's a fitted gown so this is how you get in and out of it when there's a lack of stretch.
5) Not really. You can go with the screen accurate elastic band or have the same kind of closure as the senatorial belt. People tend to think the senatorial belt closure looks better, but both are allowed. Just be sure the belt you get have enough plates! The plates are spaced very closely together on the ceremonial belt and don't have the gaps between them as you see on the senatorial belt.

I think that was it for the first round of questions.

The sanded satin might very well work, but it looks like the chiffon is too thin and transparent. Chiffon comes in different weights/thicknesses and you want a higher weight one for this costume. And while serging might be a bit much for the visible hems you should definitely do something to prevent fraying. A small rolled hem or very tiny zig-zagging of it can both work. For the hidden edges, however, you can finish them in whatever way you prefer. As long as the end result looks good, no one cares how you got there.
_________________


Nordic Base BMO | DL of Aurora Delegation | CRC | She/Her They/Them

RLGS Detachment website: http://www.senate.rebellegion.com/

[SassenachSkywalker ()]

Thank you for your reply, Lora!

If you think the waist seam may be harder, I might start by getting the belt first before I attempt the final gown - I could probably tweak it better on a full-scale mockup. I'll also make sure the commissioner is aware of the ceremonial belt being more curved and to make sure it has enough plates, so thank you for the tip!

Do you have a recommended thickness/mm for the chiffon, or recommendations for any other fabrics that could work? Dharma Trading seems to have some very nice silk chiffons, in 8mm , 10mm, and a double chiffon that's 16mm. Fabric Wholesale Direct seems to have a nice 10mm silk georgette/chiffon as well. If nothing else, I may go back to Joann's and see what else they have.

Also - what do you mean by hidden edges? I'm assuming you mean the lining seams besides the hems but I just want to be sure I understand.

[Lora Skywalker ()]

You're welcome.

I'd go for the double chiffon; the others tends to be pretty sheer.

Yeah, I just meant all edges that are hemmed or hidden behind a seamline. The sleeves aren't hemmed so the edge of the fabric will be visible unlike other parts of the gown.
_________________


Nordic Base BMO | DL of Aurora Delegation | CRC | She/Her They/Them

RLGS Detachment website: http://www.senate.rebellegion.com/