Bespin Leia - My long term project

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

It is hard for me to tell since all the photos are being taken with light behind it to make it appear sheer. I would prefer to see a photo of it taken with flash indoors, without being back lit to really see how sheer it is. (many thin fabrics can look sheer when taken as a back lit photo).

For example, I have a friend with a Leia Ceremonial gown. If she takes photos out in sunlight being back lit the fabric will look a little sheer-ish. But indoors it is not so sheer.

I'm not really an expert on this costume though, it is one that I have not yet really studied. So I'd need more time to study it and determine just how critical it is for the fabric to be sheer (this is the outer fabric, correct? You are speaking of embroidering it?)
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[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

OK, I looked at photos of the real deal. It looks like a crinkled silk georgette (or polyester) that's been ironed out. I suspect the sheerness of your current fabric is OK for the outer layer standards wise, but you may want to see if it drapes like a georgette if you are particular about how the fabric flows and drapes. (nothing too stiff).

I'd just hate to see you spend months embroidering this, and find the fabric is stiffer than you'd ideally like it to be.

If you want to go with your current fabric rather than a georgette, it might need to be overdyed a bit darker. Your fabric almost looks too white, I worry it is going to read white in many photos which could potentially cause a problem. I feel like the color of the real costume reads more of a pale ecru.

However, perhaps before dying it, see what it looks like when you put the sheer burgundy chiffon lining inside of it. If the outer fabric is sheer enough, it will pick up some of the darkness of the sheer burgundy chiffon lining (as the real costume does) to give it more of an off-white look.

That's my off-hand advise.
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[Aysel ()]

all good points and speak to all my worries. The fabric itself isn't stiff by any means and does drape a lot like georgette (which I as well suspect the original was made or even a crinkled silk chiffon)

first the fabric laying on different colored stuff


fabric draped over blue thingy


after seeing the fabric photographed under different light and under flash I'm leaning more and more to getting something which more closely matches a crinkled georgette or chiffon.
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[padme9055 (Tabitha McCurdy)]

That fabric is really pretty, but yeah, if you aren't really happy with it, I'd say go find something you love. Even if it puts the dress back for another month or two, I wouldn't start on it till you have a fabric you love .
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[Aysel ()]

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

Yeah, I just worry for all the work you'll put into it, why not get a crinkled georgette? There are plenty of poly and silk ones out there. Not the thin chiffon though, that will be too thin (that's what you do use for the lining though, normal thin chiffon). Georgettes are similar to chiffon, but much heavier. They stand up to the embroidery too if they are heavy enough. I can't remember if my Leia ceremonial was called double georgette, it was so long ago. But something along that sheerness/drape/weight is best

You are very brave to take this on! I have always said it is too much work for me.
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[Aysel ()]

hand stitching is what I'm good at one of those skills you pick up when you do Renaissance costuming for years, this just happens to be really big, not really a turn off for me ok, looks like I'll be fabric shopping YAY! (seriously, love fabric shopping )
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[Mieal Deneb (Rachel Orange)]

Georgette does take embroidery well. I embroidered my ROTS Padme aqua georgette gown. http://costumesandartwork.blogspot.com/2009/03/padme-aqua-georgette-gown-update.html

I recommend using an embroidery hoop, one that isn't too large. That way, your fabric won't pucker and "shrink" as you embroider. If you use a stabilizer, make sure it'll all wash away when you're done.
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[RavenApprentice (Angel Martinez)]

Bespin Leia is an awesome costume! Good Luck on this project!
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[SoloYT1300 (Robert Kohn)]

My wife ( LeiaYT1300) has done a ton of research for this costume... however does not check the boards much these days. You may want to send her a PM and I am sure she could answer any question you might have. She spent 9 months doing the embroidery... and I do believe it was on a silk georgette.





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[Aysel ()]

thank you! Solo I'll send her a PM, mostly I need to quiz those that have done this about the colors they chose to use.
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[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

[Aysel ()]

yes, this I know about, if you ever do embroidery on a piece of fabric the shrinkage can be different between your threads and the fabric, ideally you'd want to preshrink everything, just a bit of advice for anyone else going to try their hands at embroidering something for the first time. Having your item washed and pressed after you're finished with the embroidery can help tons too, also starching (depending on your fabric of choice, you shouldn't starch silks) and pressing can help with the final outcome. Ok, enough with the embroidery advice (I just hopes that helps anyone else with their embroidery projects in the future)

Within the next month I'll be going fabric shopping, I've found what I think could be the ideal fabric on Hancock fabric's online, a polyester ivory georgette, so I"m going to make a trip to the nearest store (about an hours drive from here) to get my hands on it and see if I'd be happy with it. I've also found what could be the perfect color fabric at Joann's. They call it a costume chiffon, it's 100% polyester (yuck, but oh well if the color matches I'll be happy) I just need to get down to the store to see if the color on my monitor matches enough. Pic below for color


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[Mieal Deneb (Rachel Orange)]

Polyester might be "yuk", but there's a good chance that polyester was used quite a bit because it's a 70's early 80's "fabric of choice"!
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[Aysel ()]

polyester and nylon, at least the polyesters now are MUCH better than they used to be.

Update:

not much of one since I still have to go fabric shopping, but I got my weekly email from Joann's and it reminded me that Monday is a holiday, so they are having a BIG sale so Monday is fabric shopping day, yay! I've got 2 costumes in the pipeline, this one and a soft one for 501st which will be completed by May (for obvious, large, time consuming, embroidery issues )
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