Voyage of the Dawn Treader Premiere, It’s Today

Well today is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader premiere.  The costumes are nearly done.  My dress for Susan is done except for a hew that I’ll add later.  I decided not to embroider the collar because I did not have time, and I really like the way the dress looks without the embroidered collar.  I’m really happy with the way it turned out.  It looks like Susan’s dress just with my own added twist.  I’m really proud of it.  The only thing I want to change is the collar.  I want to hand sew it on this time. 

Lucy’s outfit is nearly done…ish.  So far I have the pants done.  I’m working on the shirt right now and should have it done in time.  The jerkin is in no way done.  I’m just going to let it go for now and finish it in time for 4-H exhibitions.  I still don’t have the belt or the boots done either.  Oy!  I wish I had more time! 

School is nearly out so I’ll have more time to sew then.  I just wish it gave me more time to work on the premiere costumes.  Well, at least I’ll have most of it done by then.  I’ll just have to make the rest later.

New Discovery and Old Progress

While thinking up how to make my Voyage of the Dawn Treader costume, I stumbled across an awesome idea.  I’m always having to buy multiples of the same patterns because I modify just about any pattern I get to achieve a desired costume.  This method of pattern modification is rather expensive and I can’t afford to keep going that route any more.  So I came up with my own idea to the solve the problem.  After I read a really helpful tutorial on how to conserve pattern pieces, an idea struck me.  Cut out the pattern pieces to the desired size, follow the tutorial to back them, and use chalk to trace out the pieces onto the desired fabric.  This way I can make any modification I want to a pattern piece without wasting a pattern!  It’s so cool and brilliant!  Right now I’m trying out my idea with my newest project, Susan’s Narnia from Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  That brings me to my next subject.

I just started Susan’s dress today, tonight actually.  I’m using the above method to make the pieces I need for the dress.  So far it’s working wonderfully!  Right now I have the first two pieces cut out and am working on the third.  It takes me much longer to cut out the pieces because I have to lay out the original pattern piece and pin it down, trace the outline and markings to the fabric with chalk (I’m using paper chalk and it’s working just fine.  It comes off with water too), unpin the pattern piece and place it to the side, then I finally cut the piece out of the fabric by cutting along the chalk lines.  It’s so much fun!  It’s like a giant connect the dots and cut out the paper doll project!  I love it! 

I should be done cutting out the pieces sometime tonight.  I hope to pleat the front panel and sew the first part of dress by tonight/early tomorrow morning too.  Well, I better get back to work if I’m to get all that done!  Talk to you soon!

Susan’s Voyage of the Dawn Treader Dress

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader premiere is only a few days away, less than a month to be exact.  I recently purchased my materials for my Susan dress.  It cost me only $25 to get all the supplies I needed for the dress, minus the thread and embroidery floss that I already had.  For the main dress, I got this lovely dark gray fabric that hangs and flows beautifully, and should hold the pleats well.  As for the collar, I got this fuzzy knitted fabric that looks really nice with the main fabric.  I just wish it was a tad bit darker in color though. 

I’ve decided to embroider the designs on the collar instead of etch them in.  I couldn’t afford the right kind of velvet to use for etching, and I only have a limited amount of time so ordering online is out of the question.  I really worried that I won’t have enough time to embroider both the collar for my dress and finish the embroidery for my sister’s jerkin.  I really hope I do cause Lucy just won’t be Lucy without her jerkin. 

Only 36 Days Left

I just realized there are 36 days till the premiere of Voyage of the Dawn Treader!!!!!!!  *faints*  I still have so much to do before the costumes are finished.  I think I predict lots of late night sewing during Thanksgiving and the week of the premiere.  Oy!  Why does time always run short for me? 

The Lucy costume is coming well.  I still have to finish the embroidery for the jerkin.  I think the breeches embroidery is going to have to wait till after the premiere.  Embroidery takes forever.  I’ll have to work overtime to get it done.  Time to start embroidering in class again.  Don’t worry the profs already approved.  ^_^

I still have to get the fabric for my Susan costume.  I found the perfect pattern(s) to use for the dress!!!  It’s either Simplicity 9891 or 4940.  Both would work wonderfully because the pattern has a front panel that could be easily added to.  I’m so excited to make this costume!!!!!

Voyage of the Dawn Treader Update

Even though my sewing machine broke, I’ve been able to work on my Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit.  It’s coming a long well, especially since it’s been hand sewn.  Most of the pieces are either in progress or close to completion.  I even have some pictures!

So far I’ve been able to complete the base for the breeches.  They look wonderful!!!  I made then out of velvet and a handmade pattern.  It’s one of the first times I’ve used a handmade pattern so I’m really happy with how they turned out. 

 

I still have to add embroidery on the side of the legs and a back closure.  I kinda hurried to get these done so they could be worn for a costume party the weekend.  Because of that I still have a bit to do for the premiere in December.  It shouldn’t take me too long.  I only hope I’m able to apple the designs correctly and get it done in time.  The last thing I want is half embroidered pants for the premiere. 

 

Because it’s such a huge embroidery project, I’ve been working on the jerkin as well.  I almost have the entire front and left side embroidered.  I just have to add the wide band around the bottom both are gone.  The back is going to take a while because of all the embroidery it has, but the right side should be a breeze. 

The jerkin looks a lot better on my sister than on the dress form.  I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out in the end.  I can’t wait!  I’m just hoping it’ll look right.  It’s my first time majorly modifying a pattern so I’m really nervous.  I’ll probably have to modify it a bit more to make the sleeves just right.  Other than that I’m happy with the way it’s turning out. 

My final piece for this post is a cloak I made to go with the outfit.  It has nothing to do with the new Narnia movie.  Instead, it is an original design for my sister.  I was originally going to use the fabric for Lucy’s red dress in Prince Caspian, but I decided to modify the design and make it an interchangeable cloak that can go with many time periods and outfits.  Here it is!

                                  

Thank you again for reading.  Keep in touch to see what happens as I find a new machine and scramble to complete my Halloween commissions in time.  See ya soon!

Fitted Breeches

Who ever knew fitted breeches could be so hard to make?!  The pattern is simple enough but the fitting is hard, especially when I have a limited amount of fabric to work with.  I think I have enough.  The breeches might not be as puffy as I’d liked, but that’s ok.  So long as they look right and I can get the embroidery on them easy enough, I’m happy.  I know my sister will be too.  ^_^  I just hope they look close enough.  oh, sorry about that.  ~^_^~  I’m talking about the blue breeches for Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit.  I should have said that sooner. 

Decisions and Updates

I have indeed decided to go as Susan to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader premiere.  My sister will be Lucy and I will be Susan.  It’s our last time to do so, and I’m not about ready to break the tradition.  So that decided, I will have to gather new fabric for my Susan costume.  It shouldn’t be too hard, I’m just worried about the possible price.  The fabric for Susan’s dress is a heavy gray fuzzy type fabric with a velvet trim, from what I can tell so far.  Both velvet and wool are very expensive, very very expensive.  I’m hoping to find either an outrageously good deal or some sort of unknown substitute.  I know I’ll get it.  It’s just a matter of when.  So I’ll keep my eyes open and let you know what happens.

My sister’s costume is coming along splendidly!  I found some new pictures of Lucy’s outfit and they are ever so helpful.  I now know what the leg embroidery looks like as well as some of the minor details to the jerkin and shirt.  There might even be beading on the jerkin, though I’m still unsure.  Here are the pictures.  Each helps with a different aspect of the costume. 

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Possible Change of Dawn Treader Premiere Costume

As the premiere nears and more friends join the group my excitement grows stronger.  Now there might be at least two others who might go to the premiere in costume as well!!  This is really good news!  The only sad part is that I might have to change my costume plans.  I’m hoping to be able to get enough people who want to dress in costume for the premiere that we get the entire main crew!  It would be awesome! 

So far there are four girls, my sister and I included who want to or are going in costume.  The only thing is, is that there are only, roughly, four girls in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and two of them were added by the producers.  That means that each of us will, most likely, have to be each a different character.  All this to say that I might not end up being Rumandu’s Daughter for the premiere.  The entire costume hangs on whether or not I can get the wig I mentioned in my first Dawn Treader post.  So far it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get the wig and one of the girls would make a great Rumandu’s Daughter.  She even has blond curly hair!  It doesn’t bother me at all if she ends up being Rumandu’s Daughter.  I only wish I would have known before I went out and bought the fabric for the pattern.  It’ll take me a while before I get enough money to get the fabric for another costume but it’ll work out.  That’s why I have back up costumes. 

Since I might not end up being Rumandu’s Daughter for the premiere I have come up with a back up costume idea.  Ever since the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I’ve gone as Lucy’s older sister, Susan.  Well Susan makes a small cameo in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader so I might end up being her.  It’s become sort of a tradition for my sister and I to go as Susan and Lucy.  I’m not about ready to break it now, even if Susan wasn’t in the book.  Luckily Susan does wear a Narnia outfit in a scene where all the Pevensie siblings are present.  It is this costume that I’m using as a back up. 

It is a beautiful gray, floor-length dress with front pleats and I believe a belt.  The pictures are still fuzzy and the first trailer is the only reference I have to by so the actual design of the costume is unsure.  I don’t even known if there will be any promotional pictures released of this dress because it has so little screen time, as far as I can tell.  Either way, I love this dress and don’t mind having to put some of my own interpretations into the design. 

Here are a few pictures of the dress so far.

 

These are the only pictures of the dress so far.  From what I can tell, it looks as if the collar is made out of velvet with a leaf design etched into it.  It also appears that there are ten to twelve pleats on the front of the dress that run the entire length.  I don’t know what types of pleats they are for certain, though I do believe that they are either knife or box pleats.  Another idea is that they are pin tucks, though I don’t know how or why pin tucks would run the entire length of the dress.  The dress is indeed floor-length and has elbow length sleeves.  There also appears to be a light brown to tan belt worn around the waist.  The hair style appears to be the same as Susan’s hairstyle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when she was in Aslan’s camp.  Other than that, there are no other definable features about this dress.  I’m still unsure as to how the dress was constructed and why there appears to be no shoulder seams in the first picture. 

Dawn Treader Costumes Update

It’s been a few days since I updated last and I have some progress to report so I thought I’d let you know what’s been going on.  I started working on Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit first because it has so much embroidery on the jerkin.  I’ve gotten pretty far in the last week.  So far I’ve sewn the jerking together.  I haven’t attached the lining yet cause I’m waiting till I done with the embroidery first.  I don’t want the unfinished embroidery sides showing when I’m done.  In addition to sewing the jerkin pieces together and fitting it to my friend, I’ve almost finished the embroidery on the front lapels of the jerkin!!!  I just have to embroider two more flowerish designs and embroider two large bottom designs.  But before I embroider the bottom designs, I have to embroider the vines around the top, sides and bottom of the entire jerkin.  Boy, this is going to take me a while.  I just know I’ll get it done in time though, especially since I’m machine embroidering the vines. 

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Since I am a huge Narnia fan and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader is premiering in December, I’m making costumes for some of my friends I to wear to the premiere.  So far there are only two costumes to make, Rumandu’s Daughter and Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit.  I don’t know if I’ll end up making any more, but I’ll let you know if I do. 

I’m making myself Rumandu’s Daughter’s dress.  So far the pictures that available of her are when she’s transforming into a star.  So she’s all whited out.  I have no idea what her dress’s colors are or even what color her hair is.  I can only guess.  I can make out some of her dress’s construction though.  So I’m combining my own concept of Rumandu’s Daughter’s dress with a very basic idea of the movie version.  I’m not trying to get it screen accurate, I’m just adding my own take to her basic movie concept.

So far I have all the materials for the dress.  It’s going to be gorgeous.  I found this white sparkly fabric for 50% off and a really nice light blue georgette for the same discount.  They were exactly what I envisioned for her dress.  I’m using the white for a formfitting strapless undress and the georgette for a loose parted over dress/ covering.  It’s going to be gorgeous.  I’m also going to make a bracelet though I don’t have the materials for it yet. 

I’ve always imagined Rumandu’s Daughter to be a shining rich blonde.  This mainly comes from the fact that she is heavenly being and most heavenly beings are depicted with blonde hair.  I also think it’s fitting because she’s a star and stars glow a bright white.  I found the perfect wig to use as well.  It’s even at a discounted price!!!  

 

As for Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit, I’m making that for my sister.  The pictures for this costume are spectacular!  I nearly know how the entire outfit was constructed as well as what the special designs are.  The Wardrobe Door has plenty of pictures of this costume as well as an in-depth description as to how the costume is made.  Since the description is based on the images present, it is subject to adaption but nonetheless extremely helpful.  The Wardrobe Door is a wonderfully helpful website that has talks about all of the known costumes from the new movie series.  It also features lots of pictures to each costume in question as well as construction details to each.

Back to my project.  I have a quarter to half of the fabric I need to make Lucy’s costume.  I’m using costume suede for the jacket/jerkin.  It’s closest to the color of the jacket/jerkin in the movie and the color looks great.  The fabric was also on sale for 30% off.  I never by fabric that I can’t get a discount for.  I’m going to hand embroider the gold designs on.  The self embroidery works for both a 4-H project and I can get the designs as close as possible to the original design.  I am trying to make this costume screen accurate or at least as screen accurate as I can for what’s available to me. 

I also have the fabric for the breeches as well.  I got a velvet that was the perfect color.  It too was on sale for 50% off.  There are embroidered designs on the breeches as well but I’m going to wait to embroider those on since the design is still too fuzzy to decipher.  I still have to get the fabric for the shirt, boots (yes, I’m making the boots too), jacket/jerkin lining and maybe the add on sleeves to the jerkin.  I’m not sure if I’m going to line the breeches or not yet. 

Here are few of the pictures I’m using as reference for Lucy’s Dawn Treader outfit.

All these pictures give me a pretty good idea as to how the costume is constructed, what fabrics are used, and what most of the bells-and-whistles are.  I still have no idea what do for either of her belt or any of her props.  Clothing is easy.  Props are not. 

I’m hoping to get some more people to wear costumes to the premiere.  It would be so cool to have an entire group assembled.  I’ll keep you posted on updates and any changes or additions to plans.  I have to start on Lucy’s jacket/jerkin soon if I’m going to get it done in time.  I’m going to make the Lucy costume first since it requires the most work.  Rumandu’s Daughter is relatively easy to make so I’m not worried about it as much.  The only thing I’m worried about is the time limit.  I only have until December.  Not to mention I have a commission, at least one cosplay, and lots of school work.  I know I’ll get it done even if I have to postpone the cosplay and focus just on the commission and premiere costumes.  As always, thank you for reading and supporting this blog and my costuming endeavors.