Page 7: Sleeves
Padmes Senate dress has three different layers of sleeves I want to show here:
The first one is very narrow and looks like a gauntlet. It has a more violet shine than the other fabrics.
The next pair of sleeves is part of the second layer of clothing. It is made from the same silk as the bodice, the skirt and the tabard. In addition, the embroidery of the tabard is repeated here. However, it is hard to tell whether it is sewn to the bodice or to the coat, because we do not now the cut of the bodice.
The most massive look is generated by the third pair of sleeves, which are directly sewn to the coat and are made of the same velvet.
Part 1: Gauntlet / inner sleeves
I planned the inner sleeves as a separate piece only reaching up to the ellbows to reduce the volume at the upper arm. They were created from lilac taffetta that looks like Dupioni, but is made of Polyester. In addition, the front is lined with the satin-like fabric used for the underpinnings. After sewing it to the taffetta and turning it inside out, I added some handstitching to prevent the layers from slipping. Since I was afraid the the upper part / back part could create some wrinkles, I decided to add boning channels between the upper fabric and the seam allowances.
Part 2: Embroidered sleeves
I made the sleeves when I started the bodice, because they are made of the same fabric. As a result, I had to strengthen the material somehow. Therefore, I did sew a strong layer of black cotton directly to the silken outer one. Afterwards, they were treated as one layer, which was important fort he embroidery. On this photo you can see a part of my design.
For the embroidery I used Soutache, for which I do not know the English term. I already used this material made of Viscose when doing the bodice. First, I redraw the sketch done on thick paper on very thin paper, which can be seen through. In the next step I transfered it to the fabric.
Since I was afraid the fabric could move while I do the embroidery, I did some machine-stitching on the middle of the pattern. This cannot be seen later.
In the next step, I sewed the lining to the right side of the fabric and turned it inside out. It was made from the lilac taffetta already mentioned above.
The lining only reaches halfway up the sleeves, so that I folded it back, sewed it with machine stitching, which is not visible on the outside, and secured it in place with some hand-stitching.
Part 3: Some information on the velvet sleeves
The huge upper sleeves are made out of the velvet from the coat. Therefore, they were painted in the same manner (see page 8). On the back, they are connected with a brooch, which can be found on a separate page, too (page 9). Therefore, I cannot say a lot about the sleeves. You may notice the lilac fabric on the edges of the pattern. They are sewn between lining and upper layer. On the top of the photo, you can see the edge of the lining. I did not line the complete sleeve to save some material. In the middle, you can see the finished lining and the contrasting cotton at the edges, while the bottom shows the same part of the sleeves from the outside.
By the way, I had to decide for one of three different options for the lining: blue flat taffetta (top), lilac taffetta with a Dupioni structure (middle) and a heavy structured lilac satin (bottom), that did not want to change its surface even when being tortured with a hot iron. As you may have noticed, I decided to go with the lilac taffetta already used for the cuffs. The color is less reddish in reality.
I had to shorten the sleeves after attaching them to the coat, because otherwise, they would have been demaged.
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Further Reading: Page 8