So I had big plans of trying to do a start to finish mockup of Padme this weekend. I had 10 new yards of fabric, I was going to cut out all of my pattern pieces, assemble everything, make edits (hopefully small) and then be ready for my real fabric this week.
Of course I knew that was shooting for the moon. But I was hoping I’d get close. Alas! I know better. But let’s start at the beginning.
Found some scrap blue cotton in my stash to use for the lining. I’m pretty sure this is leftover from my 2007 Belle village dress, which I don’t even have anymore LOL
I did decide I did not want the lining layer to be stretchy. I wanted something non-stretch that I could build everything off of. With the work I did on fitting these pattern pieces last week, they fit pretty well right out of the box.
Next I did the part I knew would be easiest – the cape:
Cut 2 layers of the main piece and 4 of the inside back panels. Got the outer layer assembled – the lining layer I cut so it had a center seam just to save fabric. Got lining and outer layers assembled and pinned onto the lining – I did have to edit one thing, to make it fit onto my lining layer correctly, but it was an easy fix.
I went back and forth between having this on the form with arms – because especially for the hood section I needed the shoulder width considered – and my regular dressform where the top fits better, but has no arms so there’s no fitting anything coming across the shoulders on it.
Also first thing that morning I went to bring my regular dressform over by the table and a massive fucking spider JUMPED out at me. Like literally like it was protecting its home. Chase came up and exterminated it, but that was fun because I was scared of my dressform the rest of the day and constantly felt like I had a spider on me.
Next I needed to do the outer fabric layer for the lining layers, which I never did in the first mockup round. And of course I made my first 2 big mistakes here.
I was supposed to cut these pieces wider at the neckline and forgot. I also forgot and when I sewed the outer layer to the lining, did it wrong and ended up with the longer crossover on the wrong side. Oops.
But it’s coming along.
Now time for the biggest pattern piece I needed to cut, the hood/crossover parts. And this is where it all fell apart for the day.
First, I couldn’t figure out what some of the shapes of my hood section were supposed to be? LIke I had this one weird divot in there that on the pattern piece I’d labeled “hood edge” but it made no sense what that was for. (Oh actually I think I just remembered sitting here writing this LOL) And at the end of the day I was still not happy with the overall shape. I also felt like the pieces were too long/wide at the crossover, so for the shorter side, I trimmed excess off… and THEN I realized that the stupid crossover front closure was not going to work because the crossover of both sides of the hood have to be visible. The way I had it, the shorter side crossover was under the longer one.
And with that realization I quit for the night.
Tonight I’m going to take everything apart, and reassemble the lining layer without the crossover. I going to experiment with a zipper in the back (under the cape), because I cant get it off and on over my head without a lot of struggle.
Once I have that redone, I’m going to move onto the skirt. I have enough left to cut that, and I want to do that before thinking about the hood again. I will probably have to order another couple of yards to recut the hood.
But hey, at least I’m happy with the cape, right?
Oh speaking of the skirt, I forgot – here’s a first round mockup of skirt panel from last week:
So tonight’s will push a little further, will have the back panel so I can make sure this all works right.
Now let’s talk non-sewing!
Got my new star wars top frames for my glasses!
Luna went from being super clingy last week (not wanting me to be in my sewing room, sleeping in our bed) to wanting nothing to do with us the last couple of days, she’s been sleeping in her cat tree even when we’re both on the couch.
Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary!
We put on our Enchanted Tiki Room outfits (my dress, his shirt) and checked out a new place called Mary’s B.O.T.E. and then went to Molly’s for dinner.
And Chase got me presents??
He repainted this Precious Moments figure to be the Haunted Mansion tightrope walker!
And had all of my midcentury Leias printed on a poster for me!
OMG
I’ve been wanting to get some little display shelves for our disney stairway for small collectibles, but right now the little tightrope walker can live on the mantle. I’ve decided I want to change out the stuff on the mantle occasionally, I’m thinking I need a big haunted mansion poster to frame and do a big HM display for halloween this year.
I need a frame for the Leia poster… and I want to reorganize all my art on my Leia wall. Maybe it’s time to move my framed print of the Accolade into my work office and expand my Leia wall onto the other side of the attic door.
Saturday we had a bunch of errands to run, and then we went out to dinner with my parents for a belated birthday dinner for Chase. We went to a new place, Public Bistro, and it was really good.
And then yesterday was all sewing.
This week my plans are to finish this mockup, get all the edits moved to the paper patterns and HOPEFULLY by this weekend I can be cutting the real fabric. We’ll see.