Completed and Approved Cloud City Build Thread

AlexandraIVann (Alexandra Vann)

Recently I got my Cloud City Leia approved, so here is what I used to build my costume. I’m sure there are a ton of different ideas on how to do it, an probably way better and easier ways., but here we go!

https://imgur.com/u2RkRy7

Patterns:
- For the pants I used Vogue V9189 hybrid with Simplicity 3971.
The tunic was McCalls 2031 and McCalls M7456.
The cape was draped.
The belt was also draped.

Materials:
- 4 yards of crepe de chine silk from mood in the color Rust (Link: https://www.moodfabrics.com/rust-silk-crepe-de-chine-pv1200-175 )

4 yards of poly crepe de chine from fabrics.com (Link: https://www.fabric.com/buy/0462789/telio-misora-crepe-de-chine-burgundy )

1 yard of crepe de chine silk from mood in the color Antique (Link: https://www.moodfabrics.com/antique-white-silk-crepe-de-chine-pv1200-103 )

- 4 yards of silk chiffon from Mood in the color Brick (Link:
https://www.moodfabrics.com/brick-silk-wide-chiffon-pv5012-170 )

- 4 yards of Spoonflower cloud city Leia design fabric (Link:
https://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/5978478-princess-cloud-by-general_leah )

- 13 yards of copper trim from amazon (link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F3NDX39/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )

1 pair of dyeable ballet flat shoes from amazon (link: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Ups-Womens-Ballet-White/dp/B0013LX052?ref_=w_bl_sl_ap_sh_web_3045412011 )

2oz of Cardinal Red and 2oz of Terra cotta dye from Dharma Trading Company (Link: https://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-fiber-reactive-procion-dyes.html )

Whatever stiffener you would like to use for your belt. I used buckram and some sort of stiffening material that my mom had in her stash. Gonna be honest, not sure what it is but it’s the same thickness as leather.

1 yard of cotton batting. Don’t use poly as it won’t lay the same.

Maroon thread that works best with your machine. I used Güttermann 420.
Gold thread. I used some antique thread we had around.
Zipper, your choice in length. Mine is 24” I think.

Build:

Pants:

After I got everything and let it sit for months, (terrified of making a mistake haha) I used the Vogue pattern V9189 top hybrid with pajama bottoms from Simplicity 3971. If I made the pants again I would have just made them with Simplicity 3971. An elastic waist band would have been so much better than everything I put myself through patterning and hybridizing these two together. So, just use Simplicity 3971 and make your life easy.

Remember to line the pants and add the cuff at the bottom and you’re done! That was the easiest part of the whole costume.

Front
https://imgur.com/ayKjeh6

Side (showing zipper)
https://imgur.com/01VObRM

Back
https://imgur.com/Bj8GDob

Shoes:

I had never dyed shoes before this and i was terrified. Like, this is not a normal thing for a costumer to do. I just buy shoes and that part is done, but dying them?! So I look to youtube, and here is the tutorial I used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY_ddwsP6QY

It really is that easy. I just followed that tutorial and they were done. I let them sit for 6 hours before putting them on but within an hour they were dry and matched the main body of the costume PERFECTLY. Dying shoes is SO easy! Don’t get yourself in a fuss about it like I did!

(PS: I tucked the strings in like you do actual ballet shoes. I didn’t cut them off.)

I couldn’t have done this without Kelldar’s advice. She’s a saint!

https://imgur.com/tMRoiX6

https://imgur.com/FqE7Gtn

https://imgur.com/I4PG4iw

Tunic:

This part of this costume wasn’t that bad. I used McCalls 2031 and lengthened it to fall right above my knee. I added altered sleeves from McCalls M7456, and put a long zipper in the back. Lastly I hand sewed the copper trim around the collar, end of sleeves, and bottom of the tunic. Done.

Yes, the sleeve pattern I used is a two part sleeve pattern. Why? Because from what I can tell that is the easiest way of getting the curved part on the top of the hand to hang right. The seams shouldn’t show with your arms down. It just came out cleaner than one piece sleeves.

Front
https://imgur.com/Oh7MRFh

Side
https://imgur.com/lgOgRXq

Back
https://imgur.com/MlZ320u

Belt:

The Rebel Legion has the measurements up. I used those to make my pattern. I sewed my lining to my structure, then hand sewed the base material of the costume to cover it, tacking it to the lining fabric already sewn on so there is no top stitching. I would use 5-6oz leather if I did it again.

Front
https://imgur.com/WvcAtEQ

Back
https://imgur.com/NKpigXR

Cape:

This was the only part of the costume I wasn’t concerned about and it ended up being the most difficult. It’s funny how that’s always how it is.

The measurements I took for the yoke was were:

Shoulder seam to armpit.
- Nape of neck to bra strap. (Which on me lines up with the bottom of shoulder blades.)
- Base of neck at shoulder seam to tip of shoulder.

Basically it’s going to be a circle with a longer back. From there, I folded it in half and trimmed the back so it came to a “soft” point. I cut the white crepe de chine and the rust out, and then cut two layers of the cotton batting and trimmed those down a quarter inch so they fit nicely into the yoke when turned right side out later. I sewed the cotton batting to the off-white piece and sewed the lines into the top of the yoke, locking them in. I then sewed the rust to that and flipped it right side out. Then it was time for that copper trim again. I sewed that around the yoke and boom, yoke mostly done. I then added the collar. I hand stitched the collar on the inside down and hand stitched the copper trim around the base of neck and collar.

I used the back side of my spoon flower fabric as I felt the right side was far too vibrant. If you get the same amount I did you will end up with 5 and a ½ of the pattern. I cut that extra one off so that it matched the other side. Then I taper cut the vertical sides so that they followed the pattern up at the angle of the pattern. I hemmed the bottoms of both the chiffon and the spoon flower. I sewed the chiffon to the spoon flower, added arm holes above the 2nd and 4th repetition of the fabric and then flipped it right side out.

My chiffon ended up not being as wide as the spoon flower fabric so I added a yoke on the top where it wouldn't be seen as you can see in the pictures.

The 3rd pattern is the center back, from there I added three pleats on both sides lining up with the quilted lines on the yoke. I used a little bit of math here. There are 3 pleats on each side of the center, cascading towards the center. You can free hand it and eye it, but your pleats may not lay evenly when pressed. The front pleats are done at an angle so that they waterfall down. These also cascade down from the arm towards the edge. After I set the pleats, I hand sewed the cape to the yoke with whip stitches, hand stitched the copper trim around the entire cape, and done!

Front
https://imgur.com/K2Ae9BM

Side
https://imgur.com/kpKQLUy

Back
https://imgur.com/owYM53q

Lining Front
https://imgur.com/auoaWGS

Lining Side
https://imgur.com/FqIqhgN

Lining Back
https://imgur.com/M4RrbW2

All in all this build was a lot for my mind to tackle but at the end of the day it was not a difficult costume to make. Take one piece at a time and don’t over complicate it. Do not let it sit for almost a year like I did!