Elizabeth i Day of the Doctor Dress- Completed

Wow. I just realized how behind I am in updating everyone on new and finished sewing and art projects. It’s kind of sad really and I want to fix it. Still, life stuff gets in my way more times than not. Ugh.

Anyway, I mentioned a while ago I was making Elizabeth i’s dress from the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode Day of the Doctor. Well, it’s done! Actually, its been done for over a month. Almost two. Anyway, the plan was to make the dress and wear it to the 2014 Arizona Renaissance Festival. I did finish it in time, but I got sick the weekend I wanted to wear it. Since the planned weekend was the last weekend the festival was open, I didn’t get to wear it. So, it has been sitting in storage, waiting for a time when I can wear it.

Yesterday, I dragged out all the sewing projects I finished and took photos of them on my dress form, including the Elizabeth dress!

I’ve already posted photos of the skirt, but here’s some more. Here’s the underskirt….

The “over skirt”…

And at last, the finished bodice…

I also took a photo of one of the sleeves…

After I finished this dress, I realized I did many things wrong. The sleeves is probably the most notable. I used a pattern that fit the size of my bust, but my arms, and most of my body, actually fit a smaller size. So, the sleeves are too big and fall off my shoulders. My recent growth spurts also took some of the swelling in my shoulders away so the sleeves are even bigger than ever.

Although I made the dress with the “over” skirt separate from the bodice, that’s incorrect. At least with the dress used in the show. There is also a zipper that should be in the back of the bodice while the front had hook and eyes. I didn’t have that in my dress. Instead, I though the back would be laced-up. So, I made it for that. When I realized my mistake, I sewed the two pieces of the bodice together in the back and added a zipper and hook and eye to the front.

In conclusion, this dress is by no means a faithful reproduction to the dress used in the episode. There is also a huge list of stuff I’d change or do better if I had to remake the dress again. Still, I’m happy with the dress. If any part of the dress falls apart (and it has) its an easy fix which is important to me. It’s not burdensome weight-wise to wear and, well, I like it!

So, that’s the first costume in my pile of sewing projects I need to make posts about. Not sure when I’ll get to wear it in public. The Arizona Renaissance Festival will start up again in 9 months and I’d really like to wear it before then. So, I’ll figure something out. Or probably get someone I know to take photos of me wearing the dress!