Summer 2014 DW Fashion Design Challenge: Entry #21: Professional

Entrant Category: Professional

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My etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KateLaurenDesigns

The idea:

My idea for this outfit is to create a Hogwarts Ravenclaw uniform for my custom Luna Lovegood doll. (For all you muggles out there, Hogwarts is a wizarding school, and Ravenclaw is a house within the school.) The original concept of this design is when Luna was in her fourth year, in the movie Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix. The uniforms for fourth and fifth years are much different than those of first and second. I really liked the style of these uniforms better, so those are the ones I decided to create! Here is a picture of Luna wearing her uniform, and one of her wearing her school robes over the top:

The uniforms consist of: White oxford blouse, grey pleated skirt, grey cardigan, black tights, black mary-janes, school robes and navy-and-silver striped necktie.

The blouse: A classic white oxford blouse, with buttoned cuffs and stiff collar. It is a perfect base for the uniform, a blank slate, if you will.

The skirt: Grey pleats, what more could you want in a skirt? There appears to be two box pleats in the center, each falling over the hip-bones. I couldn’t find a good picture of the back, but I assume there would be more pleating, to give the skirt some shape.

The cardigan: Grey, again. It is long sleeved, and fits tightly to the body, especially in the arms. Open v-neck design, with functioning buttons. There is a thin blue strip that winds around the body, near the ribbing.

The tights: Simple black tights, something to keep those legs covered in the cool castle…Especially during the winter!

The shoes: Classic black mary-janes, a uniform staple, if you ask me!

The school robes: A set of robes for everyday wear, they feature a beautiful blue lining, with loop closure and school house patch. They are floor length, with wide sleeves and pointed hood.

The necktie: Gorgeous satin navy-and-silver necktie, with diagonal striped pattern. It is an excellent finisher to the outfit, and adds a bit of interest in a sea of black, white and grey.

For accessories, I want to create a cross-body bag to hold issues of the Quibbler, and her wand. Luna is a quirky girl, and an oddball, even in a school of witches and wizards. Her father is the editor of a magazine called “The Quibbler”, which is not generally respected in the wizarding community. She usually keeps her wand tucked behind her ear, which most of her friends consider an oddity; it seems to make perfect sense in her mind. Here are pictures of them both:

The Process:

Due to the many unique elements of this outfit, I found myself drafting my own patterns, or modifying existing ones to create the right look. The first element I wanted to tackle was the robe, I used a patter found online, and made it in black cotton lined with blue synthetic cotton. The clasp is a shank button with an elastic loop closure. The easiest part was creating the shirt, I used Liberty Jane’s Oxford Blouse pattern, made in wonderfully soft white cotton. The blouse closes with snaps, with little faux-buttons. The shirt cuffs also have the button/snap combination! The next element I decided to tackle was the skirt. I didn’t want to waste time in searching for a patter similar, so I drafted my own. Each skirt has two box pleats over the hips, and two more mirroring in the rear. It took a while to figure out exactly where I wanted the pleats, and how to make them.

The fabric I used is a synthetic suiting, and doesn’t take well to pressing. So, I had to use a damp piece of cotton and put my iron on a low setting when pressing, to avoid melting the fabric. The skirts have a narrow waistband and a snap closure in the back.

After the skirt was finished, I made the stockings. Originally I had wanted to make tights, but the garment I repurposed wasn’t large enough. So, I tweaked my original design and made thigh-high’s. The fabric is a four-directional stretch, and is very thin. I used a tiny zig-zag stitch to allow the fabric to stretch, and kept the original garment’s hem as the top

I didn’t use a pattern for these; I just cut out a narrow “U” shape, and stitched all around.

With the stockings finished, the outfit was already starting to look complete, but I really wanted to work on the cardigan. I’m not a proficient knitter, and even if I were, I don’t know if I could knit so tiny! So, I decided to make the cardigan out of Jersey knit. I couldn’t find a pattern similar to the look I was going for, so I started with the Liberty Jane Trendy Tee shirt pattern, and went from there.

I shortened the original bodice by over two inches, and cut the back on fold, while taking away an inch from the “back” of the pattern. The front was lengthened a half and inch, and not cut on the fold. A deep ‘V’ was cut into the fabric. I used the long sleeve pattern from the Liberty Jane tee shirt Variation pack; because I knew I wanted tight fitting sleeves. But, I added about a half and inch to the sides to allow the button-up to fit underneath. I made ribbing for the bottom and the sleeves, and tested it out in some scrap knit (old tee shirt), then used a nice dark grey jersey knit for the final product. The cardigan also closes with snaps, and has faux buttons.

The bag was a simple creation, using an old tee shirt; I made a small bag and braided the handle. I printed out images of “The Quibbler” and made three miniature magazines.

Her wand was created using a toothpick wrapped inside a regular sheet of letter paper. Then, after I shaped it, I added hotglue to mimic the details on the handle and round out to tip. I painted it using acrylic paints and sealed it with modge podge.

The final element of the uniform was the necktie. I tried to look for a suitable fabric, but I couldn’t find anything remotely similar. So, I took matters into my own hands and made the ‘fabric’. I took narrow ribbons and stitched them together to create a large square (about 6”X6”)

I turned the square on its point, to form diagonal stripes, and made a tie shape. Then, I lined it, and created a neckband. The ‘tie’ closes with a snap in the back.

I purchased the shoes, a simple black flat; because I didn’t think it would be a good use of my time to attempt to make them by hand. J

The final product:

The doll is a custom American Girl doll modeled after the actress who plays Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies. Hopefully these pictures capture the outfit well, but more importantly, the spirit of Luna Lovegood!