Star Wars Padme Amidala Purple Senate Coat

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PURPLE VELVET COAT

PADME'S SENATE DRESS COSTUME
Star Wars Attack of the Clones Costume

Progress as of June 2, 2005

After taking nearly a 1 1/2 year break from working on this costume, I decided to dive back into it again in the spring of 2005. A few minor adjustments need to be made to one of the back seams, the shoulders (perhaps some small shoulder pads added to eliminate a bit of a concave shape between piping seam and shoulder seam) and the back hem needs to be completed.

Final Muslin

PATTERNS USED: The end result is a pattern that I draped and drafted myself. I did start out with The Mantua Maker No 1500-2 "Spanish Loose Gown" and Butterick 3345 for the bodice of the coat. However, my pattern is completely different than the Mantua Maker pattern (it's nice as a reference - but not usable as is) and the Butterick pattern provides a nice starting point as a block for the bodice.

FABRIC: Cut (burnout) silk and rayon velvet from Silk Connection in the "flames" pattern dyed with Procion dyes from Dharma Trading (see velvet dye notes). Polyester lining (for flatlining the velvet) and polyester crinkle fabric for the visible lining of the coat.

NOTES:

Flatlining The Velvet - The velvet requires flatlining in order to give it the structure required for the bodice, as well as to hide the seam allowances that otherwise show through the sheer silk velvet. The silk velvet is much too flimsy on it's own and lost it's shape when trying to add piping to all the back and front seams of the bodice. Cotton would have worked well for flatlining the bodice, but cotton was too stiff for flatlining the skirt and sleeves. I wanted the layer under the sheer cut velvet to match on both the bodice and the skirt, so I opted to flatline the entire coat with polyester lining fabric. I simply added an ultra thin layer of iron-on stabilizer to the bodice pieces to keep them from losing their shape.

A medium to light weight stabilizer was used on the collar and the shoulder 'wings' as well.

The drawback to using polyester lining and iron-on stabilizer together is that the seam allowances became quite bulky once the silk piping was added. If I were to do this again I would make an attempt to find a cotton fabric and a satin lining fabric that matched in color - flatlining the bodice with cotton and the flowing sleeves and skirt with the polyester.

Piping - Piping was made using cording covered with biased cut strips of silk. The piping was basted onto all of the seam allowances by hand, then stitched firmly in place with a zipper foot. Finally, the seams were sewn together with a zipper foot. Making alterations to this coat is time consuming and difficult, because the piping has to be ripped out, moved into a new position, and stitched all over again.

Sequins and beads - Black Iris sequins matching those used on the bodice and brooch were added to the collar and shoulder wings. Blue Iris seed beads are sewn on top of the center hole of the sequin to keep it in place.

Hook and eye bars - A total of 4 small hooks are added to the front edge of the coat bodice just under the piping, and they attach to eye bars that are placed on the front of the dress bodice to keep the coat in place. They help keep the fitted coat flat against the body, as well as keeping the front edges of the coat from dragging too far backward when one walks.

VIEW PHOTOS OF THE COSTUME HOOK AND EYE BARS HERE >