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my Visas costume progress


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

I am thinking about starting on this costume soon (well, I still haven't decided if it'll be this one or an Imperial officer's uniform, but I think I can do this one for less money ...) and I was wondering if a beaded edging would be acceptable for the veil and the sleeves? I think that beadwork would give it a nice weight to hold the veil in place over the eyes. I have done lots of beaded netting before so I'm not worried about getting it to come out right, I just don't know if it would be allowed or not. It's kind of tricky to tell what textures are supposed to be from game images ...

 

Also, as of right now I'm planning to use a moleskin for the underdress, and a charcoal-black "leathered suede" from JoAnn's for the overdress, do you think both of these would work? I would use either a stencil or a block print for the pinwheel design.

 

Thanks.

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Hi,

 

While beadwork is lovely (I miss beading!), I don't think the gold patterns on Visas' veil looks like it has that much texture. To me it seems more like a painted or embroidered design, rather than something 3-dimensional. You would need to check with the LMO to get a solid ruling on that, though.

 

I think moleskin would look really nice for the underdress- just make sure it's not a really heavy fabric. The layers of that outfit get really hot after a while, and some of the moleskins I've seen are dreadfully heavy. Lightweight would be nice, though.

 

For the outer dress, the references show it having the shine of leather or a leather-like fabric. It needs to be something good and sturdy, and capable of giving off a nice sheen in the light. I'm not sure if a suede would give the right look, since that's usually a textured and matte surface. I'd say to compare the fabric with the reference pictures, and decide if it looks right!

 

normal_VisasFrontBack.jpg

 

 

Pam :-)

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Guest Anonymous

Thanks for the quick reply! I think I like texture too much ...

 

The moleskin I'm thinking of shouldn't be too heavy, I've used the same fabric before in a dress and it's very comfortable. What JoAnn's calls "leathered suede" basically looks like a very worn leather, it does have some shine to it, but it isn't uniform ... I'm not sure about it yet. I'm trying to avoid having to use a stiff vinyl, I want something that will be comfortable to wear and have good movement to it if I ever fight in it. I should check out JoAnn's again, it's getting close to Halloween and they seem to bring out their nicer lightweight fake leathers around now.

 

Another question, do you know if the gold trim on the arms on the KOTOR version is on the gloves or on a cuff of the sleeves? Is there a way to tell, and/or does it matter? I prefer the gathered sleeves to the open ones and I want to make sure I do them right.

 

EDIT -- nm, I found the answer to my last question. I'm coming up with new ones, but I'll look around a bit more before posting any of them.

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Guest Anonymous

I hadn't actually been planning on getting fabric just yet, but I did anyway (but I can't start working on it until I have a clean sewing room ... like that'll happen). The moleskin I was hoping to use would have either been too red or too purple, so I'm not using that after all. Instead, I got a crepe-back satin and I will use the "wrong" side. I found a matching chiffon to use for the veil. I had to special-order the fabric for the overdress, which is a lightweight textured fake leather. It is a little too lightweight on its own, so it will have to be backed with something.

 

Is there meant to be a lighter-colored binding on the armholes and slit? It looks kind of like that in the reference images, and it would make the construction easier ... I'd rather flat-line a dress this long than do a normal lining.

 

These are the patterns I got:

http://www.simplicity.com/p-5246-misses ... esses.aspx for the underdress, I like how it's slim-fitting at the waist, but with the pleating, has a fair bit of fullness around the hips. Obviously I'll need to alter the sleeves, and it may need lengthening as well -- they don't show the longer version on a real person, so I'm not sure.

 

http://www.simplicity.com/p-1532-costumes.aspx for the overdress. I know it's quite different from what other people have used, but I like it and I think I can make it work. I will need to make it actually connect at the sides and the front looks like it will need a french dart to fit properly. Right now I'm thinking a side zipper and an opening at one side of the collar/shoulder seam that will mostly be hidden under the veil, but that may well change.

 

I think I will get started building the veil first.

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Guest Anonymous

After much delay (other projects came up instead) I will be getting started on this soon. I have been rethinking how I'm going to go about making the costume though, and before I start I wanted to double check -- can I make the underdress a separate skirt and top? I saw in a different thread, someone had planned to use a mesh fabric in the areas of the underdress that wouldn't be seen, so I'm assuming it would be ok, but I wanted to make sure before I actually started.

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Guest Anonymous

I got about halfway done with the skirt today, and should have a picture tomorrow. Here is a picture of the fabric I have for the overdress:

 

visas_leather.jpg

 

The texture is pretty small-scale, each of the "speckles" is less than a mm I'd say, and from a distance it's not really obvious that there's any sort of a pattern. It has a decently shiny look without looking too plasticy. It is not a true black but a very dark warm gray -- in the reference pics, especially this one that shows her glove directly against the overdress, I don't think her overdress is a true black either.

 

VisasGlove.jpg

 

Unfortunately the fabric is a little too thin to have the right drape on its own and I will have to back it with something.

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Guest Anonymous

An unfulfilled quest ...

 

As I said, last night I got about halfway done with my skirt. Right before I went to bed, however, I thought, "this fabric's good, but it isn't perfect. So I went to JoAnn's this morning and got some fabric that, in the store, looked much better. It turned out, though, that under sunlight it just looked kind of flat and pinkish. So I returned that. "I know," I said to myself. "I'll see if the fancy fabric store has anything." There's a yarn store in town that also sells some fabrics, and occasionally they have good prices on silks. They did have something that was close in color, but not quite right, unfortunately it was far too lightweight and $25/yard. So that didn't work out either, and I am back to my original fabric. On the bright side, I don't have to redo any work on the skirt ...

(not that you all needed to hear this story)

 

Also, I work at my university's historic costume and textile collection, and yesterday I showed a picture of Visas Marr to the graduate student I work with. She commented that the shape of the veil was almost exactly the same as one in a 17th century print she was researching, which I thought was interesting.

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Guest Aysel

would you like the UPC numbers for the fabrics I picked out at Joann's? I got both the outer dress and inner dress material there

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Guest Anonymous

Sure, if you don't mind. Thanks! Right now I'm using JoAnn's crepe-back satin in cranberry for the fabric, using the crepe side not the super shiny side. The weave gives the fabric a really nice depth, especially in the right light, but it doesn't come in quite the right color. I may end up sticking with it anyway but I wouldn't mind knowing what you used.

 

Pam, I have a question about boots -- is the heel on these low enough? I really am not sure but I would like to use these if I can. They also have a zipper on the other side, I'm not sure that's accepted either.

 

visas_boots.jpg

 

Do you think the overdress fabric I posted earlier will work?

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Guest Aysel

the pleather is costume pleather black textured pleather UPC 171-8675 the burgandy/plum/violet fabric I found in the dress fabric section, the one that has prom/bride's maids fabric's set up in a rainbow, I had a print out of the picture and I just went through and help it up till I found what looked to be the right one (I've lost the receipt and don't have the bolt cardboard for that one) hope that helps

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Guest Anonymous

Thanks! They must not be stocking that fabric in our JoAnns right now (I know they don't have all their colors all the time) because I did look at those fabrics and the closest they had was a sort of brick red. But the manager there is super helpful so I bet I could order it even without the SKU. Though, I realized after my last post, you did the comic version and I'm doing the game version, and I'm not sure they're supposed to be quite the same color.

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Guest Aysel

it's a similar color but I think the game version is a bit more purpley than the comic version. When you went in did you have a printed out picture for comparison? it helped me a lot when searching for fabric and the other pieces

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Guest Anonymous

Good, because I wore them when marking the hem! After looking around a bit more I realized that your example in the comic version reference had heels about the same height and a zipper, and felt a bit silly for asking :-)

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Guest Anonymous

Here is the finished underskirt:

 

visas_skirt.jpg

 

This was taken outdoors with no flash (although, not in direct sunlight) and I think you can forget any comments I made earlier about not liking the fabric, because I'm pretty happy with how it looks here. On to the shirt!

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Guest Aysel

that fabric looks nice, you said that's the "wrong" side? it's a lovely color and the length looks good

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Guest Anonymous

Yes, if you look at the picture of the boot I posted, that shiny fabric in the background is the "right" side of the same fabric. JoAnns calls it crepe-back satin, I think that is just their name for a heavier charmeuse. Unlike a lot of satins the back is textured rather than smooth. The satin weave also makes invisible hems a lot easier. Even though I knew I didn't want the shiny side showing, I kept accidentally stitching it the wrong way. Had to redo a couple of seams ...

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Guest Anonymous

Quick update before I go on to do the top in the actual fabric. It took more adjustments than I expected to get the sleeve just how I wanted it, but here it is:

 

visas_muslin2.jpg

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Guest Anonymous

Long post ahead!

 

Here's the shirt:

visas_shirt.jpg

It's not so flattering on its own, but that doesn't matter.

 

Rather than tucking the sleeves into the gloves (which I find uncomfortable and annoying to wear) I'm doing it the opposite way, making sleeves that will sit over the gloves. The gold-embellished band will be a cuff on the sleeve rather than on the glove (I'm adding this later). Also, turning the seam allowance back inside the sleeve, rather than forward into a cuff or glove, helps keep the balloony shape that her sleeves have in the reference pics. I may need to add a snap to help the sleeves stay at the right height, we'll see. Right now the cuffs tend to fall down a little (less when I'm wearing gloves) but once the cuff is added, that may be enough.

 

I tried it on with the skirt, and with gloves and a vest to help it look a bit more similar to the actual costume:

visas_front.jpg

 

Visas' sleeves keep their balloony shape no matter her arm position -- a side effect, I suspect, of being made of pixels rather than fabric. To achieve this look I gathered some tulle and sewed it to the inside of the cuff:

sleeve-petticoat.jpg

I forgot to take a picture of the shirt when one sleeve had the filler and one didn't, but it definitely makes a difference. Here's a couple of pics with different arm positions:

visas_side.jpg

visas_twirl.jpg

 

I am wondering if the skirt is too long. Looking at pictures, I think its hemline might actually be where I want the overdress' hemline to be, in which case the skirt should be a little higher. I think I can shorten it just by taking it in at the waist so it sits higher on my hips, rather than re-hemming it, so it won't be too hard to change.

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Guest Aysel

yea just hitch it up a little higher, and remember you'll also have the belt on over it which will change it's height. good idea with the tulle to poof the sleeves

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That is indeed crepe back satin :) The nubbly texture is the crepe :) Though depending on the machine used to weave it could be a satin back crepe ;)

 

 

Fabulous choices all around for the fabrics :) Textures are so important, so very important and not just in this world (where comparisons are made to how it was done in the movies) but any costuming :)

 

Looking good all around :)

 

I have to admit, I'd interpret the gold as being on her sleeve rather than her gloves given the original artwork and the gold details on her cowl.

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Guest Anonymous

Thank you, mdb! I agree, especially in the promo art it looks like the gold is attached to the sleeve rather than the glove, but I think it's still gold against black rather than gold against purple.

 

For the veil, I'm wondering -- I've noticed in many pictures of others' costumes, that because of the way the veil drapes, the underside of it is occasionally visible. I had been planning on making mine a single layer with a hem at the bottom, rather than lining it, but as seen in pictures I've posted, the back side of my fabric is quite shiny, especially with flash. Will it be a problem if that shows in photos? Or should I rethink my plan and line it? If it makes a difference, I had been planning on giving it some shaping (not just using a half circle) since the screenshots don't really show folds, but the underside still might show sometimes.

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Guest Aysel

I made the decision to make mine a double layer because I didn't want a hem to show. With your fabric being shinny on the "right" side if I were you I'd play it safe and make it a double layer, this way there would be no chance of the "right" side being seen, it would also give you a better way to hide weights to keep the fabric down (in the wind it helps A LOT).

 

my $0.02

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Guest Anonymous

I have been working on the pattern for the veil. No pictures yet (it's not quite at the stage where I want to share ...) but I think I have the pattern pretty much figured out. The reason I had originally not wanted to line it was because I'm putting darts in mine (like Pam's, I believe) to get the fold-less shape that the game version has, and I was a bit nervous about getting two layers of darts in satin to line up with each other. Now after working with the piece some I'm still nervous about that but I think it may be simpler than any of the other options.

 

For the fabric for the veil -- I know it's the same color as the underdress, but it looks to me like the texture might be a little different? Then again the sleeves and underskirt also appear to have a different texture when I look at them ... anyway I had considered putting a layer of chiffon over the whole thing, not just the eye area, to give a different texture to the veil. Hm ... probably shouldn't have brought this up until I'm able to post comparison photos. I'll post some later

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