Ewok Village Leia build thread

[Lora Skywalker ()]

Okay, so I guess this is the official start of my WIP thread for this costume.

So far I have found a pair of sandals, some extensions for the braided part (too light, so I'll have to see if I can darken them), and a fabric for the long sleeves.

Now, my first question. The fabric I've found has a gorgeous texture and feel to it, but it's bone white. Is bone white acceptable or should it be snow white to be accepted? If it has to be snow white I'll have to see if I can find the same fabric in that color. (Sorry, no pictures of the fabric right now). I would prefer it if I can go with the bone white fabric I've found since it really is just gorgeous.

I'm still looking at options for the dress fabric. So far I'm leaning toward goat skin, since none of the artificial fabrics I've looked at have the right colors/look; they're too shiny on the backside.

And a pic of the sandals. I know I posted this in some other thread, but I've lost track of it.


The sandals are not an exact match, but they do have the X pattern and no high heel.

I'll see about taking some pictures of the other stuff.
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[RebelSenator ()]

Nice find on the shoes.

Yeah, I think a pic of the fabric would help.
Looking forward to seeing your build!
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[Lora Skywalker ()]

And that's why I made sure to take a pic!

The fabric with natural light on the left, and yellow artificial light on the right. It was a cloudy day. A bone hairfork for color comparison.

(The out of focus floor is light grey)

The kanekalon hair and my hairband:


Anyone have any suggestions for darkening kanekalon hair? Otherwise it's back to looking and buying hoping to find a color closer to my own hair color.
A comparison photo:

(For some reason my hair looks very red here...)

I do have some other hair lying around, but it's too red. Or too dark.


It may be a while until I update again, but I hope to soon start on the pattern.
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[Trishaleam (Trisha Morace Borne)]

I just recently submitted this costume myself. I have all kinds of natural highlights in my hair from black, to brown, to red so it was impossible for me to match the braid exactly to my own hair color. I ended up using a black shade of hair for my braided piece and I think it blended in pretty well. Once the hair piece is braided and laced with the suede cord it might match better than you would think. I would try the shade(s) you have with the hairstyle you are planning to use and go from there.

[Lora Skywalker ()]

Nice costume. Your's do blend pretty well. For my other Leia I use the before mentioned darker hair. It works with my roots, but not with my lenght.
But I have some cord lying around that I could try wrapping around the different hair pieces and see how it works with my hair. I also have a fair amount of highlights and lowlights ranging from black (or near black) to silverwhite.
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[RebelSenator ()]

The fabric photo is great! Putting the bone hairfork nx to it was a fantastic idea. I think the fabric is very close but I'm not a costume judge so it would be good to hear from one of them. I would think that they should be able to answer very easily with the great photo you took.

All you ladies with gorgeous long dark hair...jealous sigh.
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[Mieal Deneb (Rachel Orange)]

I'd like to see the bone color fabric next to the suede fabric you'll be using for the rest of the dress (if you have it yet) to get a better idea what it'd be like. I used pure white for my sleeves.



Doctored Locks has a color matching service, if you send them a small swatch of your own hair, they'll choose a Kanekalon color for you that best matches your hair color. That's what I had them do for me. My headband/braid is Kanekalon from them in the color they suggested.

http://www.doctoredlocks.com/
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~Mieal

[Princess Leah ()]

Hooray! I'm starting on this one this year as well. I came across some great hides the last time I was at Denver Fabrics. Likely wont start until after I get my bridesmaids dresses made...

The sleeve fabric you have there, is it the right type? I can't see a weave in the picture, so I can't tell for sure. It looks like suede.

Edit: I just stared at some hi res images that show the sleeves. I think ivory will photograph white, look white in person, and all without the harshness of white. So you're fine there.
The texture of the sleeves looks almost like a crepe, with no real discernible weave. So you're good there too. I'd still be interested to now where you picked up that fabric.
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[SoloYT1300 (Robert Kohn)]

Advise to hair color matching... use a hackle to blend to the right color. It's a rare day when you can find the exact color right off the shelf. Your best bet is to blend the hair to get to the right color. Not to mention nobody has naturaly one color to their hair. Your natural state of hair is a mixture of blends. So when your buying hair that will be something you will want to consider.

Here is a tutorial put together by one of our own Wookies on the boards to help if your interested... How to make and use a hackle
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[SongofAmazon (Jenna)]

Huh. I'd never heard of a hackle before. I've tried blending wig colors by hand before and it always came out a mess. I am totally making myself one of those now!
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[RebelSenator ()]

First I'm hearing of a hackle as well. That is really awesome. Thank you for sharing.
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[Lora Skywalker ()]

The hackle looks interesting, Rob, but since I'm lacking a workspace making one might be a bit hard. I'm wondering if you could buy one cheap or use some other everyday stuff instead. Hmm, possibilities.

Rachel, thanks for the link! I'm definitely going to look into their prices seeing they ship overseas.

Right now though I'm not buying anything for this project, as I am out of money. I don't have the fabric for the dress bought so can't do a comparison pic with the ivory sleeve fabric. But when I do get that fabric I will take a comparison photo. I can only give you a paper comparison if you want it. If the ivory should turn out to look too dark I will start looking for another sleeve fabric, but until then I'm sticking with what I have. Oh, and it was a chance find in a local fabric chain called Stof 2000. The fabric is called Prada. It is a cotton fabric with a velvet surface according to the description tag. It has a bit of stretch in it and is incredibly soft to the touch.

I'm hoping things will look up next month, but there's no garanties. So far I'm trying to see where I can save money, so I can afford the fabric I'll need. Meh, the problems of a costumer.
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[GotWookiee (Matt Pfingsten)]

Hackle's can be purchased from wig making supply houses for about $70
Mane Depot

They are relatively easy to make even without much space. All you really need is a sheet of plastic or wood (which can be picked up and cut for you at Home Depot or Lowes) and a simple battery powered drill with a drill guide (a tool that helps you drill holes that are perpendicular to the surface you are drilling, like you could do on a drill press), and some nails.
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[LeiaYT1300 (Beret Balestrieri Kohn)]

Regarding sandals, I do recommend with a sandal that has the most pancake flat sole you can find and with thinner straps versus thick. Looking at the few images we can have, the more straps the better.

I went with what is known as a lyrical dance sandal or Hermes sandal:



Places to buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Danshuz-Womens-Hermes-Sandal-6243/dp/B004BFK84S
http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_6243.html?camp=Froogle_6243&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=6243&utm_campaign=Products
http://www.dancecitydancewear.com/6243-by-danshuz-hermes-dance-sandal-review-sizing/

They have a nice thin but sturdy sole, and it's a snap to change out the crappy vinyl straps with either purchased suede laces or what I did, which was cut straps from the leftover suede of my gown and add them, weaving over and around in a fashion similar to the original sandals.

For $30, they look pretty darn close to the original and it's nice to have sandals that match the gown fairly well, too:

Hers:

Mine:


As for the sleeve fabric, I wanted to recreate the rough nubby homespun look of the original and I agree that it's not a bright white, so I went with a natural color (or undyed) raw silk noil, which turned out rather nice.

As for the main gown fabric, well, I've always been an advocate for real suede - nothing beats the drape and feel of the real thing, and honestly, the cost is comparable to good faux suede fabric, so I recommend looking into the real thing before settling on faux suede.

Good luck with the hair matching - I know that can be a difficult situation.
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Beret
LeiaYT1300

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[Lora Skywalker ()]

Thanks Beret, for the kinds words and advice. Yeah, I'm definitely interested in buying the real thing. My eyes are on some goat skin I saw in a leather shop, but I'm keeping my options open for other things. I have not found any faux suede that was right anyway. I really should start looking at that mock-up so I can figure out how much I'll need for my dress.

Since I already have a pair of sandals I'm sticking with them, but it's good advice for others looking to do this costume.

But buying is for next month (hopefully). This month's budget went to new jedi boots.
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