Senatorial Leia Finished!

Let me start out by saying that the White Polyester Jersey Knit I ordered is amazing. I pulled it out of the bag and had to fight the desire to wrap myself all up in it before I put it in the washer! Yes, believe it or not, I'm being good and pre-washing my fabric. I'll end up wearing this multiple times for Rebel Legion events, and it IS white, so machine washing will not be optional!

Here's my Senatorial Gown pattern,  (a PDF) drafted based on P&S Costume Creations amazing tutorial and pattern diagram. I ended up having JUST barely enough fabric. So, unless you're significantly shorter than 5'7", I recommend getting at least 6 1/2 yards!

A couple tips - the seam allowance for the back seam of the neck ended up needing to be about 1/4". I probably could have done 5/8", but I didn't want it too tight!

I could have measured the curve of the neckline in Inkscape, but didn't think of it until later, so I measured it the old fashioned way. Then, I broke out the Pythagorean theorem. The cutting line for the neckline is a circle with a radius of 2.25" (You can see I originally messed up the math by adding 5/8", instead of subtracting it).

The slit down the back was about 7.5". There are two layers to everything but the hood. The tricky part is flipping the dress right side out. Originally, I sewed both the bottom hem AND the sleeve hems. NOPE. Sew the bottom hem first. Flip the dress inside out. Then, pull the sleeves through the neckline and sew the inner layer to the outer layer. If you pull the back keyhole through the neckline, you can sew the right sides together for that.

 I hand stitched the edges of the hood.

I can't seem to lose the scowl / Resting Sith Face from my Imperial Officer Uniform.  . . .

Don't forget to leave a slit in each side of the dress up to knee height!

Tip: Don't let your dog eat the death star plans!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on Facebook! I'm happy to help!

Senatorial Leia Research

Before I put pattern to fabric and cut I realized I needed to double check all the details!

I ordered six yards of this White Polyester Jersey Knit. Of course I didn't measure my pattern to make sure that was enough. Sometimes I like to live dangerously!

I ordered a yard of White Knitback Vinyl. It seems very similar to the silver vinyl I used for my Ceremonial Leia belt.

My current plan is to cover a pair of my old boots using this amazing tutorial, so I ordered 2 yards of Galaxy White Fleece Back Vinyl Fabric.

Where to start? The the Rebel Legion standards! There's also a wonderful list of resources here.

Then, on to P&S Costume Creations amazing tutorial and pattern diagram.

Using that as a guide, I drafted my Senatorial Gown pattern in Inkscape.

I LOVE Kay Dee Collection's work, and her Senatorial Gown page is no exception. She also has links to belt patterns and hair tutorials.

The Padawan's Guide has a general costume page for the senatorial gown, And

• Reference Images
• Exhibit Photos
• Construction Details and Tips

Key Takeaways

• The gown is fully lined with the same fabric as the outside. I'm planning to make two sets of the dress, then sew the bottom hems and the sleeve hems together. Hopefully, I'll also sew the keyhole back together. That should enable me to turn it right side out in the raw neck edge. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to serge it or use my walking foot and stretch stitch. I'm leaning towards the walking foot and stretch stitch, as that gives me the best result on finicky knits. Just need to remember to put a ball point needle in my machine! I'm the WORST about changing needles when I'm working on projects for myself. With commissions, I change the needle if I so much as look at it funny. But I get lazy for some reason for many fabrics when I'm sewing for myself. 
• The hood is a rectangle (well, trapezoid), with the short edges gathered into the neckline. The long edges for the front of the hood, and the open back. A rolled hem is hand-stitched.  The Construction Details and Tips on the Padawan's guide has awesome details. This part also has details smocking being used at the waist, which is what I think I'll do, rather than gather!
• There are slits that go about up to knee high on the edges (or above the knee. . .)
• Oh yeah, there's no seam on top of the sleeves
• The keyhole opening in the back will need to go down far enough that I can get my head through.
• Need to use interfacing for the collar

That's it for now!

Okay. So I caved. I'm ordering these boots, which should work once I remove the straps.