This dress actually should be called
Coronation Dresses because there is an underdress and an overdress.
Anyway, when I saw this dress in the Return of the King, I knew that
I had to make it. However, there were two problems. First, do you know
how hard it is to find “lime green” velvet? Near impossible.
Second, do you know how expensive velvet is? Around $12 a yard! And
I would need 8 yards for the overdress and the big sleeves. So, I decided
to make it using different colors and using crushed panne velvet ($2
a yard).
The underdress is going to be made
out of light blue cotton with a lace overlay. The overdress is going
to be white crushed panne lined in white crepe. The huge sleeves actually
have two layers. The under layer is going to be this silky white polyester
and the over layer is going to be light blue crushed panne. All the
trim is going to be white lace.
**Update**
3/21/04 – I’m almost
done with the underdress. I have to stitch the lace down beside the
zipper in the back and modify the neckline drastically. The original
dress had lace that covered the bodice and the upper sleeves of the
underdress. The lace probably continued to the floor but to me that
would be a waste of lace. So that is why my lace ends at an empire waistline.
Once I have the overdress on, you won’t be able to tell where
the lace stops. I haven’t sewn the big sleeves onto the dress
yet because I am trying to find the perfect placement for the seam.
The lace trim around the arm was very thought provoking. I wanted lace
for the trim but I couldn’t put the lace trim on top of the lace
that was already covering the sleeves because the laces blended together.
So, I had two options. 1 – Cut the sleeve lace higher and make
it meet the trim perfectly or 2 – Sew that same blue cotton to
the trim and lay the whole thing on top of the other lace. I opted for
the second way. This way it gives the illusion that the blue background
for the lace trim is the same as the blue background for the sleeve
lace.
All pictures with borders will
enlarge in a new window if you click on them.
This is the trim that will go around
the arm and the neckline.
Here is the white crushed panne
velvet that will be the overdress.
Colossians
3:23 - Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were
working for the Lord rather than people.
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