Arwen's Blood Red Gown - I wanted to challenge myself with this specific gown, due to it being very simple but also very detailed. This dress consists of dark blue velvet for the body of the dress, red & gold paisley fabric for the top of the sleeve, then red velvet for the rest of the sleeve. Also, the dress has lots of beading around the neck and mid-arm.
While I was researching this costume, I came across another seamstress that actually ordered Sari border trim for this. To me, this was extremely clever because it has all the hand beading that this dress needs.
I found the pattern I wanted to use to make this style, Simplicity 4940.
I attached the collar to the dress. Honestly, the simplicity pattern directions for attaching the collar weren't very clear, but what I ended up doing was hemming the collar and then topstitching it to the dress.
The sleeves were extremely detailed.
I ended up lining the sleeves with the same velvet material as the top sleeve, which made them heavier in the end.
I hand-stitched the beaded trim onto the fabric. I loved this effect because it really looks similar to Arwen's sleeves.
Overall this dress wasn't that difficult to make. It just took a lot of time to get the details really close to the movie accurately.
I will say this though, it surprised me with how heavy the top part of the dress weighed due to the fabric and extra details.
