| The Chase Dress |
Images are thumbnails, click to enlarge.
The companies that produce ready-made costumes for sale are not producing this costume, most likely it is due to
the complicated nature of the costume. It would be too expensive to make wholesale wise, and too expensive for the
average consumer to buy, therefore a no-win situation for them.
So, at this point when I am writing this, if you want to wear this costume for an event, a premiere, or Halloween..your
only option is making it for yourself, or having it made for you. I know of one woman who is in Germany that makes a
nice re-creation of it, however I believe she is quite busy non-stop (or so I read when ever I see her site) so you may
not be able to book a costume with her. The most complicated areas of this costume are the collar, sleeves, and
design on sleeves in my opinion.
The most popular costume pattern used to create this costume is Simplicity 9891, BUT this costume pattern only
comes up to a size 20 (US). If you are a fellow Pre-Raphaelite like me, this will not work for you unless you are into
altering the pattern for more room, and from what I have read, you can only alter a pattern to a max addition of 2
inches. Anything past that would distort the pattern too much and this is not usually recommended. So if you need to
size up the pattern pieces more than 2 inches (compare your measurements with the size measurements on the back
of the pattern envelope), you might want to look at altering one of the other patterns recommended below that come
in larger sizes to begin with. Alternatively, you might want to create your own patterns with muslin fabric and design
your own.
The companies that produce ready-made costumes for sale are not producing this costume, most likely it is due to
the complicated nature of the costume. It would be too expensive to make wholesale wise, and too expensive for the
average consumer to buy, therefore a no-win situation for them.
So, at this point when I am writing this, if you want to wear this costume for an event, a premiere, or Halloween..your
only option is making it for yourself, or having it made for you. I know of one woman who is in Germany that makes a
nice re-creation of it, however I believe she is quite busy non-stop (or so I read when ever I see her site) so you may
not be able to book a costume with her. The most complicated areas of this costume are the collar, sleeves, and
design on sleeves in my opinion.
The most popular costume pattern used to create this costume is Simplicity 9891, BUT this costume pattern only
comes up to a size 20 (US). If you are a fellow Pre-Raphaelite like me, this will not work for you unless you are into
altering the pattern for more room, and from what I have read, you can only alter a pattern to a max addition of 2
inches. Anything past that would distort the pattern too much and this is not usually recommended. So if you need to
size up the pattern pieces more than 2 inches (compare your measurements with the size measurements on the back
of the pattern envelope), you might want to look at altering one of the other patterns recommended below that come
in larger sizes to begin with. Alternatively, you might want to create your own patterns with muslin fabric and design
your own.
Patterns & Fabrics Used :
When I decided to make this costume, I knew about the most popular costume pattern to modify, and I knew I would
not be able to use it without altering it. Therefore, my thoughts were elsewhere from the start. I also feel that the
pattern does not come close enough to the original (for me) so I wanted to find some alternatives that might be closer
to it.
There is a new pattern out from McCall's this year. Check out McCall's 3797. This only comes up to size 20, but it has
what looks like an attempt at three of Arwen's costumes. The one on the left could be made into the "Arch Dress"; the
one in the middle could be made into the "Chase Dress" just by using my technique on the sleeves..and the one on
the right could be made into the "Angel Dress". Totally possible, ANYTHING is possible if you can imagine it and work
at it. =0)
I went to the fabric store and started digging in the newest catalogs for the closest style I could find in my size. I found
Butterick 5635, Vogue 1290, McCall's 3254, and McCall's 3795(see pic above). These were a good base start. Any
one of them can be altered into the chase dress I believe, especially if you look to the LOTR costume research
pages for help on making the collar and sleeves.
When I was looking through the costume section of Simplicity I stopped when I saw Simplicity 9699. I instantly saw
what I needed in that pattern. I know it might not jump out at everyone, so I put some red arrows pointing to the style I
was looking at. Simplicity 9699 has the collar easily. That's what jumped out at me right away. Yeah! =0) Then once I
got it home I tried to figure out what I could do to it, to make it work for me. This pattern only comes made up to size
20 (US) also. For me, it is not the top half or the bodice that is a problem, most of the time it is the hip area.
Therefore, I knew at least I could use the bodice and collar here. If you take a look at the bottom half of the skirt, you
will see it even has that "petal" shape as well! Although, the waist area is a little bulky because there are gathers and
I knew after trying to make a mock-up with muslin that this skirt would not work as is for the costume. If you take away
the bow and over skirt, essentially there is the costume. There are the bones.
I bought about 7 yards of bleached white muslin and decided to use this as a mock up and really play with ideas
without ruining my good fabric. I recommend this wholeheartedly whenever you are unsure of yourself or where you
want to go with a pattern or idea. The muslin is only about $0.99-$1.99 USD per yard so you really feel free to mess
around, and MESS UP! =0)
I needed to alter the bodice pattern by adding a little more room on the sides. The bodice does not have the "v"
shaped front or back like the original, so I needed to add pieces of the brown tissue paper to the front and back
panels to make up the "v" points. There are no princess seams. I had decided to just cut the front and back bodice
pattern pieces starting at the top snip mark area to the bottom in a nice curve. I just free handed it, but you can
measure if you feel it would be better for you. It came out really well (probably couldn't have done that again if I tried).
Here's a helpful hint for you, after you cut apart the bodice pieces, mark them (because if your sewing area gets
crazy like mine does stuff gets buried) like this: "front 1 of 2", "front 2 of 2" or something like that so that you can go
back to them and it will all make sense after you have hacked them to your hearts delight.
When I decided to make this costume, I knew about the most popular costume pattern to modify, and I knew I would
not be able to use it without altering it. Therefore, my thoughts were elsewhere from the start. I also feel that the
pattern does not come close enough to the original (for me) so I wanted to find some alternatives that might be closer
to it.
There is a new pattern out from McCall's this year. Check out McCall's 3797. This only comes up to size 20, but it has
what looks like an attempt at three of Arwen's costumes. The one on the left could be made into the "Arch Dress"; the
one in the middle could be made into the "Chase Dress" just by using my technique on the sleeves..and the one on
the right could be made into the "Angel Dress". Totally possible, ANYTHING is possible if you can imagine it and work
at it. =0)
I went to the fabric store and started digging in the newest catalogs for the closest style I could find in my size. I found
Butterick 5635, Vogue 1290, McCall's 3254, and McCall's 3795(see pic above). These were a good base start. Any
one of them can be altered into the chase dress I believe, especially if you look to the LOTR costume research
pages for help on making the collar and sleeves.
When I was looking through the costume section of Simplicity I stopped when I saw Simplicity 9699. I instantly saw
what I needed in that pattern. I know it might not jump out at everyone, so I put some red arrows pointing to the style I
was looking at. Simplicity 9699 has the collar easily. That's what jumped out at me right away. Yeah! =0) Then once I
got it home I tried to figure out what I could do to it, to make it work for me. This pattern only comes made up to size
20 (US) also. For me, it is not the top half or the bodice that is a problem, most of the time it is the hip area.
Therefore, I knew at least I could use the bodice and collar here. If you take a look at the bottom half of the skirt, you
will see it even has that "petal" shape as well! Although, the waist area is a little bulky because there are gathers and
I knew after trying to make a mock-up with muslin that this skirt would not work as is for the costume. If you take away
the bow and over skirt, essentially there is the costume. There are the bones.
I bought about 7 yards of bleached white muslin and decided to use this as a mock up and really play with ideas
without ruining my good fabric. I recommend this wholeheartedly whenever you are unsure of yourself or where you
want to go with a pattern or idea. The muslin is only about $0.99-$1.99 USD per yard so you really feel free to mess
around, and MESS UP! =0)
I needed to alter the bodice pattern by adding a little more room on the sides. The bodice does not have the "v"
shaped front or back like the original, so I needed to add pieces of the brown tissue paper to the front and back
panels to make up the "v" points. There are no princess seams. I had decided to just cut the front and back bodice
pattern pieces starting at the top snip mark area to the bottom in a nice curve. I just free handed it, but you can
measure if you feel it would be better for you. It came out really well (probably couldn't have done that again if I tried).
Here's a helpful hint for you, after you cut apart the bodice pieces, mark them (because if your sewing area gets
crazy like mine does stuff gets buried) like this: "front 1 of 2", "front 2 of 2" or something like that so that you can go
back to them and it will all make sense after you have hacked them to your hearts delight.
After I altered the bodice, I began making a mock-up with the muslin fabric (pics 1-3). I made the bodice, and the
collar, and most of the sleeves. I began making the skirts, but soon realized it was not going to work. I concentrated on
one thing at a time. I cannot emphasize this enough here (when making anything really) but especially this costume be
patient. It takes allot of effort to make this one. It is aggravating if you are inexperienced, and perhaps even if you are
experienced. Do as I did: work from the top to the bottom trying to figure it out. I concentrated one area at a time, and
messed around freely with the muslin until I felt confident enough to move to the real fabric (pics 7-9).
This brings me to fabric choices. I went looking for some faux suede material at first. Obviously, not many people can
afford to re-create this one with real suede..and if you can, finding it in the right color would be hard. I found
alternatives to suede in the materials called "Butter Suede", "Ultra Suede", or "Doe Suede". All of these materials
would work for this. They range from moderate to high price range. You can really go with any fabric you like, just get
something with a mild texture to it (the feel of it) to give it some richness resembling suede leather. Some people have
even made this coat in a blue material not gray and it turns out fine.
Here is what I did. I was really lucky (for once). Do yourself a huge favor and dig through the remnant piles and the
bargain piles. While looking through the sale bins, I found a bolt of gray material (pic 4) that was on sale for $2.49
(USD) per yard, with just 6 1/2 yards left on the bolt. It was the perfect color, that's what caught my eye- and it has a
texture to it that makes it feel richer than it is. It is only a woven Rayon material. However, from afar it looks awesome.
It did not have a name on the bolt, so I cannot tell you what it is. I scored, big time. The same day, I scored some left
over gray vinyl that I will be using for the boot tops, for only $5.00. So please dig, look, and score!
As for the under sleeve and underskirt materials..that's another story. The closest I could find in my area would be a
white crinkly Voile fabric (pic 5) that was huge! It is about 100 inches across. It is expensive at $14.99 (USD) a yard,
but I had a 40% off coupon for signing up on the JoAnn fabric newsletter..so I got a discount.
The original is a silk fabric I believe and it has a defined vertical rib to it. If you wanted to use crinkly Viole, you could
make it more crinkly by washing it and twisting it up before it'hs dry. Let it dry twisted up and then uncoil it to see how
ribbed it is. Do not iron it after this otherwise you would loose the ribs you created. I bought 3 yards of this fabric and
dyed it a light gray color; I just wanted it to "dinge" a bit. It was so white, it was jolting. I used Rit Dye in the color Pearl
Grey. I used the tub and soaked the material for about 10 minutes only, just until it got that nice dinge to it. Softened it
right up!
I decided for the sashes to use the same crinkly Voile material, so I cut off some streamers after it was dyed (pic 6).
The original sashes are of a silk material, but I could not see myself buying silk just to make streamers from them,
since I was not using it anywhere else. I made three to be exact. Two for the back, and one long one for the lacing in
the front. I first bought a bolt of 2 inch wide sheer organdy ribbon (in pics 1-3) for this, thinking I would dye it, you'll see
why this won't work. It is too stiff. I dyed the streamers with Rit Dye in the colors Purple, and Denim Blue.
They were already "dinged" in the grey..then I soaked them in Purple for 5 minutes. Rinsed them and then soaked
them in Denim Blue for 10 minutes, and they are the most amazing gray purple blue, like the color of dusk. They are
perfect! =0) To finish the edges of the streamers to keep the fabric from fraying I just folded over the edges on both
sides, and then used a decorative stitch on my machine (pic 6).
I have a bunch of decorative stitches available to me on my new sewing machine; one of them resembles a "baseball"
type stitch, (pic 9) which is perfect for the princess seam details. On the original, the stitching is visible on the bodice.
If you do not have a stitch like this on your machine, you can hand stitch the details, or you could even paint them on
like the details on the sleeves and collar.
The bodice was put together in stages, for me it was easier to do it this way. First I cut the pieces out, then I basted
the princess seams together, then I stitched the decorative stitch, leaving the areas open where I would need to attach
the sashes. I left about a 2-inch gap on left and right in the back for this, and about a 4-inch gap in the front for this. I
decided to attach Hem Tape in the color Pewter (see in pic 7) to the front in small 1-inch loops, to act as the lacing
holders, rather than try to stitch the streamers in..risking that they might come out too tight, or wrong. This way it is
just like lacing up a shoe, and since the color is matching the fabric, they are not too noticeable when laced. After the
loops were attached then I finished the princess seams and then the decorative stitching. You see, it's all about
patience, and stages.
I added a 7 inch dark gray zipper in the back, I know the original must have a hidden zipper in front, but I didn't feel
confident enough to take that on- I have a hard enough time with sewing a regular zipper! =0) I put hook and eye
fasteners at the top of the collar in back to hold it together, since it is not all one piece. Makes it easy to get in and out
of this costume too.
Once the sleeve designs (see pages Sleeve Design-Collar) were cured and heat-sealed, I went to work figuring out
how to make the bottom sleeves, as well as the small "sleeve cap" on the top of the shoulder, how to go about making
all sections of the sleeves, inner sleeves, outer sleeves, upper sleeves..oh my....
Sleeve Cap Pattern & Construction.
After MUCH deliberation, I finally came up with a pattern on my own that works for the small sleeve cap on the
shoulder area. It's funny how such a small detail can be such an enigma when you have no idea what you are doing.
See Pic 10. I have this image as a .jpg, and if anyone wants it, email me and I can send it out to you. You will need to
adjust the size to fit with your size pattern, but the jest of the idea is there. Cut 4 pieces of your fabric, and 2 pieces of
stiff interfacing (what is left over from making the collar-see pattern instructions). The pattern piece is made to be cut
on the fold. Attach interfacing (Sew-in, or Fusible) to one of the fabric pieces in each shoulder set, and stitch them
together, right sides together. Turn them right side out, and then press. Stitch them together on the raw edges. Attach
sleeve cap to the armhole with pins leaving about 1/2 inch out for the detail to show, making sure facing side is UP for
lift. Once you get the piece in the arm hole and fidget with it a bit you'll find the right direction and place for it that
looks right on your costume. Took me FOREVER to do this. See Pics 11-12.
collar, and most of the sleeves. I began making the skirts, but soon realized it was not going to work. I concentrated on
one thing at a time. I cannot emphasize this enough here (when making anything really) but especially this costume be
patient. It takes allot of effort to make this one. It is aggravating if you are inexperienced, and perhaps even if you are
experienced. Do as I did: work from the top to the bottom trying to figure it out. I concentrated one area at a time, and
messed around freely with the muslin until I felt confident enough to move to the real fabric (pics 7-9).
This brings me to fabric choices. I went looking for some faux suede material at first. Obviously, not many people can
afford to re-create this one with real suede..and if you can, finding it in the right color would be hard. I found
alternatives to suede in the materials called "Butter Suede", "Ultra Suede", or "Doe Suede". All of these materials
would work for this. They range from moderate to high price range. You can really go with any fabric you like, just get
something with a mild texture to it (the feel of it) to give it some richness resembling suede leather. Some people have
even made this coat in a blue material not gray and it turns out fine.
Here is what I did. I was really lucky (for once). Do yourself a huge favor and dig through the remnant piles and the
bargain piles. While looking through the sale bins, I found a bolt of gray material (pic 4) that was on sale for $2.49
(USD) per yard, with just 6 1/2 yards left on the bolt. It was the perfect color, that's what caught my eye- and it has a
texture to it that makes it feel richer than it is. It is only a woven Rayon material. However, from afar it looks awesome.
It did not have a name on the bolt, so I cannot tell you what it is. I scored, big time. The same day, I scored some left
over gray vinyl that I will be using for the boot tops, for only $5.00. So please dig, look, and score!
As for the under sleeve and underskirt materials..that's another story. The closest I could find in my area would be a
white crinkly Voile fabric (pic 5) that was huge! It is about 100 inches across. It is expensive at $14.99 (USD) a yard,
but I had a 40% off coupon for signing up on the JoAnn fabric newsletter..so I got a discount.
The original is a silk fabric I believe and it has a defined vertical rib to it. If you wanted to use crinkly Viole, you could
make it more crinkly by washing it and twisting it up before it'hs dry. Let it dry twisted up and then uncoil it to see how
ribbed it is. Do not iron it after this otherwise you would loose the ribs you created. I bought 3 yards of this fabric and
dyed it a light gray color; I just wanted it to "dinge" a bit. It was so white, it was jolting. I used Rit Dye in the color Pearl
Grey. I used the tub and soaked the material for about 10 minutes only, just until it got that nice dinge to it. Softened it
right up!
I decided for the sashes to use the same crinkly Voile material, so I cut off some streamers after it was dyed (pic 6).
The original sashes are of a silk material, but I could not see myself buying silk just to make streamers from them,
since I was not using it anywhere else. I made three to be exact. Two for the back, and one long one for the lacing in
the front. I first bought a bolt of 2 inch wide sheer organdy ribbon (in pics 1-3) for this, thinking I would dye it, you'll see
why this won't work. It is too stiff. I dyed the streamers with Rit Dye in the colors Purple, and Denim Blue.
They were already "dinged" in the grey..then I soaked them in Purple for 5 minutes. Rinsed them and then soaked
them in Denim Blue for 10 minutes, and they are the most amazing gray purple blue, like the color of dusk. They are
perfect! =0) To finish the edges of the streamers to keep the fabric from fraying I just folded over the edges on both
sides, and then used a decorative stitch on my machine (pic 6).
I have a bunch of decorative stitches available to me on my new sewing machine; one of them resembles a "baseball"
type stitch, (pic 9) which is perfect for the princess seam details. On the original, the stitching is visible on the bodice.
If you do not have a stitch like this on your machine, you can hand stitch the details, or you could even paint them on
like the details on the sleeves and collar.
The bodice was put together in stages, for me it was easier to do it this way. First I cut the pieces out, then I basted
the princess seams together, then I stitched the decorative stitch, leaving the areas open where I would need to attach
the sashes. I left about a 2-inch gap on left and right in the back for this, and about a 4-inch gap in the front for this. I
decided to attach Hem Tape in the color Pewter (see in pic 7) to the front in small 1-inch loops, to act as the lacing
holders, rather than try to stitch the streamers in..risking that they might come out too tight, or wrong. This way it is
just like lacing up a shoe, and since the color is matching the fabric, they are not too noticeable when laced. After the
loops were attached then I finished the princess seams and then the decorative stitching. You see, it's all about
patience, and stages.
I added a 7 inch dark gray zipper in the back, I know the original must have a hidden zipper in front, but I didn't feel
confident enough to take that on- I have a hard enough time with sewing a regular zipper! =0) I put hook and eye
fasteners at the top of the collar in back to hold it together, since it is not all one piece. Makes it easy to get in and out
of this costume too.
Once the sleeve designs (see pages Sleeve Design-Collar) were cured and heat-sealed, I went to work figuring out
how to make the bottom sleeves, as well as the small "sleeve cap" on the top of the shoulder, how to go about making
all sections of the sleeves, inner sleeves, outer sleeves, upper sleeves..oh my....
Sleeve Cap Pattern & Construction.
After MUCH deliberation, I finally came up with a pattern on my own that works for the small sleeve cap on the
shoulder area. It's funny how such a small detail can be such an enigma when you have no idea what you are doing.
See Pic 10. I have this image as a .jpg, and if anyone wants it, email me and I can send it out to you. You will need to
adjust the size to fit with your size pattern, but the jest of the idea is there. Cut 4 pieces of your fabric, and 2 pieces of
stiff interfacing (what is left over from making the collar-see pattern instructions). The pattern piece is made to be cut
on the fold. Attach interfacing (Sew-in, or Fusible) to one of the fabric pieces in each shoulder set, and stitch them
together, right sides together. Turn them right side out, and then press. Stitch them together on the raw edges. Attach
sleeve cap to the armhole with pins leaving about 1/2 inch out for the detail to show, making sure facing side is UP for
lift. Once you get the piece in the arm hole and fidget with it a bit you'll find the right direction and place for it that
looks right on your costume. Took me FOREVER to do this. See Pics 11-12.