Katniss Everdeen Wedding Dress Build

[katmurz]

Hello! First time chronicling the build of a big costume here despite lurking around this site for a long while now.


Currently I am tackling Katniss Everdeen's wedding gown, designed by couture designer Tex Saverio for the film. Sewing is defiantly my forte, but couture fashion is always a hard style to take on correctly; so I'm anxious for the new challenge!


I've started with her....wing?...piece that decorates the front of the gown. The real deal is very thin metal encrusted with gems; but to save weight and keep it in my prop based skill range (I'm a disaster with power tools...) I've opted for a worbla base.:





So far it's given me the right base shape once heat formed and has the same flex and movement the piece does in the movie.


Currently in the process of covering it in rhinestones. Still have literally thousands to go, but it's at least an easy task to marathon watch series too as you do it.


For the dress itself I've only so far gotten to ordering both the plain white ribbon and an eyelet lace ribbon to mimic the two kinds of line's on her gown seen here. I also have a bolt of tulle that I'll be cutting into strips and ruffling (literally hundreds of meters of ruffles to make and ruffles and ribbon to sew onto the organza @___@ oh boy, not looking forward to that I'll tell you....)



Hoop skirt will likely be the next thing on my list though to make, as you can see for total width of the whole gown it's nearly wide as she is tall; I'm 5'10 so I need to make a good strong hoop of at least 5" in diameter if I want the total sum of the dress to be near 6' wide. Ordered some hoop steel this week, hopefully it will be strong enough to keep up with the weight of the final gown (the real dress is over 30 pounds according to interviews. ACK)

If you follow the folds of the gown too you can see it's not just basic layered rings of fabric, it trails up and down and etc to make the folds and shapes of the skirt; I've been trying to map out the exact path of it on all the images I have and hope to hand drape the fabric in a similar fashion.


Defiantly one of the bigger dresses I've made, but I think I've got a solid grasp on it; so I'm excited!!

...only hiccup so far is the feathers on her gown are custom laser cut white peacock feathers and I've yet to find anyone who can do them for me. I have a few alternatives I'm trying out in the meantime though.


Goal is to have it done in 3-4 months time for a con early next year (Katsucon). Wish me luck! I will update as I go.

 

[imatangelo]

Subscribed! Can't wait to watch this build!

 

[katmurz]

Small progress, nearing half way mark of rhinestone application; on my third tube of E6000.....I ordered around 21,000 rhinestones of various sizes for this, and am just a little over half way through them; so my final count will be around 15,000 stones is my guess.

Starting work on the hoop this week, all the math is done and double checked, and materials acquired.

 

[katmurz]

Done the wing, only have a small handful of stones left; so probably finished with around 20,000 rhinestones on this and went through about 5 and 1/2 tubes of E6000. Now onto the monster work that is the gown. Photo's don't do the rhinestone attacked nature of it justice, so happy with my sparkle beastie <3 <3

 

[RumInspector]

oh insane project!!! And I mean that in a good way.
How do you subcribe a thread? Sorry, new here, I would love to keep up with this project...

 

[katmurz]

Aww thanks! I'm continuing to chalk out the guide lines for all the ribbon, lace and ruffles I have to sew onto the organza tonight. Hope to have some progress on that portion of the project to share by next weekend.

Subscribe button is at the top of the thread on the right had side above my first post

 

[katmurz]

Found someone one who knew how to use and had access to a laser cutter! So I spent last night at the studio with their aid cutting out tons of fabric feathers for the bodice of the gown

 

[SofaKing01]

Great progress so far! Don't you just love the laser cutter?

 

[katmurz]

laser cutter was defiantly fun, it was so mesmerising to watch it work *____*

 

[katmurz]

Updates:
- Got my hoop steel in so was able to make my hoop skirt, after an evening of tinkering and adjusting I finally have it to the shape and width I want to support the extreme bell shape of her gown and the large size (the movie gown is just shy of being as wide as JLaw is tall, and I am 5'10 so my dress in totally once the top layer is on needs to be around that width; so my hoop is about 5 feet wide...I could probably fit at least four people under it comfortably...)

- Embelishment of the fabric that will make up the main skirt, hundreds of meters of velvet and lace ribbon to sew and I've already ruffled over 100 meters of tulle strips and am not even finished the first row of tulle ruffles....I have a whole bolt to make strips of and ruffle for the rest; I pray it will be enough.

I've got a lot of work a head of me and a tight timeline, but I'm at the point where in the next two weeks it should start to take shape and become a gown, so expect progress pictures to be coming fast and furious for the next while.

wish me luck!

 

[katmurz]

Since I have my hoop now done, I wanted to take my LOONNNGGG strip of fabric and test to see if my plan of draping it to make the sculpted weird irregular layers of her gown how I wanted would work. In general, SUCCESS! I did this very fast as a test, when I drape it for real I'm going to take probably a whole afternoon to carefully place and pin every curve before hand sewing it... all to the base skirt (which I still have to make). Also once the other four rows of tulle and all the ribbon lines are on (only a single row on so far as you can see here) it'll make the fabric stiffer so it'll hold those dramatic shapes even better! Also ironing it and trimming the tulle will happen before the final drape too making it cleaner and neater.

Clearing out the other end of my basement to work in right now cus as you can see...not enough room now both in my sewing room nor the rec room end of my basement to fit this dress any longer

 

[Arwyniel]

This is going to be epic! Can't wait to see the result.

 

[Esdub1775]

cant wait to see more!

 

[Tripleasg]

That's so beautiful! We made a Catching Fire dress a few yrs ago. I never could sell it. It was used to promote the movie for opening weekend. It was dress was designed by my partner. Her username here is Epic.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Evaarla Who]

This is one of my favourite Katniss dresses, and you're doing an amazing job on it!

 

[katmurz]

thanks for the support guys, it's a fabric eating best @__@ I never want to see damn tulle again....should have photos of the finished bodice by Friday; just hand sewing the laser cut feathers and details to it now.

Love the dress Tripleasg! The burning effect into the mocking jay dress is really cool!

 

[katmurz]

Lots outs of draping and hand sewing later but my bodice is done aside from a few weeks! Now comes the big push to finish detailing my skirt fabrics and then draping and sewing it. Wish me luck!

( cat sticker due to I have a cold and look like hell; sorry not sorry)

 

[Arwyniel]

It's looking amazing!!!

 

[katmurz]

Next update after this will be a PHOTO OF THE FINISHED DRESS OMG GUYS I’M NEARLY THERE. Also have a few shoots booked at the con, so a few weeks after Katsu I should have some nice photos of both the dress and me wearing it :3After getting more tulle ruffles on I did a test drape quickly again to see if going for the screen accurate number of tulle ruffles would over-whelm it; consensus was that it would; more tulle would just swallow the silhouette. currently sewing the last of the flat lace and ribbon lines on, then will drape it all nice and carefully for real; and hand sew the skirt down.

Second picture is to show scale of the beast head on…I’m laying horizontally under it…that’s all of me that shows when I do…and I’m 5’10.​

 

[Arwyniel]

It's stunning!!! You should be very proud of yourself!