Star Wars Cambie Dress

I finally had a chance to wear my Star Wars dress at Dallas Fan Days. I’ve been meaning to post about this dress for a while now. Originally, I decided to make this dress and wear it for Star Wars Reads Day at work. Planning fell through, and we didn’t wind up having an “event” per se. So that left me with the con. I planned to attend all 3 days, but between sickness and terrible weather, I decided just to go on Saturday when my SO could accompany me. Since I wasn’t feeling like going in a full costume, I took the opportunity to wear my dress!

I got so many compliments, it kind of threw me off. I still don’t feel like I’m a very good seamstress, but several people made comments along the lines of “That’s amazing! I could never make it!” It was encouraging to think back and remember that just a year ago, I’d probably be saying the same thing.

The Basics: 

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie, view B. Guys, I love this pattern. Tasia is amazing about posting tutorials and alterations for this and all her other patterns (Her blog is one of my favs and one of the ones I’ll drop whatever I’m doing to read the newest post. Also, I want all her patterns. Make it so, Interwebs). Cost: $20~ with shipping. Higher than what I normally spend, but it’s got the highest ROI of any pattern I own.

Fabric: 3 1/4 yds of Star Wars print fabric and 3 1/4 lining. Total cost: $40. Again, kind of high, but I didn’t time my sales shopping well. So there ya go. Still, it’s significantly less than what I’ve spent on the majority of my costumes 😛

Alterations: None, really, aside from adding 1 1/2” to the bodice (long torso) and 2” to the skirt length (long legs).

Time: 7~ hours. I could have probably finished it in one weekend, but I promised the SO that after D*C that I’d do things like spend quality time with him so that he doesn’t have to keep talking to the back of my head while hunched over my sewing machine.

Notions: Invisible zipper, bias tape used on the lining.

Make it again? Absolutely! I’m actually working on 2 other versions of this dress right now: one for a friend’s wedding (stashbusting some satin I bought for a costume ages ago), and one for my Belle costume. I also have plans to make a few more versions of this dress over the holidays, including one to wear to work and one for yet another costume.

Favorite parts: Pretty sleeves, inseam pockets, and giant poofy skirt.

Other thoughts: I love this dress. So much. I loved looking at all the pretty pictures on the Interwebs of other people’s versions, but I never thought I’d make one of my own. I’m so glad I did. It’s super flattering, comfortable, and came together much quicker than I imagined. I didn’t think that I’d like the gathered skirt, but turns out it works perfectly for my giant petticoat. Check out more pictures of my trip to Fan Days on my tumblr!

Given how well this went over, I think I’m going to start incorporating more nerdy dresses into my con mix. Be on the lookout for a Marvel-themed Macaron at the SciFi Expo 😉