Once Upon A Mattress
The Arvada Center • 2024
Costume Design: Madison Booth
Once Upon a Mattress was my first holiday show at The Arvada Center, and I created over five looks, not including the layers added or removed from the gowns to change from more formal to less formal, or the alterations to the purchased blue suit to combine two suits into one richly detailed, historically inspired garment.
Process
The Queen’s red gown was drafted using a modified Simplicity pattern. I created the pleated long sleeves for this look and adjusted the neckline to stand away from the chest, creating an angular stomacher panel.
Lady Larken’s blue plaid gown was inspired by Selkie gown silhouettes. The silk organza plaid selected for the sleeves and overskirt required careful reinforcing in the seams and under the arms, as it was a delicate material that needed to withstand the full run of the show.
For the wizard, we had two looks: a modified blue suit and a sunburst patchwork cape. For the blue suit jacket, I draped new lapels over the existing roll-line, then took a second suit and seam-ripped it to find the largest sections from which to cut the lapels and long strips for the sleeves. For the sunburst cape, I first draped the cape shape, then added the sunburst design, labeling each panel by order and color to assist with assembly. A stitcher with patchwork experience carefully stitched each curved piece together, avoiding warping and ensuring the shapes lay flat and smooth.
Although the fabric originally selected for the minstrel’s sleeves was a woven cotton, I suggested sourcing a quality wool felt, as the club shapes along the points of the sleeve would have been very time-consuming to construct as a lined garment. Using felt, we were able to cleanly cut each club shape, and the material held its form throughout the run.
