References and Materials

(Just in case you think that I didn't pay my dues to the folks at Skywalker Ranch)

I purchased (and used extensively) the following reference materials to create these costumes:

  • Star Wars, Episode 1, Queen Amidala Paper Doll Book
  • Star Wars, Episode 1, Queen Amidala 18 month collectable calendar
  • Star Wars, Episode 1, The Visual Dictionary

Oh, and several web sites, including:

The dolls I gathered for this were:

  • Queen Amidala, Hidden Majesty - Hasbro
  • Queen Amidala, Royal Elegance - Hasbro
  • Lara, Generation Girl - Mattel
  • Barbie - "Pretty in Plaid" with brown hair - Mattel

The last doll was purchased early on to be a handmaiden, using the "Padme'" mask that came with the Hidden Majesty doll.

Materials included remnant fabric, seed beads, plastic beads and pearls, thin gold wire, large red gems, gold and red fabric paint, feathers, a makeup brush, metallic trim, embroidery thread, and crochet thread. 

I used a "fashion doll" dress pattern as the basis for making my own patterns.  The sleeves needed to be longer and the pattern I had did not include a full length dress, so new patterns were made that started with the bodice pattern alone.   The kimono pattern had to be completely invented, as did the "penguin sleeve" pattern.