sarah's ball gown from the labyrinth. part one

If you have ever seen jim Henson's 'the labyrinth' then you know that Sarah's white ball gown is one of those costumes that you just dream of owning one day. Here is my tutorial on Sarah's gown.

First step means getting reference pictures. Watch that lovely scene, and just look at her dress up close.

Nice side view of those sleeves.

So I started by looking through patterns and I ran across this one which served its purpose really well. 

It's snow whites dress from mirror mirror, but I altered it to fit my needs. I don't have any progress pictures of the bodice, but it's basically done just as the pattern says. I used some pretty white cheap stuff from Joann's, and with some interfacing and shiny stuff to go on top I was able to start on the embroidery.

I had the pin lying around so I thought "hey, why not?" I used all six strands in the floss, I know it makes it much harder to work with, but I really wanted the gold to show through. It'll make sense later, trust me. Got all of that done in only the amount of time it took me to watch all of les miserables. 

First I added sequins, then pearls, and lots of mini white beads. See how I wanted the gold to show through?

More embroidery... While watching arrow on netflix. Fun fact: if you are watching a movie and want to do something with your hands, instead of eating, try hand sewing instead.

Total embroidery time =23 hours. I know, it sounds like a lot of time, but it flies when you watch as much television as I do.

Next up means those HUGE sleeves.

The original sleeve pattern seemed a little small so I improvised and got just what I wanted. The sleeves have a total of four layers. The extra layers adds to the "poof".

Poofy right?

I just wanted to see it, so I made a makeshift skirt and got this. I'll be adding around ten yards of tool and netting for the "poof" of the skirt.