NarsilConstruction

November 12, 2006:

Here begins my construction log for Arwen's Narsil Gown and Cloak, also known as the Reforging Gown and Cloak, as seen in The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.

The cloak, also worn by Elrond in the film, is of dark navy silk velvet. The gown, rather simple for Arwen, beautiful none-the-less. The sleeves are tight fitting, also dark navy silk velvet, and diamond quilted in gold thread. The body of the gown is some kind of simple navy silk.

I have looked at the Extended Edtion Appendices, where there are photos of the gown and the cloak... There are a couple changes I'll be making in the gown... In the photos, the quilting goes up only to the elbow, mine will go all the way up the sleeves. The neckline appears to also be navy silk... I may quilt that also... The body of my gown will not be navy, but the same black/violet shot dupioni I used in the underdress of my Blood Red Gown.

This could offer some interesting wardrobe possibilities. I'm thinking it may well be possible to wear the Blood Red Gown Jumper over this dress, also...

Here are the fabrics I will be using:

November 13, 2006:

The fabrics are pre-washed, and I started the morning off draping the cloak... I decided I wanted as few seams as possible, so that's what I've draped. Here was how it looked in the morning, before I started fiddling with the hood design. Nothing is cut here, it's just hanging over my dress form, over my Blood Red Gown...

Next, I cut out the panels... There are two... Done Hollywood-Toga style, sewn together at the back, open at the front... It is probably too easy for what really was going on, but I'm not complaining, so it will work.

After I had the panels cut and hanging, I started working on the hood. I tried a few things, and wound up with a half eliptical circle, long end hanging down the back... Then, I gathered the hanging hem, drawing it up. Here are the photos of things so far...

Can you spot my kitty Jojo in the background? :D

November 17, 2007:

The cloak panels are hanging, to relax the bias, and I've started on the gown. I have the panels cut, the sleeves and neckline quilted, and I am adding bead embellishments to the quilted sections...

Progress Photos:

November 18, 2006:

Yesterday and today I hand sewed more of the gold beads into the quilted sections of the gown, and worked on constructing the body of the gown. The zipper is in, and I am adjusting the side seams. They still need some adjustment. Here are some photos of the body of the gown as of now.

I've set the sleeves in today... I've determined where the buttons and button holes will go, and am currently covering buttons with some of the scrap velvet... Nearly out of black thread, I am currently trying to find other things to do, as I wait for my thread order to arrive...

Here are some photos with the sleeves in...

November 25, 2006:

Yesterday, I finished the hems of both the gown and the cloak. Right now, I am sewing in the velvet covered buttons on the sleeves. The left sleeve is finished. All that remains is sewing in the buttons on the right sleeve, and setting the buttons in the cloak.

Peter Jackson's visualization of The Lord of the Rings woke my latent passion for costuming and inspired me to learn to sew.

This page and its links reflect my best efforts in Lord of the Rings costuming.

Projects linking to their own pages are featured here. Click the links in the navigation bar to visit the individual pages, or scroll further below to the image links and see a quick overview of the costumes.

Nearly ten years ago I set out to teach myself to sew, so that I could create inspired costumes such as those featured on my site.

I created this site to share what I've done. It launched August 18, 2004, and has been growing ever-since.

In addition to costume construction pages, there are pages featuring portraits of the costumes being worn.

Costuming is a hobby I love documenting, but I do not do commissions, nor do I sell patterns.

Please visit where your interests lead you, and enjoy.