"Original" Jedi

December 10, 2004

With Episode III coming up in the spring, I've decided to make this my Christmas break project this year. While I have many other things to do over the break (including a trip to the dentist to get my last wisdom tooth removed), I'm pretty optimistic that I'll have enough time to get this done, or at least significantly on its way to being done.

So, why am I making a jedi costume and not another one of Padme's fabulous costumes? Well, that's simple enough to answer--she doesn't have any fabulous costumes in this episode. Well, they may still be fabulous, but she is pregnant throughout the film. I'm just not willing to go that route. Thus, I'm left with several options: I could wear the picnic dress again, I could make another of Padme's dresses from Episode II, I could recreate a costume from some obscure character that no one even notices, or I could fulfill my secret longing to be a jedi. (I guess I could also reproduce a costume from the original trilogy, but that idea just doesn't excite me as much; although, Maggie over at Padawan's Guide has almost got me hooked with her Bespin costume--I already knew that this costume was one of my favorites from the original trilogy, but I never realized that it was so detailed. And of course, Maggie is doing a superb job on it, which I couldn't hold a candle to.) Obviously, though, I've opted for the jedi costume.

Okay, so, for the plan. I've clearly done this before. For Episode II, I made both of my brothers jedi costumes. Both of those were very easy to put together, so I don't really anticipate any problems with this one. However, there is one major difference: I want my costume to be...well...different...original. I don't want to be a cookie-cutter jedi, but I still want to be recognized as a jedi. Aye, there's the rub. So, the first step in "the plan" is to carefully observe what other jedi are wearing, the ones that do not have major screen time. By looking at what all jedi seem to have in common, I can make sure that my costume has those elements, and then I can play around with all the other elements. Ooooo, this is going to be fun.

Now, a word about the fabric. I really liked how the osnaberg looked for my brother's costumes, so I will be using that for several layers. Fortunately, I have a whole bolt of that stuff that has been just waiting for this particular project. Unfortunately, that is the only fabric that I have so far.

I'd like to find a lighter weight fabric (nearly sheer) for an under layer in a slightly off color (either a little lighter or a little darker than the osnaberg). The neckline of this layer would be higher and the sleeves would be tight to the wrist with a little bit of gathering going on. I think a lightweight crinkled cotton would be great for this, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find that anywhere this time of year.

I also need to find some fabric for the cloak. My mom got lucky with the fabric we got for the boys' cloaks; she found it on a shopping trip to Reno. She is actually going to Reno for New Years, but I'm not going to hold my breath; how can someone get so lucky twice? I'd really like to find something with really great texture (can you tell that this costume is really all about the texture for me--osnaberg, crinkle cotton, etc.). I could just dye the osnaberg a dark brown, but it doesn't seem to have enough weight for this particular garment; same deal with silk noil. I looked at some silk matka, but it didn't seem to have enough drape--a little too stiff.

December 24, 2004

I managed to find a decently textured fabric at Hancock a few weeks ago, so all is good in the fabric arena. It is a little bit lighter of a weight than I was looking for, but I'll just interface it to give it just a tad more body. That should help give the cloak some structure while still allowing it to drape properly.

I got most of the pieces cut out today--the cotton gauze shirt, the pants, and two tunics (different lengths). Although most jedi seem to have only two tunics, there do seem to be several exceptions to the rule, with a few adding a very thin, gauzy undershirt. I also think this will add a little versatility (for all those times I'm going to wear this, haha), as I'll be able to interchange the two tunics, or wear all three layers. One tunic will be a fairly common just-above-the-knee length, while the other will be ankle length (which we see on the older Obi-Wan as well as on one jedi during the arena battle in Episode II).

I've modified all of my patterns so much that I'm not sure it's even worth mentioning them, but here goes anyway. For the undershirt and the pants, I used Simplicity 9576. I didn't bother with any of the darts, and actually extended the top of the pants so that I can make them drawstring. I lengthened the long sleeve for the shirt so that I can gather it up on the lower arm, and also cut it a bit narrower so that it will fit closely. (If you do this, make sure that you cut the sleeve on the bias; this should give the fabric enough stretch to get over your hand. If you don't want to cut on the bias, be sure to leave the bottom of the sleeve wide enough to fit your hand through. I also didn't bother with the tie for the shirt.)

Now the tunics were a bit more complicated. Initially, I thought I'd just use a kimono pattern, but it didn't really have the shape I wanted. I wanted the tunics to fit a bit closer to the body in the torso, and then flair out below the waist. I also wasn't entirely happy with the dropped shoulder seams. As I was mulling over how to modify the kimono, I remembered making a dress years ago that had the exact shape I was looking for, and since my mother and I never throw anything away, I knew we still had the pattern somewhere--McCall's 7722. Of course, that pattern had to be modified too, and I'm still not sure if it wouldn't have been easier to just adapt the kimono. Anyway, I had to remove the princess seams, cutting two front pieces and two back. (In the pattern the back is supposed to be cut on the fold, but I wanted more fullness, so I cut it as two and angled the seam out below the waist.) the sleeves also had to be modified a bit in order to make them a bit fuller. Since one tunic will be worn over the other, I made sure that I cut it a bit more generously, adding about half an inch at all of the torso seams, angling the seams out a bit more below the waist, and adding even more width to the sleeves. This also meant that for the longer version, I needed to open my fabric out in order to accommodate the width at the bottom of the skirt.

Both the undershirt and the tunics also needed the neck binding, which isn't included with either pattern. For the undershirt, I cut a four inch wide bias strip, while for the tunics I cut the same width on the strait-of-grain.

So, now my least favorite part of the project is out of the way! The sewing should actually come together rather quickly, but I'm not promising anything for tomorrow--after all, it's Christmas.

December 26, 2004

The cotton gauze undershirt is finished! Quite an accomplishment, actually, considering I only had about a two hour window to get it done...after church, but before my aunt, uncle, and cousins came over to visit. Sewing it together was actually pretty easy, especially since I had omitted all the time consuming details, such as the darts and the tie. What took up all my time was my decision to do a decorative stitch first around the sleeve hem and then, since I liked it so much, around the neck edge as well as the bottom hem (one of those things that probably no one will really notice, but adds a nice touch). The stitch took forever to finish, but I'm pretty happy with the end results.

Now, I'm still not sure if I'm happy with the sleeves themselves. Problem number one: I didn't add enough to the length of the lower sleeve, so the gathering isn't really that noticeable. I added about six inches, but could have used at least another six. Problem number two: the gathering technique would really work better with a two part sleeve--the gathering in the seam holds part of the sleeve up, but the other half of the sleeve wants to fall back over my hand. It's kind of cute if you are going for a bit of a romantic, princess-y look, but I'm not too sure that I like it for a jedi look.

I'm still thinking about how best to keep the thing closed. I know it need something, because just tucking it into the pants will only last so long. I tried a hook-and-eye, but wasn't really happy with the way it pulls a bit funny, and the invisible snap wasn't much better. I may end up resorting to my 18th century fix--pins. If placed correctly, I think they could possibly work better. My major concern is right where the two front pieces cross over; it is essential that these stay flat and in the correct place since all of the consecutive layers depend upon this. If I can find a way to keep all of these cross-overs in place, then everything else can just be kept in place with ties.

December 27, 2004

I got a lot accomplished today.

The pants went together very quickly--there are only, what, like five seams. Didn't run into any problems, but I haven't hemmed them yet. I can't decide if they are a bit too full below the knee and am toying with the idea of tapering them down a bit. What do you think? I know they are supposed to get a little of that drapey effect above the boots, but I think I could narrow them down considerably and still get that effect.

Next, it was on to the short tunic. Again, no issues. I made sure that I did a fitting before sewing the binding onto the neck edge to make sure that it wouldn't cover up the undershirt. I'm still running into the issue of how to secure the neckline; as you can see in the picture, as soon as I move, the edges are no longer laying flat in place. (Okay, yes, I'll probably just have to live with that seeing as how I don't have an entire wardrobe department following me around to make sure that everything is in place all the time. Still, I'd like to find a method that will keep it at least looking decent most of the time.) I did not manage to get my hem straight, but that is pretty typical for me with anything that crosses over like this, and I'm not going to stress myself out about it. I did need to shorten the sleeves just a bit, so that the under sleeves show below the hem. (If I don't get my neckline issues straightened out, the under sleeve may be the only bit of that decorative stitching that will ever show--ah, what a waste, but at least I know it's there...

I even got a start on the long tunic today as well. All the major seams have been sewn and the neck binding has been sewn on. (I didn't actually bind the edges, as is usually done. I folded the binding in half and serged the unfinished edges onto the right side of the neckline, then just pressed it over. On the undershirt, the seam allowance is pressed towards the binding so that it does not show through the sheer fabric and stitched in place with the decorative stitching. Both the bias and straight grain binding seem to work; if you decide to go with the bias, just be very careful that you don't stretch it while you sew it on.) I'm a little frustrated with the sleeves, but that's my own fault. I wanted them to be fuller, but now I'm not liking how gathered they are at the sleeve head. If I have the energy tomorrow, I may pull them out and taper them so that the top of the sleeve doesn't need to be quite so full, while still allowing the bottom of the sleeve to bell out. The only other thing to get done on this is all the hemming (bottom edge as well as the sleeves).

The "sash" you see in the picture is not currently in its final draft--it's basically just a scrap of fabric I used as an impromptu obi just for the sake of the pictures. Since I am so short, everything in the waist area will be a bit narrower than you typically see; I'm still not sure if I will make the belt myself of have one made, but it will need to be no wider than two to two and a half inches.

I'll also be modifying the tabards a bit. In pictures, I often see them extending off of the shoulders; this is a very masculine look, and while there have been various time periods when it was considered attractive for women to have linebacker shoulders, the look is not currently en vogue. Therefore, my tabards will only extend to the edge of my actual shoulder. I'd already cut these pieces out when I noticed the recommendation here to curve them to accommodate the bust. (Yeah, you can tell I do exhaustive research before starting a project, can't you?) Anywho, since I already have them cut out, I'll see how they look. If I'm really not pleased, I'll try it the other way.

Oh, and what do you think of the boots? I know you don't see them very well in any of these pictures, but you get the basic idea. I'm really please with how they look, and even more pleased with the price! I think I only paid about $60 for them. Now, I just need to find a cheep knock-off lightsaber for that kind of deal. Yeah, yeah, I know...I should make my own. The only problem is that I'm too dang picky for my own limited construction abilities.

January 3, 2005

Happy New Year everyone!

I actually finished the long tunic several days ago, but haven't gotten around to posting about it. Actually, there was very little left to do. All I did was sew the bottom and sleeve hems. Since that took almost no time at all, I whipped up the tabards and obi as well. (The easiest pieces of all to this jedi puzzle, and yet it was at this point that I decide to burn myself while ironing. Yikes!) To really tie everything together (literally), I added the decorative stitching to all the edges of the obi.

The only things left to do at this point is to add ties and hooks-and-eyes to various places so that nothing decides to shift on me. I did, however, decide to eliminate the hooks-and-eyes on the two tunics; it just doesn't seem like they will be needed and would end up causing more problems than anything else. I also need to move the invisible snap on the undershirt so that it will fall beneath the two outer layers; that way, even if it pulls a bit, no one will be able to see it. (If you look closely at the picture to the right, you can see the snap pulling a bit; it becomes even more noticeable when I move around.)

It's a bit of a relief to be at this point; it's at that phase where it's wearable even if it isn't finished. I'm still planning on getting the cloak done and a belt, but there's no pressure to get them finished.

In other (but related) news, my mom has a client that does leather work. She's going to contact him about getting some leather for me to work/experiment with.

Now I just need some ideas for how to do my hair...

4/4/05

Yipee! The cloak is finished! It took so much longer than is should have, but it's done now, so I'm happy.

I used the same pattern as I did for my brothers' cloaks--just some random pattern for a fleece jacket with a hood. The only adjustments I made were to the length of the body of the cloak, the sleeves, and the hood. I made the body long enough to be floor length and still have a nice wide hem. I also wanted a wide hem on the sleeves and wanted them to cover all but the very tips of my fingers. (Oh, yeah, I also added width to the sleeve, using the entire half-width of the fabric.) The hood was a bit trickier and required a muslin, but initially all I did was split the pattern in half horizontally and lengthen it about five-six inches.

Putting the body of the cloak together was very easy--just a back seam and two side seams, the shoulder seams, then the sleeves. The sleeves only needed a little bit of easing to fit into the armscye. I then took a pleat in the shoulder to bring the armscye to the shoulder edge, which I just tacked down on the inside shoulder seam. (The pleat faces the arm.) This also shortens the sleeve a bit, so I waited to do the sleeve hem until this was done. For the sleeve hem, I decided that I wanted to make it into a kind of cuff, so I handsewed it just like a normal hem but on the outside of the sleeve. It means that my sleeve seams shows, but the thread I surged it with matches the fabric perfectly, so it's not all that obvious. I also handstitched the body hem, and simply turned under the front edges and handstitched them as well.

Now, as I mentioned, the hood took a bit more work. I really wanted to get it right, so I took my time and made up a couple of muslin mock-ups. The first one, made by simply lengthening the pattern piece, was an absolute flop. While it was now long enough, providing the proper drape at the neck edge, it wasn't nearly full enough. I fixed this by angling the back seam to more of a horizontal line instead of the vertical one of the pattern. This time it looked much better, but I still had to decide whether I wanted to gather the fullness or pleat it. I ended up going with the pleating and am very happy with the results. I also wanted to line the hood to give it a bit more body and to finish the front edge. I didn't want to use the same fabric since it was a little on the slippery side. (I learned my lesson on this when I used satin to line the hood of my kinsale cloak. The silly thing never stays on my head!) I decided to use cotton sateen, but it wasn't available in the color I needed.

ENTER my first experience in the art of dying (with the exception of the feather I dyed for a hat last year). Everything went off pretty much without a hitch, but I didn't get it dark enough the first time. (Lesson 1: the color of the fabric in the dye bath has absolutely no relation to what it will actually look like. The box says that it will be darker, but no, it looks the same shade as the dye until you begin rinsing it out. Which leads to lesson 2: there really is a reason why people dye a swatch of fabric first.) The second time around I left the fabric in the dye bath for the maximum time recommended and ended up with a beautiful, rich chocolate brown.

To put it all together, I sewed the back seam of each layer separately, then sewed the two layers right sides together at the face edge. Once I turned and pressed that edge, I pleated and sewed the neck edge. This left a raw edge to take care of. (I usually use the lining to cover this but was afraid that it wouldn't work as well with the pleats and all.) I finished this edge with a bias strip of the cloak fabric.