As a hobby, I collect Star Wars Build-A-Bears. The next bear I wanted in my collection at the time was Princess Leia. I searched the internet for a Princess Leia dress that would fit a Build-A-Bear. I couldn’t find anything like what I wanted, so I decided to create it myself.

I patterned, mocked up, constructed, and embroidered this dress. This was before I was employed by the Appalachian State Costume Shop and was regularly sewing . All of the skills I used for this project were self-taught.