Making of the Meadow Gown Part 5

So I did decide to just sequins the top part of the skirt and then sew it together so that I could wear it for Pumps and Pearls at camp.  This allowed me to finish everything on my machine before leaving and just have to hand sew at camp - which was a nice calming activity when things got stressful (though I did lose sleep the night before Pumps and Pearls to finish the hem and it is definitely not complete).

Step 30: Finish sewing all the sequins along the top half of the skirt.  Cheer for a second then remember how much more there is to do.

Step 31: Sew the skirt to the bodice gathering it as evenly as possible. Note that the center section where the seam is will be hidden by the corset so perfection isn't so important.

Step 32: Sew in the lining - I have it so that the lining only attaches  at the neckline so that all seams are hidden between the lining and the main layers (to me the gown feels nicer with no seams pointing towards me).  Once the lining is sewn turn to the inside and press down.

Step 33: Sew in back zipper and complete back seams on all layers separately.  Congrats the gown is now in one piece!

Step 34: Figure out that the sleeves plus all the layers of the bodice will not fit in the sewing machine and so will need to be done by hand, so the straps and the edging around the top will also need to be done by hand after.

Step 35: Cut the strips for the straps and the top edging.

Step 36: Pack everything together (including remaining sequins and the rest of the pieces of the gown - sleeves, straps and edging - as well as eye hooks, thread, needles and pins - on cushion) into a bag and bring to camp.

Step 37: Spend the first 5 weeks working on sequins - realize that you have so little free time to sew - esp since you tear your shoulder and can't use it very much at all for a month - that you will never finish the sequins and everything needed to make it wearable.

Step 38: Switch to sewing the hems - take 2 and a half weeks to finish them - including a couple really really late nights.

Step 39: Realize that there is no time to put the sleeves on (and that the heat this summer would make wearing them unbearable) so sew the straps instead.

Because on the screen used gown it appears that the straps are part of the corset and just tack onto the gown but with my pattern and this gown  they are needed to help keep the dress on I sewed them first as tubes then hid the stitching in the back of each strap and sewed them starting at the waistline in the front over the bodice.  I tacked them at the top to help hold it up properly (and because I know I will have to take that stitching out to put on the sleeves and top edging I didn't sew it more securely) and then sewed the back inside the gown as that doesn't show under the corset and hair.

Step 40: finally try it all on together - and realize the straps are way too long - due to time restrictions fold them over and resew the back to shorten - twice.  Figure its good enough for pumps and pearls in a few hours...

Step 41: Wear the gown and problem shoot issues as they come up, mentally noting all the alterations that need to be made before a "real" event.

Here is the dress on me with Snowy - nothing added to it.  You can see how  lose it is in the skirt - the corset will give me more of a waist but this allows the fullness I want.

With all of the UCs in my Unit.  We added a ribbon belt just for the event (its literally just tied on me)  but in this pic you can see the fullness of the skirt which is perfect! And you can see how the corset will give more definition since the belt did and its much smaller.

With Kit Kat walking in.  You can see that it is still a bit long (and I was wearing really high heels - much higher than I will as Padme) so I'm glad I didn't finish the bottom sequins because I need to hem it up quite a lot and I would hate to lose that much sequining! 

Still with Kit Kat - stopping for the "official" photographers of the evening.  You can see that the straps are still a bit too long and are slipping.  I plan on cutting them off in the back just above the bodice (then pulling out all the stitching holding what is left in place).  That way I will have a better measurement of where  they need to be sewn to be in place when it is done.  I will put on the sleeves and top edging before sewing the straps back in place.  

So setting a hard deadline - with the need to wear it helped a lot in getting this done this far.  Now its time to go back put on the sleeves and edging, then fix the straps and get help measuring it (on me) for the correct length and rehemming.  When all that is done I will go back and finish the sequins (but I don't want to put it on areas that are just getting cut off when I adjust the length).  Hoping to have all this done by Halloween - I still have the ribbon for the belt so I could wear it again then as a Medieval lady or something just to have another wearable by deadline.  Then all I will have left is the embroidery on the corset and putting that together, then I can quickly sew the headband together and add the roses and it will be completely done!  Perhaps by CVI it will be all done?

Making of the Meadow Gown Part 4

Step 27: Continue sewing sequins - forever... Finish one panel in both colors.


Step 28: Go to a build day, take a break from sewing and instead construct the brooch:

To make this I took silver Sculpty (clay) and rolled out one thick log (about 3 inches long), one thin log (about 1.5 - 2 inches long) and one very thin very long log.  I broke the thick and the thin (middle) logs in half and flattened each half shaping them into rounded-edged trapezoids with right angles on the bottom edge.  I pressed the thinnest part of the four together with the bigger two on top of the smaller two and the smaller ones angled down as you can see above. At this point make sure they are as equal and symmetrically as possible. I then took the very thin, very long log and starting in the center top of the big wings carefully pressed it along the edges.  I went completely around the two big wings in one piece then broke off the rest of the log and did each of the little wings individually. where the big wings start to overlap the little ones, I tapered off the edging so that it forms a double line for a little bit.  I kept the rest of that log and set it aside carefully while I put on the gemstones.  Looking carefully at the pictures of the costume found on thepadawansguide.com I had bought a mixed bag of gemstones (plastic) and selected out one medium pink oval for the center gem. I started decorating the brooch by carefully pressing this one into the center, making sure to cover all the seams and imperfections from joining the wings together.  I then selected out the smallest circular stones in the collection: two light green, two baby blue, two light pink, and 4 gold (or 2 yellow and 2 golden orange - but those weren't choices in my mix).  I pressed three into each big wing and 2 into each small wing starting at the outside edge. They should be in a straight(ish) line and the colors alternate but not evenly (symmetrically) nor in any pattern.  I forgot to bring a pic with me so I attempted to see the site on my phone to get the colors right.  I ended up with (from left to right) on the big wings green, gold, pink, then gold, green, blue and on the little wings gold, blue, then pink, gold.  The original goes green, pink, missing, then yellow, blue, pink, and on the little wings gold, blue, then pink, green.  I then took the set aside log and broke off tiny circular pieces and used them to finish connecting the line of gems (visually) with the center gems.  I then baked the finished piece according to the directions on the package and when it cooled hot glued on a pin back.  

This project is a good example of why you should have a picture with you to look at before starting/attempting something like this.  Mine quite a bit bigger (finished dimension is 3 1/4 inches across the big wings) and more rounded than the original and the wings are wider at the center by a little bit than the gem where as on the original the gem is much bigger than the center of the wings.  And as I said before my gems are not quite right in color placement.  I will probably re-do it at some point, esp if I can get my hands on some jewelry clay (the kind that bakes and looks like real metal). But for now this looks good and will work just fine for the costume.  

Step 29: Go back to the sequins.  Finally finish both colors on one third of the skirt! I found a better pattern to sew in (following the top half of each line down to the center, then once the top half is done, flip the skirt over and start at the center and follow each line down to the edge, repeat on the second color - start the next panel with that color).  This is what I have now: 

This is just the 2 panels (1/3 of the total skirt) that is done - the rest is hidden on the chair behind 

With the flash it was really hard to see the sequins - they are so small

This and the next are without flash and you can see them a bit better, but not much.

In person they are hard to see too - hence why its taken so long....

The 1/3 without the flash - you can see some of the sparkle in the sunlight

Now the question is: Do I finish just the top half of both of the remaining panels and then sew together the gown and finish the sequins with it together, or do I press on and finish all the sequins on at least the next panel and the first color of the last (plus the top half of the second color) before sewing it together?  Since I will be going at the bottom half from the bottom it is do able to do just the top parts then sew the sequins on the bottom half separately and I won't have access to my machine once I leave for my summer job (but could keep sewing by hand).  Thoughts?

Time out for the real world

So I'm not a political person normally as my much more politically savvy friends can tell you.  But the events over the past couple of weeks in Egypt have really gotten to me.  As any of you who have been following this from the beginning know, the beautiful fabric sitting beside me getting all sequin-ed up came from the fabric market in Cairo.  I went through Tahrir Square less than a year ago, going to the fabric market from lunch at the old AUC campus right off the Square, and crisscrossed it a few more times that afternoon hurriedly shopping for the last few souvenirs for my family - and myself - before heading back to Kerry's house to carefully cram it all into my suitcases and head to the airport for my (very) late night flight home.  But of course that was not the only time we had at least gone through the Square.  We decided against going to the Egyptian Museum as we had to prioritize and there were other sites and museums that we thought were more important/more relevant to the "theme" of the trip that organically popped up.  But we still walked/rode past it many times and talked about it as a possibility if we ended up with more time.  And the first day, after spending the morning in Zamalek at a Coptic Church, we walked (most of the way) back to Kerry's stopping to take a couple pictures on the Kasr al Nile Bridge, because as Kerry told me, you can't visit Egypt and not take a picture or two of yourself with the Nile in the background and where better than on a gorgeous bridge over the river.

The bridge - aka pretty lions

Me on the bridge

I'm pretty sure that I never told Kerry that this trip was the best vacation of my life.  I may have traveled Europe for a year (with annoying breaks for school ;-) but it got me there so I can't really complain) but traveling alone is no where near as fun as spending the time with an amazing friend and her awesome friends. Not to mention getting to see a friend from France and catch up with him.  He took us out to dinner and then we went to the Corniche to stroll and people watch. 

Dinner out with Rushdy

We met a couple taking their wedding photos on the Corniche and Rushdy's brother asked them if I could take a picture with them.

It has been very sad and surreal to see all these places looking the way they do now and to recognize the names of the neighborhoods in the news reports, especially the areas we spent the most time.  But it wasn't the places, as amazing as they were, that made this the best vacation ever, but the people.  Kerry, of course most importantly, and I have thanked God every day that she was not there this year, not caught up in this and not in danger; but also her roommate, who I spent a couple days alone with while Kerry was in class; all of her friends that I got a chance to meet; Rushdy, my Egyptian friend from my study abroad in France; and his brother. But also all the people we interacted with who were friendly and welcoming - from the people of the church in Zamalek who did their best to talk to me even through the language barrier, to the fabric seller who invited us to come into the stall/shop and sit out of the sun while he measured and cut my fabric, to the Coptic young lady who gave me her own prayer scarf when we asked her where we could find a store that sold them, to Kerry's neighbors and the vendors in her neighborhood who always had a smile for me.  They were the friendliest of the people from all the countries I have visited and that certainly makes the trip.  And while I thank Kerry entirely for offering me the chance to experience this amazing country, I have to give Rushdy some of the credit.  I spent the 2001 - 2002 school year in France and was supposed to fly out on 9/11 (yes that one), so we ended up having to delay our entry into France and as such had no decompression time between getting to the country and starting class.  Needless to say I was rather shell-shocked and unwilling to trust anyone of Arab background when classes started, and while that could have been that I avoided them all year and stuck to other groups (and some people in the CIREFE program did that - sticking only to people with similar backgrounds to themselves).  But  Rushdy and a couple of the other Middle Eastern students did not give up on befriending me, and they gave me the space I needed to process and were the first ones there for me when I finally lost it - in school of course.  Were it not for Rushdy showing me the compassion of his culture and country I may not have considered going no matter what Kerry said about it.

So I have worried about him and his family. And while I was able to talk to him that first week, rather early on, and he said that he was ok and was not getting involved and his family was not either, I still worry that he will be in the caught in the crossfire or just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And reading that one of Kerry's friends, who I had met had had some trouble, makes me wonder what has happened to the rest of the kind people I met while visiting her.  Did they get involved? Are they hurt or worse? Answers I will never know on people I probably would never have seen again.  But I still wonder.  As I have said before it is the people that are most important to me when I travel. There are beautiful monuments and landscapes in every country but it is the people that make it special.  I am sad for the families of all who have died and I pray for those who were injured and for the country to right itself.  But I don't know enough to have an opinion on what should happen. All that I know is what Kerry has been explaining to me and what Rushdy spoke of on the phone.  I don't want to try to formulate an opinion on what should happen in their future - but I do believe that it should be up to them alone as a nation and the rest of the world's governments should back off and let them, particularly ours because if they can't successful run our own country why do they think they have the right to tell others what they should do (I have almost no faith in our government anyway so I don't trust their evaluation of the situation - not the way I trust my friends').  I don't want to be revisiting my friends' thoughts so I will personally refrain from saying anything about that future but I do have to say the reports of Christians and Muslims working together, helping each other and stating that it takes all of them to be Egypt gives me more hope for humanity - if we could all put aside those differences that aren't important at the end of the day and all work together the whole world would be much better off.

I hope things improve quickly and that it doesn't to get any worse, and that these wonderful people get the freedoms they are looking for in whatever way will be best for them - which only they can determine.  

Making of the Meadow Gown Part 3

Step 26: Continue sewing sequins and realize that every arbitrary deadline you set for yourself is too soon.  There are a HECK of A LOT of  sequins on this skirt!

I did  however finish all the gold thread chains on one panel - a 1/4circle panel (There are 2 this size and 2 1/2 circles) which means 1/8 of the gold chains are done.  I still need to go back and do the green chains because I decided for my sanity that finishing a panel in one color at a time was preferable, it only requires one needle and I don't  lose my spot as often, esp since I started following the chains down the skirt (or across as it gets to a section that was more on the bias with how I had to lay it out to cut) instead of going back and forth parallel with the top and bottom between chains.  Obviously my MLK day deadline was not met but progress is being made - slow as it might be.